Turkish-style baked eggs with yogurt, tomatoes and sage
This is a seriously hot recipe. Burning hot, actually, since I slightly injured myself cooking it the other night. Gotta be careful with those scalding skillets. Oh well. It’s one of my favourite egg recipe, largely but not entirely filched from Yotam Ottolenghi, and if one is to suffer for one’s culinary art, this is one to do it for.
This is a recipe for two. It works fine for breakfast, but I much prefer it for brunch or, better still, dinner. It marries the popular Persian spinach-and-eggs blend with a Turkish yogurt style arrangement — and gets something quite scrumptiously distinct out of it. The cherry tomatoes in the photo are my own addition.
I cook and serve it in cast-iron pans with Israeli olives and hot pita bread on the side. But be warned: those pans get seriously hot in the oven, and woe betide the Middle Feast chef who absent-mindedly sticks his hand in to retrieve them without adequate covering. He may need an extra glass of red to go with the dish.
4 large eggs
2 tbsp olive oil
250g rocket (Ottolenghi suggests 300g. I think that’s too much.)
150g (about five heaped Tbsp) Greek yoghurt
1 garlic clove, crushed
a tsp mix of chilli flakes plus sweet paprika
50g (3 1/2 tbsp) unsalted butter
6 sage leaves, shredded
12 cherry tomatoes halved
salt
Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F)
Place the rocket and olive oil in a large pan and sprinkle over a little salt. Sauté on a medium heat for a few minutes, until the rocket wilts and most of the liquid has evaporated.
Transfer to a small baking dish (or leave in the pan, if ovenproof) and make four indentations in the cooked rocket. Carefully (carefully, because, like shakshuka, this really doesn’t work with broken eggs) break an egg into each hollow then place in the preheated oven to cook for 10-15 minutes, or until whites are set. But not overset, mind. Again, like shakshuka, the trick is to keep those yolks yolky.
While the eggs are baking make your garlic yoghurt and chilli butter. First, stir the garlic through the yoghurt and season generously with salt. If the yogurt is too cold from having been in the fridge, whack it in the microwave for 10 seconds. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter then add a pinch of salt and the kirmizi biber (or chilli flakes and paprika, which is what I prefer) and fry for a couple of minutes until the butter starts to foam and take on a golden red hue. Add the sage and cook for a few more seconds. Remove from heat. When your eggs are ready, take them out of the oven. Spoon on a large dollop of the yoghurt and pour over the hot chilli butter. Add the tomatoes on top. You’re ready to roll.