Baked Eggs with Chickpeas and Chorizo

I love it when I find a new cook/chef that I haven’t heard of before, especially if they cook in a manner I’m not used to.  This recipe is from an American Chef, Alison Roman, that has spent time at Bon Appetit and now writes for the New York Times and has her first cookbook out.  It makes a great brunch dish but would be just as good for a lunch or dinner.  The bread crumb topping does make it more involved but they add a delicious crunch and heat to the finished dish so do give them a go if you have the time.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 dried chorizo, thinly sliced (not the ones you find with the sausages)
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4 large eggs

To Serve

• Spicy, Herby bread Crumbs (recipe below)
• Chopped parsley or coriander
• labne, greek yoghurt or sour cream

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius and make sure the top rack is in the top third of the oven.

Heat olive oil in a large oven proof frypan over medium heat.  Add the chorizo, onion and cumin and season with salt and pepper.  Cook stirring occasionally until the onions have softened and the chorizo is releasing its fat , 5-8 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and season again with salt and pepper.  Cook until the tomatoes have totally softened and release there juices, 5-8 minutes.

Add the chickpeas and season with salt and pepper.  Stir to coat the chickpeas in everything and crush them lightly with a wooden spoon.  Add 1/4 cup of water and simmer until the the liquid has reduced by half, 5-8 minutes.

Make 4 little holes in the chickpea mixture with a wooden spoon and crack in the eggs and season with a little salt and pepper (I only added 2 eggs as there was only two of us eating breakfast this morning).  Place the frypan on the top rack of the oven and cook until the egg whites are just set and the yolk still runny about 5-7 minutes, be careful here as the eggs will continue to cook once out of the oven.

Coriander, Spicy Herby Bread Crumbs and yoghurt to serve.

Spicy, Herby Bread Crumbs

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
• 2 tbsp finely chopped herb of choice ie. thyme, oregano

Heat the oil in a large frypan over medium heat.  Add the bread crumbs, chilli flakes and season with salt and pepper.  Cook stirring until the bread crumbs are a deep golden brown and crisp, 5-7 minutes.  Remove from the heat and add the parsley and herb.  Transfer to a small bowl to cool.

This will make more than you need but are delicious and can be used to add crunch to lots of dishes or simply halve the recipe like I did.

Happy Sunday everyone.

Sheryl xx