The Flying Kitchen

I must point out from the beginning that this is a “slow breakfast”. Logically, a “slow morning” is the only kind of morning to cook a “slow breakfast”. I’m sure I don’t need to point this out, but (if you’ve forgotten), a “slow morning” is the kind of morning that gives you time to take in the quiet, and maybe sit outside for a little while. Think. Assess. Just be.

I made this for my husband and myself a few weeks ago on just that kind of morning. Because I work in an upstairs studio with kitchen attached, it’s easy for me to start my day before everyone else. When he finds me working early on a weekend morning, he can usually count on some kind of good and unique thing to eat.

Since the kids are in an “omelette phase” this summer, they usually make breakfasts for themselves in the downstairs kitchen. I realize that it’s unheard of in the United States to have two kitchens, but in Germany, it’s not uncommon. Many German houses are very big, and have an option to section certain parts of the house off as independent apartment spaces. When we first moved here three years ago, our adult daughter occupied the apartment. Now that she has finished college and moved on to the Air Force, I have the apartment as a working studio and kitchen. It’s really a great space. It has a sunny little balcony and everything.

This baked egg dish cooks in three stages. You have the sweet potato stage, the tomato stage, then lastly the egg stage. Sweet potatoes take the longest to cook, so they go in first. During the baking periods you can do some leftover dishes, have some coffee, stare out the window, whatever. It’s a “slow breakfast”, remember? Total time start-to-finish is about 45-50 minutes, but only a few of those minutes require anything of you.

The great thing about this recipe is that it’s so simple. Just a few humble ingredients and you have a dish positively bursting with flavor and incredible, creamy, comforting texture.

Peel one large sweet potato.

Cube it.

Put it in some kind of heavy pan with just a little olive oil and some salt. Pop it in a 400°F oven for about twenty minutes.

Find any tomatoes you have around. I have a mix here between two kinds of tomatoes. Tomatoes past-their-prime are perfect for this dish. Slice up your tomatoes, or leave them whole if they are really little. I’ve done both here.

After your sweet potatoes are tender (but not mushy), give them a good stir.

Top them with the fresh tomatoes, 2-4 cloves of minced garlic and salt and pepper. Pop the dish back in the oven for about fifteen minutes.

The tomatoes should be stewy and will have released a lot of liquid. Now stir the tomatoes into the sweet potatoes so you no longer have layers.

Break as many eggs as you want over your tomato/sweet potato mix. Top with a little more salt and pepper and bake again for about ten minutes.

It smells amazing! It just needs a little something more, though.

Tear some fresh basil leaves over the whole lot. The heat of the baked dish will cause the basil to release its incredible aroma.

Serve immediately. It’s deliciously well-balanced in both flavor and texture, and is sure to start your day in a slow, warm, comforting, thoughtful kind of way.

Thanks so much for reading my posts!

Shannon Vavich