It’s time that we talked about social media lurkers. We all know one. Once, when I was living in D.C., I started talking about a dinner that I made. “Oh,” my one friend said, “The one with stewed lentils?” She didn’t have a Facebook or an Instagram. “She’s a lurker,” my other friend explained.

Flash forward to three weeks ago when I made my first baked eggs. I posted pictures everywhere and put the recipe online. My sister’s boyfriend, who doesn’t engage frequently on social media, called to tell her that he was in the process of making the same eggs. He’s a lurker, and so is my sister. They’re made for each other.

It’s fine, though. Lurk on. I still vouch that lurking is fine as long as you aren’t creepy. If the information is out there, it’s yours for the taking.

In a lot of ways, being a lurker is better than being a user: You can get what you want/need without having to engage all the time. Social media culture can be exhausting.

Anyway. Back to the eggs. I decided to make a shakshouka-esque dish this time around. I’m not going to lie: The first baked eggs I made were better. But these eggs have their perks. They taste like pizza. If you make extra sauce, it would be good on pasta or on top of a pizza crust. It’s a utilitarian recipe.

Here’s a song that pairs well with these eggs. And here’s one that comes highly recommend from one of the aforementioned lurkers.

Baked Eggs (slightly adapted from Minimalist Baker)

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 white onion, diced
2 large cloves garlic (~1 Tbsp), minced
1 tsp sea salt, divided
1/2 tsp red pepper flake
1 tsp paprika
1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes, no salt added
4 eggs
parmesan cheese and dried oregano for topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and lightly grease one 8×8 or 9×9 baking pan. Heat a saucepan over medium-low heat, add 2 tbsp olive oil. Then add onions, 1/2 tsp sea salt and cook for 7-8 minutes or until translucent. Turn down heat if getting too brown. Add garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Add paprika and red pepper flake and stir. Then add tomatoes and another 1/2 tsp sea salt and stir. Simmer for 10-12 minutes, reducing heat if it bubbles too vigorously.

Taste sauce and adjust seasonings accordingly – I added a pinch of black pepper and a touch more salt.

Spread the sauce in the baking dish. Crack the eggs over the top of the sauce in four corners. Sprinkle on Parmesan and dried oregano.

Cook for 8-10 minutes or until desired doneness. The whites should be cooked through but the yolk still soft.

Top with more oregano (and cheese if not dairy-free) and serve with toast. Store any leftover sauce for future use. Enjoy!