Rustic Italian Stew With Eggs

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This was one of my mom’s favorite dishes and for good reason. It is an excellent dish that is simple and quick to pull together and it really emphasizes the qualities of a rustic peasant dish, the heart of comfort food.

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Rustic Italian Stew With Eggs Peas And Potatoes

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This dish is excellent with a loaf of crusty Italian bread. To really create the rustic nature of the dish serve the bread on a board or platter and let everyone tear off chunks of the bread.

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Ingredients for Italian stew: tomatoes, chicken stock, peas, potatoes, onion, garlic, parsley, basil, and eggs.

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Begin by sweating the onion and garlic.

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Add the potatoes and cook until the onion is lightly browned.

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Add the herbs and stir.

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This is a great way to break up the tomatoes for a rustic dish. Alternatively, you can simply squeeze the tomatoes by hand.

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Bring the Italian stew to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through.

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Add the peas, stir, and add the eggs, one at a time.

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Top with fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano, extra virgin olive oil, and black pepper.

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Italian Egg Stew

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• Yield: varies, about 3 to 4 servings
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes

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Ingredients

• Extra virgin olive oil, to coat the pan
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 small red onion
• 4 medium potatoes
• 2 to 3 sprigs fresh basil
• 7 to 8 sprigs fresh parsley
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 28 ounce can San Marzano tomatoes
• 16 ounce package fresh or frozen peas
• 6 eggs
• Parmigiano Reggiano, for serving

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Method

1. Lightly coat the bottom of a 6-quart stock pot with the olive oil, and set aside.
2. Mince the garlic cloves and dice the onion.
3. Add the garlic and onion to the stock pot and place over low heat.
4. Cube the potatoes into bite size pieces and add them to the pot. Stir to coat and, if needed add a little more olive oil. Cook until the onion begins to brown.
5. Meanwhile rough chop the herbs. Once the onion is nicely browned add the herbs and stir.
6. Add the stock and enough water to cover everything by 2 inches.
7. Bring to a full boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through. You can test them by spooning a potato out of the stew and piercing it with a fork. The fork should go through with little to no resistance.
8. Place a medium mesh strainer over the top of the pot. Dump the tomatoes into the strainer and stir them with a wooden spoon to break them up. Once they are broken up into small pieces dump the tomatoes into the soup.
9. Add the peas and stir gently.
10. Crack the eggs, one at a time, into a clean bowl and gently add the egg to the stew. Repeat with the second egg and so on until all of the eggs have been added to the stew, one at a time. Make certain the eggs are evenly distributed throughout the soup without touching one another. DO NOT STIR THE POT.
11. Cook until the eggs are set and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
12. Serve in bowls with two eggs per person and homemade Italian bread. Top each bowl with a few grinds of fresh black pepper, a grating of Parmigiano Reggiano and a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

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Notes

1. Whenever my mom or grandmother made this stew, the eggs were always cooked hard. For myself, I usually only give them about 7 or 8 minutes in the stew so that the yolk is still soft inside.
2. My family always uses frozen peas, but, I prefer fresh peas. If you live near a specialty market you can find fresh peas, already shelled, in the produce section. Frozen or fresh, peas only need a couple minutes to cook. 
3. One last note, my family always made this with water only, rather than stock. The point of the dish is that it is quick, easy and inexpensive while still providing a nourishing meal that is delicious. I use stock because it gives the dish a lot more flavor.

Tags: italian stew, egg stew, Italian egg stew, Italian soups stews, Italian egg stew recipe

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