Harissa is a North African spice blend and something I’d highly recommend you get your hands on. You can make your own, or buy it pre-made in most supermarkets sold as either a dry ground mix or a paste. I usually go for the former as it keeps well and is usually better value. Of all the chilli-based spice mixes doing the rounds harissa has an earthy depth of flavour that’s hard to beat.
It can be used in lots of different ways. Try roasting vegetables in olive oil with a sprinkle of harissa spice or make a tasty dipping sauce by mixing it with Greek yogurt or mayonnaise. One of my favourites is harissa roasted aubergine with yogurt. Another is these Harissa and Tomato Baked Eggs.
There’s been many a time when I’ve been low on ingredients and needed to make something last minute. Two things I always seem to have knocking around are tinned tomatoes and eggs and so a variation of this recipe appears regularly in our kitchen. It’s about time, this delicious combo got its own blog post.
These are not only easy to make they are easy to eat too. Perfect for brunch, lunch or supper. Eat on their own or with crusty bread and butter. If you can forward plan, you can make the harissa tomato sauce in advance or in batches and save some for another go.
Keep scrolling for the recipe for these Harissa & Tomato Baked Eggs.
Harissa & Tomato Baked Eggs
Serves 2-4
Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 white onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tsp harissa spice mix
400g tin whole plum tomatoes
2-4 eggs
40g feta, crumbled
Sea salt and black pepper
Fresh mint and parsley to serve
Method
Heat the oil in an ovenproof frying pan over a low to medium heat. If you don’t have an ovenproof frying pan, use an ordinary frying pan. Add the cumin seeds and cook for 2 minutes. Add the onion and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic and peppers. Cook for a further 15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes.
Add the harissa spice and stir to coat the onions and peppers. Add the tomatoes and juice. Using the back of a wooden spoon, break down the tomatoes. Season with sea salt and black pepper and cook for 15 minutes.
Whether you are using 2 or 4 eggs, create a hollow for each egg in the tomato mixture and drop an egg into each hollow. If you are not using an ovenproof pan, transfer the tomato mixture to an ovenproof dish before adding the eggs. Transfer to a preheated oven, 180C/gas mark 4. Bake for approx. ten minutes until the white of eggs is set and the yolk is still runny. With about 2 minutes to go, add the crumbled feta on top and return to the oven to finish cooking the eggs.
Serve with chopped herbs and warm crusty bread with butter.
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