Brunch: Eggs and "Ratatouille"

This morning Dave and I had thought about going for brunch, but we're trying not to eat out as much (plus the coffee we make at home is so good now) so I figured I'd toss something together. Our local brunch spot (the Gem, Davenport & Ossington) has a fantastic dish of poached eggs served over ratatouille and I took a look at what we had in the fridge and came up with the following. It was fantastic. I loved it so much I didn't even take pictures before eating it (not that tomato based stew type dishes are particularly pretty). I loved it so much that I'm writing it down here right away so I remember what I did and can replicate it even though I normally just cook stuff like this based on what's in the fridge! I am doubling it here to give a recipe that should serve 4.

1-2 tbsp canola oil (or olive if you prefer that for cooking)

1 red onion, diced

1 dried sausage (chorizo), thinly sliced

approx. 1 tbsp dried oregano (more or less to taste - I love oregano)

pinch or two of dried chili flakes (or to taste)

approx 1-2 tsp dried thyme (or to taste)

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

8 stalks asparagus, chopped in 3/4 inch lengths

4 tomatoes, peeled* & chopped (or probably 1 can of diced tomatoes would do)

2 handfuls baby spinach, roughly chopped

about 8 leaves fresh basil, minced

salt and pepper to taste

eggs

goat cheese

Heat oil over medium, add onions and cook for a minute. Add sausage and dried herbs and cook until onion is beginning to soften and sausage is browning. Add asparagus and garlic and cook until beginning to soften. Add tomatoes and some salt and simmer until asparagus is cooked to desired consistency and some of the liquid from the tomatoes is evaporated. Stir in spinach an basil until wilted. Remove from heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with fried or poached eggs and crumbled goat cheese.

*to peel tomatoes easily, slice a cross into the bottom then drop into simmering water for about a minute, peels should come off easily. This also works for peaches, or so I've heard. If I have tomatoes that are starting to get too mushy for use in salads, and I won't cook with them right away I toss them in the freezer. A minute under hot water and they peel fairly easily. Chop while still frozen and use as you would normally just with a bit of extra cooking time.