Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas food as much as the next girl - mince pies, turkey, Xmas pud, the lot. But if you're looking for a new recipe to try at this time of year it's all a bit samey - there's only so many things you can do with mincemeat.
Husband was off to his Christmas party, so I wanted to find something interesting to make that would taste great but not take too much effort, as there was likely to be some naughty puppy behaviour to contend with.
This certainly hit the spot. I've recently been mesmerised by Yotam Ottolenghi's Mediterranean series. It's impossible not to be engaged by his passion for flavours and the dishes don't rely on time consuming techniques - the ingredients speak for themselves.
I've tweaked it a bit, mainly as I didn't have fresh herbs but I also used roast peppers from a jar to cut down the cooking time. It's quite a simple recipe but the flavours are beautifully intense.
This dish is traditionally for breakfast but I'd be more than happy to have it any time of day. Maybe twice.
Husband was off to his Christmas party, so I wanted to find something interesting to make that would taste great but not take too much effort, as there was likely to be some naughty puppy behaviour to contend with.
This certainly hit the spot. I've recently been mesmerised by Yotam Ottolenghi's Mediterranean series. It's impossible not to be engaged by his passion for flavours and the dishes don't rely on time consuming techniques - the ingredients speak for themselves.
I've tweaked it a bit, mainly as I didn't have fresh herbs but I also used roast peppers from a jar to cut down the cooking time. It's quite a simple recipe but the flavours are beautifully intense.
This dish is traditionally for breakfast but I'd be more than happy to have it any time of day. Maybe twice.
Ingredients:
1 tsp cumin seeds
Oil
1 large onion sliced
100g chorizo cut into small pieces
4 large roast peppers cut into 2cm strips
1 tsp muscovado sugar
2 bay leaves
2 tsp thyme
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tin chopped tomatoes
½ tsp saffron threads
A pinch cayenne pepper
Up to 250ml water
6 free-range eggs
salt and black pepper
1 tsp cumin seeds
Oil
1 large onion sliced
100g chorizo cut into small pieces
4 large roast peppers cut into 2cm strips
1 tsp muscovado sugar
2 bay leaves
2 tsp thyme
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tin chopped tomatoes
½ tsp saffron threads
A pinch cayenne pepper
Up to 250ml water
6 free-range eggs
salt and black pepper
How to make it:
1. In a very large pan dry-roast the cumin seeds on a high heat for 2 minutes.
2. Add the oil, chorizo and onions and sauté for 5 minutes.
3. Add the peppers, sugar and herbs and continue cooking on a high heat for a few minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, garlic, saffron, cayenne and some salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. During the cooking, keep adding water so that the mix has a passata consistency.
5. Taste and adjust the seasoning. It should be potent and flavoursome.
6. Remove the bay leaves, then divide the pepper mix between 2 deep frying pans, each large enough to take a generous individual portion.
7. Place them on a medium heat to warm up, then make three gaps in the pepper mix in each pan and carefully break an egg into each gap.
8. Sprinkle with salt and cover the pans with lids. Cook on a very(!) gentle heat for 10-12 minutes, or until the eggs are just set. Sprinkle with extra parsley and serve.
Recipe from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi
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