Shakshuka

Photo: flickr user Or Hiltch

Ingredients

1 Green peppers, depending on

2 Onions

8 smalls Tomatoes

Butter, or olive oil

Salt and black pepper

6 Eggs

Preparation

Cut the peppersopen and remove the cores and seeds. Cut them into strips. Slice the onions and cut the tomatoes in half.

Fry the onions and peppers in butter or oil in a large frying pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and let them stew gently in their own juices. When the peppers are soft, add the halved tomatoes and continue cooking until they, too, are soft. Taste the mixture, adding more seasoning if necessary. Drop the eggs in whole, and cook until set. Season again if necessary, and serve.

In some versions, the eggs are not left whole but are stirred and blended with the vegetables to achieve a creamy texture.

NOTES:My usual recipe (although I really prefer eating it out when I'm at the open-air market) comes from Claudia Roden's book - _A Book of Middle Eastern Food_. She says:"This is a dish of Tunisian origin which today is eaten in most Middle Eastern countries."