Rachel Allen's Baked Eggs with Chorizo and Cheese

Rachel Allen's Baked Eggs with Chorizo and Cheese

This recipe is from Rachel Allen's Food for Living. This is definitely my favourite recipe with eggs.

Ingredients
2 tsp tomato purée,
4 tbsp double cream
freshly ground pepper and sugar
16 thin slices Chorizo
8 eggs
2 tbsp grated Cheese, such as gruyere or cheddar

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/gas mark 8. Mix the tomato puree (if using) with the cream and season with pepper and a pinch of sugar.
2. Spoon half of the cream mixture into the base of four ovenproof cups, bowls or ramekins. Add two slices of chorizo to each dish, then crack two eggs into each, season with a little more pepper, and top the cups with the remaining two slices of chorizo.
3. Spoon over the remaining tomato cream, then sprinkle each portion with the grated cheese. Bake for 9-12 minutes, or until the whites are set and the cheese is bubbling. Serve the eggs on their own or with fingers of buttered toast.

Rachel Allen's Pasta with Spicy Sausage and Cream

This is a great pasta dish from Rachel Allen’s Rachel’s Favourite Food. I think this is one of my favourite pasta dishes ever. They make this a lot at Ballymaloe Cookery School, and people always love it. Just leave out the sausage for a vegetarian pasta sauce. It also freezes well. I met the wonderful Rachel Allen while my Mam was on a course in 2008.

Pasta with Spicy Sausage and Cream 

Ingredients

25g Butter
700g ripe Tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or use 2x 400g tinned tomatoes)
4 cloves Garlic, crushed
2 tsp Rosemary, chopped
1 pinch fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp caster sugar
225g chorizo sausages, or kabanossi sausage, cut into ½cm slices
1 pinch dried red chilli flakes
175ml cream
2 tbsp Parsley, chopped
500g penne pasta, or use rigatoni or farfalle
50g Parmesan, grated

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the chopped tomatoes, garlic and rosemary.
2. Season with salt, pepper and sugar (the sugar really helps the tomatoes).
3. Cook until the tomatoes have just begun to soften, about 5 mins.
4. Add the sausage to the pan with the chilli flakes, cream and half the chopped parsley. 5. Allow to simmer with the lid off until the mixture has reduced by half, stirring frequently.
6. Take off the heat and taste for seasoning.
7. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water, into which you have added 1 dst salt, until it is just cooked, then drain and toss with the sauce.
8. Put into a great big serving bowl and scatter with the grated parmesan cheese and the rest of the parsley. 

NOTE FOR COOKING PASTA If you need to cook your pasta slightly ahead of time, keep about 50ml of the pasta cooking water in with the pasta and a good glug of olive oil.