Chilli eggs

Delia’s complete cookery course, 640pp.
by Delia Smith
BBC Books, Random House, London, 2008
Cooking on page 32

As usual, I was snooping through someone’s bookcases and found this classic edition of this Delia Smith cookbook first published in 1978. I could hardly count all the editions and reprints there have been, so I gave up trying. This edition has been completely revised and updated but, according to the back cover, still contains all the established favourites.

I’m not sure whether page 32 is an oldie, but it definitely looks like a goodie with ingredients our family loves.

Chilli eggs

Ingredients
4 fresh eggs
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, de-seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp hot chilli powder
½ tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp oregano (or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil)
few drops of tabasco
14 oz tin Italian tomatoes (400 g)
4 oz Cheddar cheese (110g), grated
salt and freshly milled black pepper
freshly chopped parsley, to serve

Method
Heat the oil in the frying pan and fry the chopped onion, pepper and garlic gently for about 10 minutes. Stir in the chilli and cumin powders and add the oregano along with a few drops of tabasco. Mix thoroughly and then add the contents of the tin of tomatoes.

Turn up the heat a bit and let the mixture cook uncovered for about 10 minutes or until the tomatoes have reduced to a thick pulp. Season with salt and freshly milled black pepper.

Carefully break the eggs into the pan on top of the mixture. Sprinkle the cheese all over the eggs and cover the pan with a close-fitting lid or a suitably sized plate. Lower the heat and simmer gently for about 10–15 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked to your liking. Alternatively, you can place the pan under a hot grill until the cheese is bubbling and the eggs are just set (7 minutes for soft eggs, 10 for well done).

Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with lots of bread or toast to dunk into the juices. Serves 2.

How it played out
There were three of us this morning, so I made a batch and a half, using six free-range eggs. My only other change was to use a fresh chilli because I was completely out of chilli powder. And I used a tin of tomatoes, plus two fresh ones.

The tomatoes reduced to a pulp within 8 minutes, and the final stovetop simmer was too long for our liking. We prefer slightly runnier yolks and these were firmly set after 10 minutes. I think 8–9 minutes would have been enough.

A single batch of the sauce would have been enough. We had sauce leftover—enough for two on toast tomorrow.

Verdict
Absolutely delicious way to serve eggs. We loved them for breakfast. Add a salad (and a bit of bacon) and they’d make a great dinner on a lazy day. Also easy to adjust the amount of chilli and final cooking time to suit your preferences.

Travel
We’ve had some fabulous breakfasts on our travels. A particular favourite was the amazing egg dish—arepas con heuvos—in Cartagena, Colombia. I really must try to make them at home.

Photo by linkyh

Photo by lazyme