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5. Divide the toasted muffin halves between 4 plates and top each half with 1 slice of the reserved bacon and 1 poached egg. Spoon about 3 tbsp. hollandaise over each egg, sprinkle with paprika or cayenne, and serve.

Perfect Poaching

Many years ago, when I was a private chef, I was asked one morning to prepare eggs Benedict for breakfast. No problem, I thought. But when I dropped the first egg into the simmering water, it spread out into an amorphous mess. Same thing on the next try. What was I doing wrong? I called my friend Ted MacLeod, an expert brunch cook. “The secret to poaching eggs,” Ted told me, “is in the amount of vinegar you use. The right amount coaxes them into firmness.” I tried his method—a half cup of white distilled vinegar and a half teaspoon of salt in four cups of water—and, sure enough, my poached eggs came out beautifully. Months afterward, though, I ran into another problem. I was using a skillet to poach eggs; when I dropped the eggs into the water they flattened into dispiriting disks. Thinking that the outcome might have something to do with the water’s depth, I switched to a tall pot, and—voilà!—the eggs gracefully formed into appealing orbs. Another egg-poaching tip I picked up along the way: cracking each egg into a small bowl or teacup before pouring it into the simmering water helps the eggs maintain a more compact shape.

—Todd Coleman

Eggs Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce

Shakshuka

In Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market (pictured), this spicy tomato stew dotted with poached eggs is a popular breakfast item at many food stalls. We think it makes a satisfying meal at any time of the day, especially with warm pita bread to sop up the thick sauce and rich egg yolks.

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

5 Anaheim chiles or 3 jalapeños, stemmed, seeded, and minced

1 small yellow onion, chopped

8 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tbsp. paprika

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained Kosher salt, to taste

8 eggs

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

1 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley Warm pita bread, for serving

Serves 4–6

1. Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add chiles and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, paprika, and cumin and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft, about 2 minutes more. Put tomatoes and their liquid into a medium bowl and crush well with your hands. Add crushed tomatoes and their liquid to skillet along with ½ cup water, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 20 minutes. Season sauce with salt.

2. Crack eggs over sauce so that eggs are evenly distributed across sauce’s surface. Cover skillet and cook until yolks are just set, about 5 minutes. Using a spoon, baste the whites of the eggs with tomato mixture, being careful not to disturb the yolk. Sprinkle shakshuka with feta and parsley and serve hot with pita bread, for dipping.

Huevos Rancheros

This recipe for huevos rancheros, the gorgeous mess of fried eggs smothered in a spicy tomato sauce, came from La Abeja, a café in Los Angeles where the Fonseca family has been serving up Mexican home-style cooking for decades. Traditionally a cowboy’s breakfast served over warm corn tortillas with rice and refried beans, the dish has become a fixture in diners on both sides of the border.

14 plum tomatoes, cored

12 tbsp. canola oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ jalapeño, stemmed and minced

½ medium yellow onion, chopped

1 tbsp. fresh lime juice Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

8 corn tortillas

8 eggs Pickled jalapeño slices, for garnish

Serves 4

1. Heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add the tomatoes and cook, turning, until the skins blacken, 8–10 minutes. Peel the tomatoes, purée in a blender, strain through a sieve, and set aside.

2. Heat 4 tbsp. oil in a 4-qt. pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, jalape