Mini Portuguese Baked Eggs

Mini baked eggs layered over a rich tomato and red capsicum base with garlic, paprika, and olive oil. Finished with soft feta and fresh parsley, they are warm, comforting, and perfect with crusty bread on the side.

Some meals earn their place at the table simply by the way they arrive. These come straight from the oven in their own little dishes, still bubbling at the edges, ready to be set down and eaten slowly.

The base is built in one pan, onion, garlic, red capsicum, and tomato cooked down until the sauce is rich and deeply flavoured. Sweet paprika brings warmth without heat, and a little smoked paprika gives it just enough depth. The eggs go in last, nestled into a well in the centre of each dish, and bake until the whites are just set and the yolks are still soft.

Feta goes on at the end, so it stays creamy rather than dry. A handful of fresh parsley, and warm bread for dipping - Portuguese Bread Rolls (Papo Secos) if you have them, and it is ready.

This is the kind of breakfast or brunch that turns a slow morning into something worth remembering.

Prep: 15 min · Cook: 30 min · Serves: 3 · Cuisine: Portuguese · Category: Lunch

Ingredients

For the tomato and capsicum base

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• 1 small red capsicum, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 400g crushed tomatoes or passata
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• pinch of chilli flakes, optional
• salt, to taste
• freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

For assembling

• 3 eggs
• 40 to 50g feta, crumbled
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped flat leaf parsley
• extra olive oil, for greasing the dishes

To serve

• warm crusty bread or toasted sourdough

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan forced.
2. Heat the olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add the onion and red capsicum and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
3. Stir in the tomato paste, sweet paprika, smoked paprika, and chilli flakes if using. Cook for 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes or passata. Season with salt and black pepper, then simmer gently for 10 to 12 minutes, until the sauce is rich and spoonable.
4. Lightly grease 3 mini ovenproof dishes with olive oil and place them onto a baking tray. Spoon the tomato and capsicum mixture evenly into each dish. Use the back of a spoon to make a small well in the centre of each.
5. Crack 1 egg into each dish.
6. Bake for about 18 minutes, or until the egg whites are set and the yolks are cooked to your liking.
7. Scatter the feta over the dishes in the final 1 to 2 minutes of baking, or just after they come out of the oven, so it stays soft and creamy. Finish with chopped parsley and serve warm with fresh bread for dipping.

Notes

The sauce needs to be well reduced before the eggs go in. If it is too loose, the egg will spread rather than sit neatly in the centre.

Feta added in the final minute or two of baking stays soft and creamy. Added too early, it dries out and loses its character.

Passata gives a smoother, silkier base. Crushed tomatoes give a little more texture and body. Both work well.

Sit the dishes on a baking tray before they go into the oven. It makes them much easier to handle when they come out hot.

Keep an eye on the eggs from the 15 minute mark. Oven depth and dish size both affect timing, and the difference between a runny yolk and a firm one is only a minute or two.

Serving Suggestion

Warm crusty bread or Portuguese Bread Rolls (Papo Secos)— the recipe is on the site and they are a natural match

Toasted sourdough

A simple green salad

Olives on the side

Coffee for a relaxed breakfast table

The Grace Table Tip

Add the feta right at the end for the best finish. It stays soft, creamy, and fresh against the rich tomato and capsicum base.