Jachnun with Zhug and Grated Tomato

Ingredients

• 4 cups (500g) bread flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cups water, room temperature
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil, plus 1/2 cup more for coating the dough balls
• 1 cup (2 sticks) margarine or unsalted butter, very soft
• 8 large eggs, in the shell
• 1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 to 3 jalapeño or serrano chiles, stemmed
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 3 tbsp olive oil, for the zhug
• 1/2 tsp salt, for the zhug
• 4 ripe tomatoes
• 1 tbsp olive oil, for the tomato
• Salt, to taste, for the tomato

Before you cook

• In a stand mixer with the dough hook, combine the flour, sugar, salt, water, and 3 tablespoons vegetable oil and knead on medium for about 8 minutes, until you get a smooth, slightly sticky dough.
• Divide the dough into 8 equal balls and place them in a container with the extra 1/2 cup vegetable oil, turning each ball to coat it completely.
• Cover and let the oiled dough balls rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or refrigerate them for up to 24 hours — this long soak is what makes the dough stretch paper-thin without tearing.
• Working with one oiled ball at a time on an oiled surface, stretch and pat the dough out by hand into as thin and large a sheet as you can manage, ideally translucent, patching any tears with a scrap of dough.
• Spread a thin layer of soft margarine over the entire stretched sheet.
• Fold the sheet in from both sides toward the middle, then fold again into a long, narrow strip, layering the fat between the folds.
• Coil the folded strip into a tight spiral, tucking the loose end underneath.
• Repeat with the remaining dough balls, then place all the coiled spirals snugly into a heavy, well-greased pot or a deep baking dish so they hold their shape.
• Nestle the whole raw eggs, in their shells, into any gaps between and on top of the dough spirals.
• Cover the pot tightly with a lid or a double layer of foil.

Steps

1. Preheat your oven to 225°F.
2. Set the covered pot in the oven and bake undisturbed for 10 to 12 hours, or overnight — resist opening the lid, since the low, steady heat is what caramelizes the dough.
3. In the morning, check that the dough has turned deep golden-brown to mahogany on top and the eggs have gone soft brown and creamy — if it looks pale, re-cover and give it another hour.
4. Once the jachnun is out of the oven, toast the cumin, coriander, and cardamom in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 1 minute, until fragrant, then let them cool.
5. Combine the toasted spices, cilantro, chiles, and garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
6. With the processor running, drizzle in the 3 tablespoons olive oil and the 1/2 teaspoon salt for the zhug and blend until you have a coarse, spoonable green sauce.
7. Grate the tomatoes on the large holes of a box grater directly into a bowl, discarding the leftover skins.
8. Stir the 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt into the grated tomato.
9. Carefully lift the baked dough spirals out of the pot and unroll each one gently on a cutting board.
10. Peel the slow-baked eggs and halve them.
11. Serve each portion with an unrolled jachnun spiral, half a peeled egg, a spoonful of grated tomato, and a dollop of zhug on the side.