An inexpensive Portuguese weeknight meal: peas simmered in an onion and tomato sauce, with eggs cracked into wells on top and gently poached under a lid. It is meatless yet satisfying. The yolks should stay runny; pierced with a fork, they mingle with the sauce and thicken the stew, while firm yolks will not and can leave it dry.
Shell the fresh peas; save the pods, as they make an excellent vegetable stock. Finely chop the onion, peel and roughly dice the tomatoes, and slice the garlic. Chop the cilantro and set it aside.
Heat the olive oil in a wide, shallow pan. Cook the onion over low heat for 5 minutes without browning it. Add the garlic slices and cook for 1 minute, stopping as soon as they become fragrant; burnt garlic will make the stew bitter.
Add the diced tomatoes, bay leaf and salt, and cook over medium heat. The tomatoes will first release their juices, then the liquid will evaporate and the mixture will thicken. The sauce is ready when oil separates around the edges and rises to the surface. If you cut this step short, the dish will taste of raw tomato.
Add the peas and vegetable stock. Partially cover the pan and cook over low heat. The peas should feel tender to the bite while staying bright green. Reduce the sauce until it coats the back of a spoon. If it is still thin, uncover the pan completely and reduce it for 3 more minutes; you will not be able to adjust it after adding the eggs.
Use the back of a spoon to make four wells in the sauce and crack an egg into each one. Turn the heat to its lowest setting and cover the pan. Once the whites are fully set and the yolks are still glossy and runny, remove the pan from the heat. This takes 5–6 minutes; lift the lid once to check.
Grind the black pepper and sprinkle it with the chopped cilantro over the sauce, avoiding the eggs. Bring the pan straight to the table and spoon out portions, placing one egg on each plate. Serve with bread for dipping in the sauce.
Adjust the sauce to the right consistency before cracking in the eggs. Once the eggs are in, you cannot stir the stew, and a thin sauce will not thicken further.
Yumurtaları bezelyenin üstüne kırıp kapağı kapattım, altı pişerken sarısı akışkan kaldı. Kişnişi de ateşten sonra attım. Bezelyeyi ayıkladıktan sonra hemen kullanın, bir gün buzdolabında beklettiğimde nişastalanıp unlu bir tat verdi.
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