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Ojja bil Merguez

A hot and peppery Tunisian omelet.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 6

Ingredients

3–4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 medium potatoes, cubed or diced
1–2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon harissa (see page 464), or 1 teaspoon paprika and a good pinch of ground chili pepper
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons crushed caraway seed
6 small merguez or other spicy sausages, sliced
6 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the potatoes and sauté lightly. Add tomato paste, the harissa diluted in a drop of water or the paprika and chili pepper, the garlic, and the caraway seeds. Pour in just enough water to cover, and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes. Add the sausages and cook for a further 15 minutes. Let the liquid evaporate over high heat.

    Step 2

    Pour in the eggs, add salt, and cook, stirring, until the eggs set to a soft, creamy consistency.

    Step 3

    Serve hot.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
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