North African Shakshuka

Slice Onions and Red peppers thin — the onion into half-moons, the peppers into fingers about the width of your little finger. Slice Garlic — a little chunky is fine, it will soften into the sauce rather than disappear. Pick the Coriander leaves and set them aside, then finely chop the stalks. The stalks carry most of the flavour and go into the sauce. Tip Whole peeled tomatoes into a bowl and crush them with your hands until no whole tomatoes are left. Crushing by hand leaves a rougher, sweeter sauce than a blender.

⚠ Tip: Keep the juice from the tin too — it is part of the sauce.

Warm 4 tbsp Olive oil in a wide, heavy pan over medium heat. Add the onion and peppers with a pinch of Salt. Cook slowly, stirring now and then, until they collapse and turn glossy — about 15 min. They should soften, not brown.

⚠ Tip: If they start colouring, drop the heat: browned vegetables make a bitter sauce.

Push the vegetables aside and add Garlic, the chopped coriander stalks, Harissa, Ground cumin, Smoked paprika and Cayenne pepper if you want more heat. Stir in the hot fat for 1 min, until the whole pan smells sweet and smoky and the oil turns deep red.

⚠ Tip: Harissa catches in seconds. Keep it moving and pull the pan off the heat if it smells acrid.

Pour in the crushed tomatoes and their juice. Season with Ground black pepper and another pinch of Salt. Simmer uncovered over medium heat for 20 min, stirring every few minutes, until the sauce is thick enough to hold a trench when you drag a spoon through it.

⚠ Tip: This is the step people rush. A loose sauce leaves the eggs floating in pink water — cook until it is nearly jam.

Turn the heat to low. Make 4 shallow wells in the sauce with the back of a spoon — big enough to cradle each egg without it spilling across the surface. Crack 4 Eggs into the wells, one at a time, keeping the yolks whole.

⚠ Tip: Crack each egg into a cup first; a bad egg will not ruin the whole pan.

Cover the pan and let the eggs poach over low heat for 6 min, until the whites are set and opaque but the yolks still wobble when you nudge the pan. Check at 5 min — they turn fast.

⚠ Tip: If the bottom threatens to catch, run a spatula under the sauce; do not stir the eggs.

Take the pan off the heat. Scatter over the coriander leaves and, if you like, crumble Feta across the top. Put the pan in the middle of the table with plenty of bread and eat immediately, while the yolks are still loose.