🍳 Learn how to make this delicious Portuguese breakfast

Ovos com molho de tomate e cebola, a Portuguese breakfast, prepared by Maria Lawton, the author of the “Azorean Cooking” cookbook.Maria Lawton

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On the latest episode of Rhode Island Report podcast, Globe Rhode Island’s self-appointed Portugal Affairs Correspondent Brian Amaral learned how to prepare his favorite breakfast: ovos com molho de tomate e cebola.

Ovos com molho de tomate e cebola, a Portuguese breakfast prepared by Maria Lawton, the author of the “Azorean Cooking” cookbook and host of “Maria’s Portuguese Table” on Rhode Island PBS.Maria Lawton

Maria Lawton, the author of the “Azorean Cooking” cookbook and host of “Maria’s Portuguese Table” on Rhode Island PBS, showed Amaral around the kitchen and explained the simple steps to this flavorful dish of onions, garlic, tomatoes, and eggs. If you like shakshuka (or chakchouka), you’ll like this Portuguese breakfast.

”This is my favorite [dish], especially during the summertime when we would have an abundance of tomatoes in our garden,” said Lawton. “My mom would always make this for lunch and we would all look forward to it, and always served [it] with crusty bread.”

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Now for the fun part: Lawton gave us a copy of her family’s recipe. It’s in her cookbook, but she gave us permission to share it with you here. Try it yourself. If you do, send me a picture of your final product.

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds of ripe tomatoes, peeled seeded and chopped
• 5 large sweet onions, sliced and cut in half moons
• 4 to 5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 6 tablespoons of olive oil, or enough to cover the bottom of the pan
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of chopped red hot pepper sauce (Amaral recommends Antonio’s, which he said you can find in your local supermarket.)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 to 6 large eggs

Directions:

• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven pan over medium heat along with the 2 tablespoons of butter.
• Once the butter has melted, add the onions and cook until they turn a golden color (this might take about 20 minutes).
• Add the garlic and mix well with the onions. Then add the chopped tomatoes with their juices, salt and pepper, and the hot chopped pepper sauce.
• Lower the heat and simmer everything together for about 30 minutes. You’ll notice that the tomatoes will break down, and the sauce will begin to thicken.
• Create a small opening in the sauce and crack one egg into each opening. (Tip: You can figure out how many eggs you’ll need by the number of people you’re serving. Lawton says she likes to use just two eggs when it’s a personal dish for herself).
• Cover the pan for about five minutes or until the egg is cooked to your liking. (Tip: Lawton says she likes her eggs over medium, which takes about five minutes.)
• To serve, spoon out the sauce into a bowl and place the eggs on top. Serve with some crusty fresh bread or grilled Portuguese cornbread.

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