Uova al Forno with Ice Plant & Napoli Tomato Sauce
Italian baked eggs nestled in a rich, garlicky Napoli tomato sauce and finished with Aeroveg Ice Plant’s sea-salt crystals — a breakfast that feels effortlessly luxurious in 25 minutes.
Uova al forno — Italian baked eggs — is the kind of breakfast that makes a Tuesday feel like a slow Saturday in Naples. The principle is simple: eggs cooked in a rich, garlicky tomato sauce, finished with good olive oil and eaten straight from the pan with bread. Here, Aeroveg Ice Plant plays a quietly brilliant role — its surface brine crystals dissolve into the sauce as it heats, seasoning from within and adding a faint mineral brightness that makes the whole dish taste more alive.
Method
- Build the tomato base. Heat olive oil in a medium oven-safe frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and chilli flakes and cook gently for 1 minute until the garlic is fragrant and just turning golden at the edges. Add crushed tomatoes, oregano and a small pinch of salt. Stir and simmer for 8–10 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Wilt in the Ice Plant. Scatter Aeroveg Ice Plant over the sauce and fold through gently. Cook for 1–2 minutes — the leaves will soften and the brine crystals dissolve into the sauce, adding natural salinity. Taste and adjust seasoning before adding the eggs.
- Create four wells. Using the back of a spoon, press four small wells into the sauce. Crack one egg carefully into each well, keeping the yolks intact.
- Cook the eggs. Cover the pan with a lid and cook over medium-low heat for 5–7 minutes until the whites are just set and the yolks are still runny. Alternatively, bake uncovered in a preheated 200°C oven for 8–10 minutes.
- Finish and serve. Remove from heat. Drizzle generously with extra-virgin olive oil and season with black pepper. Bring the pan straight to the table with plenty of crusty bread for mopping.
Aeroveg Ice Plant has natural brine-filled crystals on its surface — they’re what give the green its distinctive appearance and mild sea-salt flavour. In this dish, those crystals dissolve into the tomato sauce as it heats, seasoning from within. Taste the sauce before adding extra salt — you may need very little.