Baked Eggs with Crushed Chickpeas, Chorizo, and Bread Crumbs

Every so often I will come across a dish that I have never even heard of and think to myself “have I been living in a box?”  More likely, I just haven’t been exposed the the bounty of other cuisines in the world and have found myself deprived.  So it was with baked eggs in a savory tomato sauce.  Pretty much every Mediterranean cuisine has a version of it: the Italians have Eggs in Purgatory (an amazing name!), in northern African countries it’s referred to as Shakshuka.   Essentially you bake eggs in a spicy, flavourful tomato based sauce and eat it along side bread or pita.

I have recently been obsessed with Alison Roman’s cookbook, Dining In, and could not resist when I came across her version of Shakshuka.  She adds meat and chickpeas, neither traditional, but the result is divine (no purgatory needed here).  The chickpeas allow the eggs to sit up above the dish which makes it easy to determine when they are done.

A few notes: chorizo is a spicy Spanish/ Mexican pork sausage that is usually found cured.  You can find it in the meat section of most grocery stores and delis.  Alison calls for 2 medium tomatoes, but I have found that 5 or 6 canned whole plum tomatoes works when tomatoes are not in season (so soon!).

This dish is finished off with chopped herbs and bread crumbs.  Roman includes a recipe for spicy herbed breadcrumbs that is delicious here, but any breadcrumbs will work in a pinch.  If you want to make your own: heat a saucepan over medium high heat and add 1 cup of bread crumbs, salt, pepper, 1 tsp of dried chili flakes, and 1 Tbsp of olive oil.  Stir and brown the breadcrumbs, being careful not to let them get too dark.  Remove from the heat and add a few Tbsp of chopped herbs (I use parsley, thyme, and tarragon).  The breadcrumbs will keep in the freezer for several months, and are great on most everything!

Baked Eggs with Crushed Chickpeas, Chorizo, and Bread Crumbs
Alison Roman, Dining In

2 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
6 oz. dried chorizo, thinly sliced
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium tomatoes, chopped (see note)
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 large eggs
3/4 cup spicy, herby bread crumbs (see noted)
1/4 cup coarsly chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
3/4 cup full- fat Greek yogurt, labne or sour cream (optional)

Place an oven rack in the top third of the oven and preheat to 400F.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chorizo, onion and cumin and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring every so often, until the chorizo has rendered some of that fiery orange fat and the onions are softened and beginning to brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the tomatoes have totally softened and released their juices, 5 to 8 minutes.

Add the chickpeas and season with salt and pepper. Stir to coat the chickpeas in everything and using the back of a wooden spoon, crush them lightly (you don’t want to mash them, just break them up a bit). Add 1/4 cup of water and let everything simmer together, further crushing those chickpeas if they need it, until the liquid has reduced by half and all the flavours are mingling, 5 to 8 minutes.

Using the back of a spoon or spatula, make four little evenly spaced nests in the skillet of chickpeas. Crack the eggs into the chickpeas and season with salt and pepper. Place the skillet on the top rack in the oven and bake until the whites of the eggs are just set and the egg yolks are still runny, 5 to 7 minutes.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the bread crumbs and parsley. Serve with yogurt if you like.