Shakshouka

Method16 steps

1. 1

   Step 1: Peel and slice all four garlic cloves. Keep the sliced garlic ready for the dry pan.

   Uses 4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

2. 2

   Step 2: Warm a frying pan over medium heat and dry-toast the prepared garlic with black pepper to taste just until fragrant, stirring and watching carefully so the garlic does not burn.

   Uses All prepared sliced garlic · Ground black pepper, to taste

3. 3

   Step 3: Wash and chop all the tomatoes (250 g), keeping them ready to add after the olive-oil infusion.

   Uses 250 g fresh tomatoes, washed and chopped

4. 4

   Step 4: Add all forty millilitres extra-virgin olive oil (40 ml) to the fragrant garlic-pepper pan and heat gently for one minute to infuse it.

   Infuse olive oil with garlic and black pepper · 1 minUses All dry-toasted garlic and black pepper · 40 ml extra-virgin olive oil

5. 5

   Step 5: Keep the chopped tomatoes and seasoning salt beside the pan. Have a well-fitting lid ready for the tomato simmer.

   Uses All prepared chopped tomatoes · Salt for tomato sauce, to taste

6. 6

   Step 6: Add all the prepared tomatoes to the infused oil and season with salt to taste. Cover with the lid and simmer gently for five minutes until the tomatoes soften.

   Covered tomato simmer · 5 minUses The complete infused pan · All chopped tomatoes and salt as desired

7. 7

   Step 7: Take off the lid carefully and keep the softened tomato pan over gentle heat, ready to mash and reduce.

   Uses The complete tomato pan

8. 8

   Step 8: Mash the softened tomatoes with a spoon and simmer uncovered until the sauce reaches the thickness you want, stirring so it does not catch.

   Uses All softened tomato sauce

9. 9

   Step 9: Have all four eggs ready beside the stove. Lower the tomato pan heat before adding them, so the egg bottoms will cook gently.

   Uses 4 eggs

10. 10

    Step 10: Make four wells in the reduced sauce, clearing down to the pan surface. Crack one egg carefully into each well so its base touches the pan, keeping the yolks intact if possible.

    Uses The complete reduced tomato sauce · All four eggs

11. 11

    Step 11: Check the four eggs are in their separate wells and cover the pan with the well-fitting lid. Keep the heat low.

    Uses The complete pan with all four eggs

12. 12

    Step 12: Cook the covered egg-and-tomato pan for five minutes without lifting the lid, keeping a gentle heat so the egg bottoms do not scorch.

    Covered egg cooking over gentle heat · 5 minUses The whole covered pan

13. 13

    Step 13: Take the covered pan off the direct heat, leaving the lid in place for the short residual-heat finish.

    Uses The complete covered egg pan

14. 14

    Step 14: Let the covered pan stand off the heat for one to two minutes. Remove the lid and check the eggs are cooked through with set whites and yolks; continue over gentle heat if needed, to 71 °C /160 °F for the egg centre.

    Off-heat covered egg finish · 2 minUses The entire covered pan off the heat

15. 15

    Step 15: If serving with flatbread, warm the ready-made flatbread and keep it ready beside the finished pan.

    Uses Ready-made flatbread to serve, as desired

16. 16

    Step 16: Serve the four cooked eggs with all their garlic-tomato sauce straight from the pan, with the optional warmed flatbread alongside.

    Uses All four cooked eggs and tomato sauce · The prepared flatbread, if selected