A 20-minute showstopper - Ideally served with runny yolks and sliced baguette - Ojja takes “egg and soldiers” to a whole new level. Not to be confused with another Tunisian classic “Shakshuka” - Ojja’s main difference is the addition of meat, usually Merguez from your local butcher. Recipe by Lamiri Harissa.
Main INGREDIENTS
- Eggs
Ingredients
Method
Ingredients
- Merguez 250-300g
- Lamiri Harissa: 1-2Tbsp (mild - hot)
- Eggs 1 per person: 5 used here
- Pepper of choice 200g: Suggest 2-3 Romano peppers for medium heat or 2-3 Bell for mild
- Tomatoes 350g: 5-6 medium
- Tomato puree: 2-3Tbs
- Onion: 1 small onion
- Water: 1/2 cup
- Garlic: 2-3cloves
- Ground Caraway: 1tsp
- Tabil (or Ras El Hanout): 1tsp
- Olive oil: 2-3 Tbsp
- Pinch of Salt + Pepper
- Parsley: For garnish
- Bread: Traditional baguette
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Method
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1Prep:
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2Dice the onion.
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3Remove the seeds and chop the peppers (chunky).
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4Chop the tomatoes into 1/4s.
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5Cooking:
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6Fry or grill Merguez on medium heat then set aside. (if lots of fat is released, drain whilst frying but save to add back in later)
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7To create the “sauce base”: In the casserole on a medium heat, shallow-fry tomato pure, harissa and garlic in olive oil. Then combine chopped onions and sauté until softened, whilst doing this mix in your spices (ground caraway and Tabil) and finally 1/2 cup of water.
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8Now in with your chopped tomatoes, peppers and merguez. Lightly crush tomatoes in the pan with a spatula, add more water if dry then cover with a lid and allow to cook for around 10 minutes or until peppers have softened.
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9Before adding eggs, salt to taste then make small “egg-wells" with a spoon. The key is to crack in and then salt eggs quickly to constantly cook. Cover with a lid and leave for 3-4minutes before checking for runny yolks (if wanted).
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10Remove lid and grind pepper over the eggs, also drizzle over some harissa (mixed with olive oil) and sprinkle chopped parsley. Finally dive in with some baguette and enjoy. Saha!
Cooks Tip:
Use a smokey harissa and finish by mixing in a cup with olive oil and drizzling a swirl over the cooked eggs before serving!
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