My first revelation of how olive oil can transform the ordinary into something special was a grilled cheese sandwich cooked with extra virgin olive oil. Another eye opener was a fried egg on toast, with the egg sautéed in good EVOO.

So my eyes lit up when I saw Mark Peel’s recipe for olive oil fried eggs on artisan toast. What kicks this dish up another three notches  is the egg is topped with a salsa romesco.

Peel – executive chef at Campanile in Los Angeles – makes this famed Spanish sauce using toasted almonds and hazelnuts, an oven-roasted tomato, a roasted pepper, toasted bread, and red wine vinegar. The ingredients get combined in the food processor.

The egg, meanwhile, is sautéed in extra virgin olive oil, placed on a toasted slice of sourdough batard, and topped with a spoonful of the romesco. What a way to start the morning – though I could eat it any time of day.

An award-winning chef, Mark Peel has quite a history in the restaurant business.

Just out of college, he landed a job peeling vegetables for Wolfgang Puck at Ma Maison. He eventually moved to France for stints at La Tour d’Argent and Le Moulin de Mougins. In 1979, he returned to Los Angeles and began working at Michael’s restaurant. From there he moved north to Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse and, finally, back to Los Angeles to open the original Spago as Wolfgang Puck’s chef de cuisine.

In 1989, he opened both La Brea Bakery and Campanile along with Nancy Silverton and Manfred Krankl.

Small surprise that such a creative mind can take the ordinary egg and elevate it to new heights.

Bon appétit,

Claude S. Weiller
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
California Olive Ranch

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