Serves a Crowd

Jay Guerrero's Baked Eggs with Ricotta and Onions

September  1, 2009
4
4 Ratings
Photo by Julia Gartland
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

Jay Guerrero, the sous chef at Prune in New York, is somewhat famous for his family meals, and this is one of his best. He calls it breakfast, but it can also be enjoyed as a light lunch or dinner.

Featured In: Eggs, All Cozied Up in Fluffy RicottaFamily Meal

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 medium yellow onions, sliced thinly
  • 1-2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 cups coarse breadcrumbs, big enough that they look like croutons
  • 2 cups ricotta
  • 1/2 - 1 cups whole milk or heavy cream
  • 4-5 slices good quality ham
  • 6 eggs
  • kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
Directions
  1. Take a 9x13 pan or casserole dish and oil the inside with a little olive oil. Set aside and preheat your oven to 450° F.
  2. In a big saute pan, heat some olive oil until shimmering, and add the onions and thyme. Toss around a little bit until the onions are coated and turning translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the breadcrumbs and toast them with the onions for a few more minutes, until they start to turn golden. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let cool as you prep the next step.
  3. In a medium bowl, blend the ricotta with the milk/cream to loosen it up. Add the breadcrumb/onion mixture. Put half this mixture in the bottom of the pan. Put the ham down in a single layer over the breadcrumb/cheese mixture, and then top the layer of ham with the rest of the breadcrumb/cheese mixture. Make six indents on top of the bed of ricotta, big enough that the yolks can settle into them comfortably.
  4. Crack your eggs into the indents and bake until the whites are done and the yolks are set to your likeness. If using a metal sheet pan, start checking at 10 minutes, gently nudging the yolks and whites to see if they're the consistency you like. This can be anywhere from 10-30 minutes, so be vigilant and keep checking, but it'll likely be done before 20 minutes. For a ceramic casserole dish, do the same, but know that it might take 30 minutes in this case (still, keep checking). When you feel it's ready, serve!

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Amaya
    Amaya
  • Shannon Pursley
    Shannon Pursley
  • ezachos
    ezachos
  • re-arranging_jars
    re-arranging_jars
  • happyeater
    happyeater

9 Reviews

Amaya February 8, 2020
so good. the ricotta becomes slightly sweet when cooked, so maybe adding a small amount of a sharper tasting cheese would make this perfect!
 
Shannon P. December 1, 2018
Onions DO NOT turn translucent in 2 mins - why do people (and a chef no less) always under-estimate cooking times!! To get your onions cooked nicely for this dish takes at least 12 mins over medium heat.
 
ezachos October 20, 2018
Delicious, but a little liquidy with 3/4 c cream. Plus, next time, I’ll pour beaten eggs on top instead of cracking whole eggs. Baking whole ones gets kinda rubbery. Most of all, though, I DEFINITELY see snipped chives dusting the top of the casserole in that picture. Wish the recipe hadn’t left anything out. Visuals matter!
 
Nicole January 24, 2018
Suggestions for vegetarian versions of this/swaps for the ham? or simply omit?
 
Amaya February 8, 2020
i layered with spinach :)
 
re-arranging_jars May 17, 2012
I made this for dinner tonight. I added a layer of sauteed greens with the ham. It was delicious but sadly the eggs were over cooked. I cut the recipe in half, so that probably had something to do with it. I will definitely make this again. Next time I will lower the oven temp and maybe bake the base for 10 min before adding the eggs, then keep a close eye to get it out of the oven just when the eggs set.
 
Rachel D. April 18, 2012
I look forward to trying this for brunch this weekend. Looks amazing.
 
Pat88 December 28, 2009
. Egg and ricotta!! sounds absolutely wonderful.
 
happyeater September 2, 2009
I am an egg freak and cannot wait to try this. Thanks for sharing!