North African Eggs

These are from Gordon Ramsay's Home Cooking. Rose loves Ramsay's cookbooks and I definitely have come around to her way of thinking. Not only are the recipes generally simple and well conceived but they always work. Someone really tested these and, the state of cookbook testing being what it is these days, I appreciate that a lot!

This is essentially eggs poached in a flavorful tomato sauce. It makes a wonderful meatless meal and is a lot more filling than you would think. Gordon Ramsay suggests them for breakfast but I'm just not that adventurous in the morning.

We serve them with a crusty sourdough roll and it makes a simple and exotic meal.


North African Eggs

Olive oil, for frying
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1 green pepper, seeded and diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 red chili, seeded and chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
5 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped (add a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes aren’t quite ripe)
4 eggs
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve

1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1 green onion, trimmed and finely chopped
Crusty bread

METHOD

Serves 2-4

Heat a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. Add a dash of oil and sweat the onion for 5 minutes until soft. Add the peppers and continue to sweat for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and chili and fry for 1–2 minutes until soft and tender.

Add the cumin and fry for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes, season and cook for 15–20 minutes until the tomatoes have completely collapsed (add 3–4 tablespoons of water to the mixture if the tomatoes aren’t that moist). The mixture should be the consistency of a thick sauce. Stir to mix well, taste and adjust the seasoning.

Make 4 wells in the tomato mixture and break an egg into each well. Cover the pan and cook gently over a medium-low heat for 5–6 minutes, or until the egg white is set and the yolk is still a little runny.

Serve sprinkled with coriander leaves and chopped green onion, plus plenty of crusty bread on the side to mop up any juices.