Braised eggs take center stage. This recipe is slightly adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi. In the past I’ve cooked eggs in a chunky tomato sauce, sliced chorizo sausage with local cheese curds and baked in the oven – that’s a weekend breakfast treat for us. Yotam’s recipe caught my eye as it was more substantial and worthy as a dinner meal. There is nothing more tantalizing for our taste buds than spices and herbs…the natural way to enhance the flavor of food and this recipe will definitely awaken the senses. Crunchy bits from the nuts, a bit of heat from the chili flakes and lemon accents with the sumac make this dish one to make again and again.
As clichéd as this sounds, I’ve always maintained that variety is the spice of life and in the case of cooking, even if you’ve never used some of the spices listed below, I encourage you to try at least one. Ground (minced) pork on its own is rather blah but add a bit of cumin and sumac and you’ll wonder why you haven’t tried these spices before. Spices add depth of flavor without adding salt, sugar or calories. Cumin is one of my go-to spices and I use it mixed in a tuna sandwich, potato salad, dips, rice pilaf, chili, sprinkled over salmon or lamb, soup, salsa, and roasted potatoes, cauliflower or carrots etc. In fact, I don’t think there’s a savoury dish out that I haven’t added cumin.
Serves 2
olive oil
medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups of ground pork (or chicken, beef, lamb)
1 to 2 teaspoons sumac (can use lemon zest)
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
1/4 cup pistachios, toasted
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
8 to 10 cherry tomatoes
1/4 to 1/2 cup chicken stock
4 eggs
Greek yogurt, for topping
coriander leaves, chopped for garnish
In a frying pan over medium heat, add a splash of olive oil. Add onion and cook until tender then add garlic and pork. Increase heat and brown meat – stirring occasionally. Season with sumac, chili pepper flakes and cumin. Toss to combine then set aside.
In a small frying pan over high heat add tomatoes and allow to blister; shake pan to move tomatoes around. Remove from heat and set aside.
Reheat meat with chicken stock and bring to a boil. You want to wet the meat, create a sauce – not drown it. Make four small indents in the meat sauce and crack open the eggs. Reduce heat to low, place a lid on the frying pan and cook eggs for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, cover, and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes or until the egg whites are cooked. Remove from heat, add a few dollops of yogurt and sprinkle with sumac and chopped coriander. Serve immediately.
The Culinary Chase’s Note: Make a chunky coriander and parsley dressing and use as a topping. If the yogurt is too thick, thin with a bit of water. Enjoy!
- olive oil
- medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1½ cups of ground pork (or chicken, beef, lamb)
- 1 to 2 teaspoons sumac (can use lemon zest)
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
- ¼ cup pistachios, toasted
- ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
- 8 to 10 cherry tomatoes
- ¼ to ½ cup chicken stock
- 4 eggs
- Greek yogurt, for topping
- coriander leaves, chopped for garnish
- In a frying pan over medium heat, add a splash of olive oil. Add onion and cook until tender then add garlic and pork. Increase heat and brown meat – stirring occasionally. Season with sumac, chili pepper flakes and cumin. Toss to combine then set aside.
- In a small frying pan over high heat add tomatoes and allow to blister; shake pan to move tomatoes around. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Reheat meat with chicken stock and bring to a boil. You want to wet the meat, not drown it. Make four small indents in the meat sauce and crack open the eggs. Reduce heat to low, place a lid on the frying pan and cook eggs for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, cover, and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes or until the egg whites are cooked. Remove from heat, add a few dollops of yogurt and sprinkle with sumac and coriander. Serve immediately.
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