Everyone has a preference. Scrambled, Poached, Fried (sunny side up, over easy ), boiled. For some reason I always feel at ease with my kids if they have an egg, nothing else in their diet for that day matters, I know they have had a good dose of goodness. This is one versatile ingredient, putting aside soufflé, angel food cakes, pavlova and anything requiring an egg to make the recipe work. The egg shines in its own capacity, most commonly as a weekend breakfast. And they are so simple to prepare. Omlettes are just scrambled eggs but less stirring and few more added bits and pieces.
I made oeuf en cocotte (eggs in pots) for Mother Days a couple of weeks ago when back in Sydney, again was so so easy and really was special. I used sautéed spinach in the bottom of each ramekin and cracked a couple of my sisters home grown eggs from her Silkie chooks (so cute) that produce slightly smaller eggs, a dash of cream, salt and pepper, bake for 5 minutes and presto done. You could add smoked salmon, ham, I served ours with long crispy wedges of bacon and crunchy toast. Oh and the obligatory glass of Moet.
Moving on, this recipe is called Shakshouka. Due to the controversy of its origins (Tunisian, Egyptian, Lebanese, Moroccan, Israeli…) I will say its an arabic tomato and onion based stew with baked eggs on top. Similar to the Mexican Huevos rancheros (sort of), it is generally made up of peppers / capsicum, onions, tomatoes (I find the tinned whole plums rich and delish), cooked down with a mixture of spices, usually with a kick (harissa or chilli), a bit of smoke (paprika), a bit of fragrance (cumin) and anything else that suits your taste. Eggs are then baked on top and into this dish.
Google it and you will see plenty of recipes adding feta, chick peas, meatballs, even chorizo (yum). Its really up to you. Its a healthy and nourishing dish for vegetarians, an easy dish for one, a great TV dinner.
I like to serve it with crusty bread or really soft fluffy arabic bread (softer than pita) and generous drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil.
- 4 eggs
- 1 large red pepper / capsicum sliced
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 1 tin whole plum tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (I used chipotle powder)
- 1-2 teaspoons of harissa (depending on the heat level)
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- In a heavy pan, sauté peppers, onions in 1 tablespoon olive oil for 5-10 minutes until softened
- Add the spices, herbs, harissa and tomato paste
- Add the tomatoes and a tin of water and break up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon and simmer for another 10 minutes until the mixture is a soft thick stew.
- Either serve the stew into individual pots or keep in the pan.
- Crack the eggs over the top and place under a grill for 4-5 minutes or just cover the pan on the stove and steam until eggs are just set - they need to be runny so that when you dunk your break into it, it seeps into the rest of the stew.
- Serve while piping hot with bread and olive oil!
Yum! I love this dish with chickpeas as you have suggested and those silkie’s eggs are the best I have ever eaten. Was only thinking about them this morning. Such an incredible colour x