The payoff for having made the Stewed Cauliflower, Butternut Squash, and Tomatoes (page 55), beyond that first bowl of pasta I hope you had with it, is that you can use it for quick treatments such as this one. With its runny yolk enriching the vegetables, it’s a satisfying breakfast dish on its own, or it can morph into a brunch or breakfast-for-dinner dish with the addition of crusty bread and a side salad.

　　

Ingredients

1 teaspoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

　　2/3 cup Stewed Cauliflower, Butternut Squash, and Tomatoes (page 55), cold

　　1 egg

　　Kosher or sea salt

　　1 tablespoon dried bread crumbs

　　3 large basil leaves, finely chopped

　　1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Coat the inside of a large (8-ounce) ramekin with the butter.

　　

Step 2

Add 1/3 cup of the vegetables to the ramekin and make a well in the center of the vegetables with a teaspoon. Carefully break the egg into the well, season with salt, and top with the remaining 1/3 cup stewed vegetables.

　　

Step 3

Mix the bread crumbs with the basil and sprinkle evenly on top of the vegetables; sprinkle the cheese on top.

　　

Step 4

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the topping is browned and crisp, and when you use a spoon to gently lift some of the vegetables from the top to uncover the egg, you can see that the white is cooked through but the yolk is still runny.

　　

Step 5

Let cool for a few minutes, then eat with a spoon.

　　Reprinted with permission from Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One by Joe Yonan. Text copyright © 2011 by Joe Yonan; photographs copyright © 2011 by Ed Anderson. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.Joe Yonan is the food and travel editor at the Washington Post, where he writes the award-winning "Cooking for One" column. Joe's work also earned the Post the 2009 and 2010 James Beard Foundation's award for best food section. He is the former travel editor at the Boston Globe. Visit www.joeyonan.com.