Thomasina Miers’ chipotle baked eggs
INGREDIENTS
Serves 4
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 1 small red (bell) pepper, de-seeded and finely sliced
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp allspice
- few large pinches of Mexican oregano or hoja santa (optional)
- 1 tbsp Chipotle paste or more to taste
- 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes or 700g fresh tomatoes, chopped
- 2–3 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 8 eggs
- Pure Sea Salt
TO SERVE
- 8 corn or flour tortillas (pages 245–6)
- sliced avocado
- handful of coriander leaves or chervil
- Pure Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Tommi Miers has shared with us her go-to Mexican-style breakfast, and we can tell you first hand it’s a winner. Celebrating fresh, seasonal vegetables, earthy pulses and bold herbs, the Wahaca co-founder’s latest book, ‘Meat Free Mexican’, contains recipes simple enough to cook every day but delicious enough to cook for feasts, with seasonal and dairy-free swap-ins to cater for every month and diet.
From Thomasina – The Mexican equivalent of a Middle Eastern shakshuka, this tomato-based smoky dish with baked eggs is a blissfully simple way to start the day, with all the pleasing, sweet, smoky flavours of a tomato-chipotle sauce. Mop up with tortillas or other flatbreads.
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/375°F/gas 5.
- Warm the olive oil in a large ovenproof frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat – you can transfer to an ovenproof dish later. Add the onion, garlic, pepper and chilli. Season with a few pinches of salt and fry gently for 20 minutes until the pepper is soft and sweet.
- Add the spices and herbs, if using, cook for another 30 seconds, then add the chipotle, tomatoes, sugar and vinegar with another big pinch of salt. The amount of sugar needed to season this will depend on whether you are using tinned or fresh tomatoes and their ripeness. Pour in 250ml (8fl oz) water, then simmer for 15 minutes until the sauce has reduced a little but you still have a lovely loose sauce for enveloping the eggs. Taste to check the seasoning.
- Make small indents in the sauce and crack in the eggs. Bake in the oven for 12–15 minutes until the whites are just set.
- While the eggs are cooking, warm the tortillas and serve with the avocado and torn coriander leaves.
RECIPE: Thomasina Miers from her book Meat Free Mexican. Published by Hodder & Stoughton. Photography by Tara Fisher.
