Photo: Courtesy of Devour Seville Food Tours
This week, Village of Greenport will welcome a Tall Ship, El Galeon Andalucía, that will be on exhibit to the public from Tuesday, October 18 to Sunday, October 23rd. Tonight’s Meatless Monday post is Spanish-inspired and features eggs as the main source of protein. I feel that the concept of a meatless meal is less about eliminating meat but more about learning to not make meat the featured entrée on our American plates. This is how our ancestors survived for centuries; on a diet of grains and vegetables using meat sparingly as a flavor enhancer–not as the main “event”. On the best stocked vessels that sailed from Spain to the New World, meat would have been rationed even though the Spanish explorers were known to sail with chickens, pigs and other animals aboard but they understood the need to conserve.
Tonight’s for Huevos a la Flamenca,”>recipe was adapted from a the website of a foodie tour company that takes people on food tours in Seville and surrounding areas,Devour Seville Food Tours. I cut down a bit on the meat additions as I want to feature our fresh, organic and silky eggs, baked with tomato, peppers, vegetables, herbs and garnished with just a tiny bit of ham (Serrano or Proscuitto) and/or a few bits of minced, smoked chorizo sausage for flavor. If you are vegetarian or kosher or don’t have access to your favorite prosciutto or Serrano ham, just use whatever sliced ham or sausage you have in the fridge or eliminate the meat all together.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 red peppers, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 medium sized tomatoes (grated on a cheese grater or finely minced)
8 eggs
4 slices of Serrano ham
1/2 cup finely minced smoked chorizo
5 ounces asparagus, blanched and chopped
1 tablespoon smoked paprika (Pimenton)
Salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 395 F
Pan fry the onion and peppers slowly in the olive oil until they are soft.
Then add the garlic. This should take approximately 10 minutes.
Continue to fry until you start to smell the garlic, then add the tomatoes and paprika.
Continue to fry over low heat for 15 minutes.
Divide the tomato, onion and pepper mixture into 4 ramekins.
Break 2 eggs on top of each.
Top each ramekin with 1 slice of ham, a tablespoon of minced chorizo and 2 tablespoons of chopped asparagus on top of each.
Bake the ramekins for about 10 minutes until the eggs are cooked to your liking.
Garnish with parsley, salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with crusty bread, a green salad and a glass of dry, fino Sherry from this Southern region of Spain, Jerez de la Frontera.
