Chatouka: North African Breakfast Stew

I stole my Mom's copy of River Cottage Veg Every Day! recently and have been absolutely amazed with it.  It's been awhile since I've gotten really excited over a cookbook.  It seems they are all celebrity chef's (and I use the term lightly considering some of them in Ireland have no formal training) trying to pawn off their latest gimmick.  It's gotten tiresome and I find myself avoiding cookbooks for the most part.  This book is a refreshing new take on vegetables.  He says it's not necessarily for vegetarians, but it's certainly not a book of side dishes either. There are some stunning recipes and I shall be working through many of them.

This dish is a gorgeous breakfast full of smoky flavour and rich vegetables.  It's a fabulous start to the day and leaves the kitchen smelling divine.  Keep the olive oil to a minimum and it's quite low in fat as well.  I recommend adding just a pinch of sugar to temper the sharpness of the tinned tomatoes, otherwise I found it perfect as written.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 red pepper, finely sliced
• 1 yellow pepper, finely sliced
• 1/2 tsp smoked hot paprika
• pinch of saffron threads
• 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 4 eggs
• salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a large oven-proof pan.  Add cumin seeds and fry them gently until flavour is released.  Add onions and saute until softened, about 8 minutes.

Add garlic and peppers and continue to cook over a low heat for about twenty minutes until the peppers are soft and wilted. Add paprika and crumble in the saffron, then add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.  Cook gently, stirring occasionally for about 15-20 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F and make four hollows in the surface of the stew.  Crack an egg into each hole and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until white is cooked and yolk is still runny. Alternatively, you could separate the stew into four ramekins and crack the egg on top.

Serves 4

Apologies for the lousy pictures.  My camera is playing up. If anyone knows where to get a Nikon SLR tuned up, please let me know!

Link/Recipe Parties: Strut Your Stuff, Full Plate Thursday