Shakshuka, Pomodoro, Huevos Rancheros....

     Okay, I admit it: the Mexican/Southwestern U.S. version is a little different.  The eggs are fried and get warm salsa on top, usually over a tortilla and often with beans.  The other two poach the eggs in the seasoned tomato sauce.  However you make it, eggs and tomatoes are natural partners.  Many versions add cheese atop the finished dish -- cotija, feta, Parmesan -- and some kind of bread to mop up the sauce.  You can find variations on this all around the world, everywhere people eat eggs and tomatoes, and they're all worth trying.

     However you make it, it works.  I have used leftover chili to poach eggs and it's a nice combination.  This morning, what I had was leftover tomatoes, some fat cherry tomatoes that were on the verge of going too soft.  I diced up ten of them while a couple of strips of bacon fried, set the bacon on paper toweling to drain and poured off the fat from the pan, then added the tomatoes to cook down with a little mixed Italian seasoning and extra basil.  When I was happy with them, I added an 8-ounce can of plain tomato sauce and a little smoked paprika.  It started to simmer as I crumbled the bacon strips into it.  I snipped in a Piparra pepper, too, which adds some heat.  YMMV!

     With the sauce bubbling gently, I broke a couple of eggs into it, slashed the yolks with toothpick (personal preference, many people like the yolks intact and liquid in the finished dish) and sprinkled paprika over it before putting a lid on.

     Cooking takes ten minutes or so; you want the whites of the eggs fairly firm but past that, it's a matter of taste.

     The end result is a treat, especially with the bacon harmonizing with the tomato and egg.