Egg Patties with Tomato Sauce

These first appeared as Fay's Egg Patties as a reader-submitted recipe in Gourmet magazine. The original recipe included a homemade tomato sauce component, which I've removed, since I find it unnecessary. I've got suggestions for sauce.

Now, let me just say that prior to moving to Texas, I didn't put tomato products on my eggs. I was never the type to eat scrambled eggs with ketchup, for example. When first faced with the prospect of breakfast tacos with salsa, I honestly thought the concept was appalling. It turns out they were really good, and I was hooked. I still had some trouble making the leap to putting spaghetti sauce on egg patties, but trust me, these are worth trying.

You Need:

1/2 cup dry plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan (3 1/2 oz.)
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 small garlic clove, minced
6 large eggs, beaten
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 can of Italian seasoned tomatoes and onions (You can find these at Central Market, Whole Foods, and that type of store, or possibly your regular grocery store if it doesn't suck.)

The Plan:

• Stir together bread crumbs, parmesan, parsley, and garlic, then stir in eggs and salt and pepper to taste.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking.
• Working batches, drop rounded tablespoons of egg mixture into skillet.
• Cook patties until golden and puffed, about 2 minutes on each side.
• Transfer to paper towels to drain and add oil to skillet as needed.
• Add canned seasoned tomatoes/onions to cleaned skillet.
• Add patties and simmer, turning once, 7 minutes total.

You would not normally think of freezing eggs, probably, but you can get these cooked to the pre-tomato sauce stage, throw them in a zip lock bag, and keep them in the freezer. Then, just thaw and finish cooking in the sauce.