Poached Eggs, Greens, and Potatoes in Tomato Sauce

This morning, I was faced with a harrowing choice. After about ten minutes of agonizing, page-turning, mind-changing, and reading and re-reading, I made the split-second decision about what to order for breakfast.

I'm always that person at a restaurant who reads the menu at least five times, asks everyone else what they are eating, debates out loud the pros and cons of various dishes, and then insists on ordering last to put off making a final decision. Breakfast, though, is especially difficult. Breakfast might just be my favourite meal - possibly brought on by years of morning practices. I like new and exciting foods, but I also like my breakfasts to be familiar comfort food with SOME nutritional value to start off my day right. As one of my friends pointed out, though, usually the biggest factor in deciding what to eat for breakfast is sweet versus savoury.

Sweet breakfasts are usually my go-to at home - fruit with yogurt and granola or oatmeal topped with cinnamon are pretty standard for me. Probably because I want something different, I usually get a savoury breakfast when going out - usually an omelette full of veggies and cheese, with lots of toast and home fries. Delicious, and not the worst thing for me, but maybe not the most healthy or budget-friendly.

Earlier this week, I decided to make a healthier and quicker version of this breakfast, all in one bowl. Flavourful tomato sauce simmered with herbs and balsamic vinegar, mixed with potato and some wilted greens, topped with soft poached eggs makes for a perfect breakfast: flavourful, nutritious, filling, and comforting. I make variations on this for other meals as well (sometimes adding or subtracting potatoes and other vegetables, or using fresh tomatoes or jarred pasta sauce or even soup) but it made an especially satisfying breakfast.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup strained tomatoes
1/2 cup water
1/4 balsamic vinegar (or to taste)
1 tbsp dried basil
salt, to taste2 small potatoes, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 cup baby arugula (or other baby green or chopped green)
2 eggs

Directions:
1. Add tomatoes, water, vinegar, basil, and salt to pot.
2. Add chopped potatoes and cover pot. Bring to a boil and reduce to a low simmer. Cook until potatoes are mostly soft (about 15 minutes).
3. Add parsley and arugula. Stir into sauce, and leave simmering for a minute or two until arugula begins to wilt.
4. Make sure that sauce is bubbling gently (but not boiling) in order to properly poach the eggs. Crack both eggs over top of sauce, replace lid, and cook for 5-10 minutes, until eggs are poached.

Note: Once the eggs are as poached as you want them to be, put everything into a bowl right away so that the eggs do not keep cooking in the pot. Alternately, turn off the heat and remove the pot from the stove just a little early. The eggs will continue to cook for a few minutes. This is especially helpful if you want to eat this right out of the pot. Which I may or may not do on a regular basis.


Also, if you have fresh basil use that - add lots of basil, the more the better! Likewise with fresh tomatoes, just dice them, use a bit more water, and squash the pieces a little while you are cooking them.