Beans on Toast Egg Bake

Important: make the baked beans at least 1 day ahead.

For the baked beans:

Soak the beans in water 8 hours or overnight. Drain the beans and then place in a Dutch oven with the chopped onion, bay leaf, peppercorns and water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 50 minutes or until the beans are tender. Drain the beans once again, reserving half of the liquid.

Preheat the oven to 250ºF.

In the pot, add in the remaining baked bean ingredients and 1 ½ cups cooking liquid. Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 6-8 hours. Every 2 hours you should check and stir the beans and determine if you need more cooking liquid to keep them from drying out. 8 hours will get you the maximum flavor in the beans, but they’re still awesome after 6 hours. Remove the bay leaf and peppercorns when finished.

For the egg bake:

Heat the oven to 400ºF.

Drizzle the cubed bread in olive oil and toast until they begin to turn golden brown. Set aside.

Spread the beans on the bottom of a skillet. Top with the croutons, pressing them down a little so they sink into the beans, then sprinkle with shredded cheese. Carefully crack the eggs and gently drop into the beans. It’s best to find spaces in between croutons where you can form a little “nest” for the eggs.

Bake for about 15 minutes (or a few minutes longer if you want the yolks completely cooked).