Sunday, April 10, 2016

Spicy Breakfast and Coffee



We have become big fans of spicy breakfast food.  Whether it's beans, hot sauce and eggs, or leftover vegetable rice, hot sauce, and fish, doubles with "plenty" (meaning hot sauce) or the latest dish which is below, we dig spicy for breakfast.  And an unexpected surprise has been how well coffee pairs with spicy breakfast food.  No special type or flavor of coffee - we take ours straight up black, no cream, no sugar.  Somehow the spiciness of whatever breakfast we are enjoying brings out the best flavor in the coffee.  If you like spicy and coffee, try them together for breakfast sometime.  It's delightful.


Shakshuka
It seems there are many versions of this dish.  The origin is varied as well.  See Shakshuka (don't you just love Wikipedia as a starting point!)
Additionally, there are similar dishes:  Mexican huevos rancheros, Turkish menemen and Egg in Purgatory to name a few.  Because if the confusion and/or wide variety of names on this dish, I can't tell you exactly which dish I made - Shakshuka, Huevos Rancheros, Turisk Mememen or other.  But according to Tom, it's was unbelievably delicious breakfast treat "that I would eat morning, noon and night."  O-kay.  However, I think we will  be coming up with a different name.  The above are too hard to pronounce early in the morning.

1 can tomatoes - I used stewed, peeled, whole because that is what I had
1 onion - chopped
4 cloves of garlic (or more) -chopped
1 t turmeric
1 T Cumin
Hot sauce to taste - I used Mudder In-Law, a super hot Trinidad hot sauce.  I only used a small amount as I didn't want to overwhelm the other flavors.
salt and pepper to taste  
Olive oil  - for sauteing
eggs

I sauteed the onions in a 1T olive oil.  I added the chopped garlic to cook as well.  Once, the onions and garlic were soft, I added the turmeric, cumin, salt and pepper and let them cook for 3 mins or so.  Then I added the can of tomatoes.  Using a wooden spoon, I chopped up the tomatoes in the pan and combined them with the onions, garlic and spices.  Next I stirred in 1 t of Mudder In-Law hot sauce.  I also added 1 more T of olive oil for taste and richness.  I put a lid on it, reduced the heat and let it simmer for 20 - 30 mins, letting all the spices melt together.  After 20-30 mins, the sauce had cooked down a bit and thickened up.  I made a couple of holes in the tomato sauce for the eggs.  This morning it was two eggs I used, but it could have easily have been four or more.  However, beyond four I would double the tomato mixture to assure plenty of saucy goodness.  I carefully cracked the eggs into the individual holes in the sauce and covered it again.  The eggs simmered in the sauce for about 5 mins (depending on how you like your eggs).  But they should be soft and slightly runny for the best taste and texture.  Once cooked to soft, I carefully scooped out as much of the tomato sauce as I could in two bowls.  Then I gently scooped out the eggs (with the accompanying tomato sauce immediately surrounding the eggs) and place each carefully on top the already dished tomato sauce.  These were served  up with bread to mop up the sauce and of course, black coffee (see above).  


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