Omlet-e Gojeh Farangi

The more I dig in to Iranian cuisine, the more I realize how much I love it! I mean, I love food in general, but there are certain traditions that resonate with my palate or my food sensibilities. This is a speedy dish that I have made several times for dinners on busy evenings.

This is the Iranian equivalent of shakshuka which is called Omlet-e Gojeh Farangi.

Ingredients

4 servings

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

• 1 Tablespoon harissa (you can use more if you want it more spicy)

• 1 Tablespoon tomato purée

• 2 organic red bell peppers, cored and diced

• 4 to 5 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed with the flat of a knife

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 5 to 6 large organic tomatoes

• 4 eggs

• thick yogurt for serving, I used whole milk Greek yogurt

• freshly ground salt, as needed

• freshly ground pepper, as needed

• fresh herbs for garnish, optional

Procedure

Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add in the harissa, tomato purée, diced red bell peppers, garlic, and ground cumin. Stir and cook until the peppers soften, approximately 8 to 9 minutes. Slice one tomato into wedges and set aside. Then dice the rest of the tomatoes and add them to the pan. Let simmer until you get a thick sauce approximately 10 minutes.

Make four little dips in the sauce and gently break the eggs into the hollow. Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, then nestle the tomato wedges near the eggs. Continue cooking until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still runny, approximately another 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove from the heat and leave to set for a few minutes before serving. You can spoon the eggs and sauce onto individual plates or serve the entire pan at the table. I opted to do the latter. Sprinkled with fresh herbs, if desired, and serve with yogurt.