African Eggs/ Shakshura

Serves 2

Ingredients:

125g chorizo, sliced

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 red pepper, diced

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

Chilli powder, to taste- depending on the heat of your chorizo

2 TBS tomato paste

1 Tin chopped tomato

150g Rosa tomatoes, halved

1 cup chicken stock/water

1 TBS sugar

Salt and Pepper

4 eggs

Basil

Ciabata/baguette to serve

Method:

Heat a large oven proof pan/ casserole dish, and fry the chorizo until crispy.

Remove the chorizo from the pan, and sauté the onions in the chorizo oil until soft and translucent. Add the red peppers and garlic and cook till golden brown.

Add the paprika, cumin and chilli powder and cook until fragrant before adding the tomato paste and cooking for a further 2 minutes.

Add the tinned tomatoes, Rosa tomatoes and water. Season well with salt and pepper and add the sugar. Cover the pan/ casserole with a lid and cook, stirring occasionally and adding more liquid if necessary, for 25-30 minutes, until the tomatoes are sweet and well cooked.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C.

Remove the lid, and return the chorizo to the pan. Allow all the liquid to reduce, until you are left with a thick, tomatoey mass.

Using the back of a spoon, make 4 indentations into the tomato, and crack an egg into each.  Place the dish into the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes until the egg whites are set and the yolks are still a little runny(if you don’t like runny yolks, just leave them in a little longer).

Remove from the oven, top with basil and serve with chunks of fresh ciabata or baguette.

This is also really delicious topped with a chopped avocado salsa, with loads of coriander and lime juice!

Hidden Centre Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Makes 12-16

Ingredients:

250g butter

330g self raising flour

500ml sugar

4 eggs

Zest of 1 lemon

250ml milk

Lemon curd:

1 cup white sugar

3 eggs

1 cup lemon juice

Zest of 3 lemons

½ cup butter

Icing:

3 egg whites

1 cup sugar

½ cup water

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 C.

Cream the butter and sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then gradually add the egg, beating well in between each addition.

Sift the flour into the butter mixture and fold together. When almost completely incorporated, add the milk.

Fill the cupcake cases 2/3 of the way. Place in the oven and turn down to 180 C. Bake for 15 minutes or until ever so slightly golden.

Lemon Curd:

In the meantime, whisk the sugar and eggs together until smooth. Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest and butter.

Cook in the microwave in one minute intervals, whisking after each minute until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.

Remove from the microwave, and allow to cool.

Icing:

Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Place on the heat and boil until the sugar to 121°C.

In the meantime beat the egg whites until stiff. Then slowly beat in the hot sugar syrup.

Spoon out a cavity in the centre of the cupcakes and fill it with lemon curd. Spoon the icing on top and burn it with a blow torch.