Baked eggs with spicy sausage and labna

Name: Baked eggs with spicy sausage and labna
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 1 tsp cumin seeds; 1/2 tsp caraway seeds; 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil; 1 spicy chorizo sausage, chopped; 1 red onion, sliced; 3 cloves garlic, chopped; 1/2 tsp sea salt; 2 red capsicums, diced; 1 tsp thyme leaves, chopped; 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped; 1 tsp smoked paprika; 1 tbsp store-bought harissa; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 2 tsp red wine vinegar; 2 tsp honey; 2 x 400g tins good-quality diced tomatoes; 8 medium free-range eggs; 1/2 cup labna, room temperature; small handful of fresh coriander leaves; crusty bread, to serve

Neil Perry

March 19, 2019

One-pot wonder: Baked eggs with chorizo sausage and cooling labna.William Meppem

Time:30 mins - 1 hourServes:4

The baked eggs 'shakshuka' can be a one-pan dish if you have a large, ovenproof, cast-iron pan. Alternatively, make the sauce, put it in an ovenproof dish and bake the eggs in that. Individual ramekins can also be used.

Ingredients

1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 spicy chorizo sausage, chopped
1 red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 red capsicums, diced
1 tsp thyme leaves, chopped
1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp store-bought harissa
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp honey
2 x 400g tins good-quality diced tomatoes
8 medium free-range eggs
1/2 cup labna, room temperature
small handful of fresh coriander leaves
crusty bread, to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 180C.
Heat a wide large, cast-iron, ovenproof pan over medium heat. Add in cumin and caraway seeds and fry until fragrant. Remove and reserve. Add 2 tbsp of oil and pan fry the chorizo. Remove and reserve with spices.
Pour in remaining oil, heat, then add onion, garlic and salt and cook for 5 minutes. Add the capsicum, thyme and parsley and fry until mixture gets a good colour. Add the paprika then put the chorizo and spices back in and stir until fragrant.
Add harissa and tomato paste. Continue to stir to slightly colour, then add vinegar, honey and tinned tomatoes. Bring sauce to a simmer and cook slowly for 12-15 minutes. The sauce should have a great flavour and be slightly thickened but not too thick as we need to cook the eggs in it. Add water if needed.
Take off the heat and make 8 wells in the sauce. Crack an egg into each well and use a fork to stir the white into the sauce without breaking the yolk. Place in the oven and bake until the eggs are cooked to your liking, about 10 to 15 minutes, checking regularly.
As soon as it's out of the oven, dot with spoonfuls of labna, sprinkle with coriander and serve with lots of crusty bread.