Pesto baked eggs

With a rather significant cutting on my basil plant two days ago, I decided to make pesto. I didn't have any pine nuts, and they are very expensive, so I rarely use them in pesto, anyway. I used what I had, which was pecans. It was a basic pesto recipe; basil leaves, garlic, salt and pepper, and my prized Barouni olive oil from Joelle Oil.

I don't cook with my Barouni olive oil, because I often worry that it will lose something in the high heat, but in a pesto? It's the creme de la creme.

With quite a bit of pesto on hand, the plan for my weekend is a series of pesto recipes. I'm in a pesto kind of mood.  First up? Pesto Baked Eggs.

The first time I made baked eggs, I used a marinara sauce, which I didn't love, but the overall recipe was quite good, so it got me to thinking. Why not just tomato slices vs. the sauce? Easier, cheaper and the tomato slices would add nice texture to the dish.

This one couldn't be easier and the pesto takes it from very good to exceptional. This is a gourmet flavored/textured dish that prepares like a beginner's recipe.

Ingredients:

Butter
1 large Roma tomatoe
4 eggs
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
Pesto (buy it, make it...whatever you wish)

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Butter the bottom and sides of two baking ramekins (1 cup size).

Layering from the bottom up, to each dish, add 1/4 of the tomato slices, two 2 eggs, 1-1/2 tablespoons of heavy cream, the remaining tomato slices, and 1/4 cup of Gruyere cheese.

Bake for 8 minutes.  Raise heat to broil, and remove from oven when the cheese begins to brown, 1-2 minutes.  For runnier eggs, decrease the initial baking time.  For firmer eggs, increase it.

Remove from oven, top with a generous dollop of pesto, and serve with a side of crostini.