Sauteed Tomato Breakfast Crostini, plus Poached Eggs

This Sauteed Tomato Breakfast Crostini is made with chargrilled ciabatta bread, burst cherry tomatoes with balsamic vinegar, pepperoncino, basil oil and topped with perfectly cooked poached eggs. Suited to a lazy weekend breakfast or brunch.

You probably already know that the traditional Italian breakfast is always always sweet. It usually consists of a fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside pastry filled with chocolate or custard.

And although sometimes nothing beats sinking your teeth into that sweet buttery goodness and sipping on a hot, creamy cappuccino we much prefer a savoury start to the day.

That's exactly why we came up with this not-so-traditional but as good tomato breakfast crostini topped with poached eggs and basil oil. It is breakfast perfection!

If you love eggs for breakfast, then try our Spicy Nduja Eggs in Purgatory too!

What Are Crostini?

Crostini are Italian char-grilled toasts made from ciabatta bread. We personally LOVE the flavour of char-grilled bread and ciabatta bread drizzled with olive oil, grilled then sprinkled with salt is so good as it is.

If there are any leftover crostini sitting lonely without any toppings they certainly don't go to waste. If they aren't eaten straight away which almost always happens they are used in soups or to make grilled cheese the next day…YUM!

How To Make This Sauteed Tomato Breakfast Crostini, plus Poached Eggs – Step By Step

First, slice the ciabatta bread and sprinkle with a little olive oil then place on a hot griddle pan until charred on both sides. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and set aside (photos 1 & 2).

Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and add to a non-stick pan with a little pepperoncino (chilli flakes), balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper (photos 3 & 4).

Saute the tomatoes for 5-7 minutes until soft (photo 4). Place a slice of toasted ciabatta on a plate, top with tomatoes then make the poached egg.

To make the poached eggs bring a pot of water to a boil then turn off the heat. Crack and egg into a ramekin and lower it into the water, hold for a second and pour it in, repeat with all.

Let them poach for around 4-5 minutes then remove with a slotted spoon and lightly pat with kitchen paper.

Place a slice of toasted ciabatta on a plate, top with tomatoes and a poached egg. To make the basil oil grind fresh basil leaves and olive oil using a motar and pestle for a few seconds and drizzle over.

The basil oil is so easy to make and we love it but it is optional, you could also tear up some basil leaves into the tomatoes as they are cooking instead.

Kitchen tip

Ok, so we think we can pretty much agree that out of all the ways to make eggs, poached eggs are by far the trickiest. To be honest we normally leave it up to because he gets them solid every time. We have made them with success when we follow his strict instructions so here are his tips.

• Forget adding vinegar or swirling the water, there's no need for that.
• You MUST use the freshest eggs you can get. Buy the eggs the same day or the day before (at max). We can't stress enough how important this is, old eggs always fail.
• Crack the eggs (one at a time) into small ramekins before pouring them into the water.
• Bring the water to a rolling boil then turn the heat off completely, then as quickly and carefully as possible lower the eggs into the water.
• To pour the eggs into the water. One at a time lower the ramekin into the water until it reaches the rim of the ramekin then pour in.
• Have kitchen paper on hand to pat them dry of excess water.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs with ease.

Swaps

• Top with a fried egg instead of poached if you find them tricky to make
• Add other herbs and spices into the tomatoes such as thyme, tarragon and fennel seeds
• This would be a great way to use up leftover veg. Try adding aubergine (eggplant), zucchini or roasted potatoes chopped up.

More Crostini Recipes You Might Like

• Stracchino and sausage crostini
• Roasted fennel, salami and ricotta crostini
• Whipped ricotta toast with balsamic cherries
• Parmesan mushroom toasts
• Tuscan crostini (chicken liver pate)

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

• 4 eggs
• 8.8 oz (250g) cherry tomatoes
• 4 slices ciabatta bread
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes ((red pepper flakes))
• 1 small handful fresh basil
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar ((good quality))
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. First, slice the ciabatta bread and sprinkle with a little olive oil then place on a hot griddle pan until charred on both sides. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and set aside.

2. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and add to a non-stick pan with a little pepperoncino (chilli flakes), balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

3. Saute the tomatoes for 5-7 minutes until soft (photo 4). Keep them warm until the egg is ready.

4. To make the poached eggs bring a pot of water to a boil then turn off the heat. Crack an egg into a ramekin, hold it for a second then pour it in to the water, repeat with all.

5. Let them poach for around 4-5 minutes then remove with a slotted spoon and pat with kitchen paper.

6. Place a slice of toasted ciabatta on a plate, top with tomatoes and a poached egg. To make the basil oil simply grind fresh basil leaves and olive oil using a motar and pestle for a few seconds and drizzle over.

Kitchen notes

Swaps

• Top with a fried egg instead of poached if you find them tricky to make
• Add other herbs and spices into the tomatoes such as thyme, tarragon and fennel seeds
• This would be a great way to use up leftover veg. Try adding aubergine (eggplant), zucchini or roasted potatoes chopped up.
• The basil oil is so easy to make and we love it but it is optional, you could also tear up some basil leaves into the tomatoes as they are cooking instead.

Kitchen tip

• Forget adding vinegar or swirling the water, there's no need for that.
• You MUST use the freshest eggs you can get. Buy the eggs the same day or the day before (at max). We can't stress enough how important this is, old eggs always fail.
• Crack the eggs (one at a time) into small ramekins before pouring them into the water.
• Bring the water to a rolling boil then turn the heat off completely, then as quickly and carefully as possible lower the eggs into the water.
• To pour the eggs into the water. One at a time lower the ramekin into the water until it reaches the rim of the ramekin then pour in.
• Have kitchen paper on hand to pat them dry of excess water.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs with ease.

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