BLT Egg Bake -- The Tomatoes That Tasted Like Summer

Mid-July and the Delta variant is here in the data in a way that is starting to register on the floor. Not the spring 2020 numbers -- nothing like that -- but a trend line that we are watching. The vaccination conversations are happening again: family members asking about boosters, patients concerned, the floor recalibrating its vigilance to the new data. I have my own opinions about this. I keep them calibrated to evidence and update them when the evidence updates.

Liam has started asking about starting school. He knows that school is a thing that happens, that it happened to his cousin Emma who is two years older, that it involves a backpack and a specific set of routines. He wants the backpack. He wants the routines. He has been told he is a year away from pre-K and he is processing this with the patience of someone who has strong preferences and a developing sense of time.

Nora climbed out of her crib on Thursday. She was fourteen months and twenty-six days old when she decided the crib was optional. I heard the thump and found her standing in the doorway of her room with an expression of complete satisfaction. She had executed. She was free. We converted the crib to a toddler bed that night. She went to sleep in it and did not fall out. She accepted the new arrangement immediately. Of course she did.

Tomato time is beginning at the farmers market -- the first good tomatoes, the ones that smell like summer on the vine. I bought a pound and ate them with salt and nothing else, standing at the kitchen counter, and that was the only correct way to eat those tomatoes.

Those first tomatoes of the season deserve more than a supporting role, but they also don’t need much — salt, maybe bacon, something to let them anchor the dish without disappearing into it. This BLT egg bake felt like the right answer: the tomatoes stay present, the bacon earns its place, and the eggs hold everything together into something that counts as a real meal without requiring more than the farmers market already gave me.

BLT Egg Bake

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• 2 medium ripe tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 cups chopped romaine or leaf lettuce
• 6 large eggs
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (optional, for serving)
• Toast or crusty bread, for serving

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch baking dish or oven-safe skillet.
2. Cook the bacon. In a skillet over medium heat, cook chopped bacon until crisp, about 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Drain all but 1 teaspoon of drippings from the pan.
3. Layer the bake. Scatter the cooked bacon evenly across the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange tomato slices in a single layer over the bacon. Scatter the chopped lettuce over the tomatoes.
4. Mix and pour the eggs. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper until well combined. Pour evenly over the layered ingredients in the baking dish.
5. Add cheese. Sprinkle shredded cheddar evenly over the top.
6. Bake. Bake uncovered for 22–26 minutes, until the eggs are set in the center and the edges are lightly golden. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean.
7. Rest and serve. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with toast and a light spread of mayonnaise if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 290 | Protein: 18g | Fat: 21g | Carbs: 5g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 620mg