When I’m in Spain, particularly in the Basque region, I often request this dish for a late breakfast or early lunch, depending upon one’s perspective. It’s like a combination of ratatouille and scrambled eggs and is quite delightful served on hot buttered toast.
preparation time 25 minutes
cooking time about 40 minutes
serves 4
Ingredients
2 red peppers, halved and deseeded
2 green peppers, halved and deseeded
175 ml (6 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil
75 g (3 oz) onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
6 tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and chopped
75 g (3 oz) cured ham, preferably jamón serrano, diced
1 bay leaf
4 medium eggs, lightly beaten
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Put the peppers skin-side up on a I baking tray and brush lightly with a little of the oil. Place under a hot grill until the skin bubbles and blackens. Leave to cool, then peel off the skin and finely slice the peppers.
2 Heat the remaining oil in a saucepan, add the peppers and cook for 5 minutes. Then add the onions and garlic and cook gently, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Stir in the basil and chopped tomatoes and simmer for 5–6 minutes, until the mixture is fairly thick.
3 Add the diced ham and the bay leaf and then season to taste with a little salt and pepper.
4 Slowly pour the beaten eggs into the pan and cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, until they are just set.
5 Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Serve immediately on hot buttered toast or simply accompanied by a dressed salad.
Roasting and peeling the peppers seems like a time-consuming and tiresome exercise. However, although you can omit this step the finished dish will not have such a good flavour, proving that it is worth the effort in the end.