Ojja Bil Merguez

Ingredients

• 8 merguez sausages
• 6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced, or 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 red pepper, cut into strips
• 1 green pepper, cut into strips
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tbsp harissa
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground caraway
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 120 ml water
• 8 eggs
• Salt and black pepper
• Crusty bread, to serve

Before you cook

• Peel and dice the tomatoes, or open the tin.
• Cut the peppers into strips and dice the onion.
• Crack the eggs into a jug, keeping the yolks whole.

Steps

1. Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy frying pan over medium heat.
2. Add the diced onion and cook for 2 minutes, until it begins to soften.
3. Add the crushed garlic and cook for 3 minutes over low heat, stirring so it does not colour.
4. Stir in the tomato puree and the harissa and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add the tomatoes, peppers, chilli, cumin, coriander, caraway, water, salt and pepper.
6. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, until the peppers are limp and the sauce is thick and red.
7. Nestle the merguez into the sauce.
8. Cover and cook for 20 minutes over low to medium heat, turning the sausages once.
9. Taste the sauce and add more harissa if you want more heat.
10. Pour the eggs over the surface of the sauce.
11. Cover and cook for 3 minutes, until the whites turn cloudy.
12. Drag a fork through the eggs twice to break them into loose ribbons.
13. Cook for another 2 minutes, until just set, then take the pan straight to the table with plenty of bread.