Sometimes I like to go to my local spice place and browse around, looking for something interesting that I can incorporate into my cooking. The last time I was there, I ended up bringing home a berbere blend. I did this on the advice of an Uber driver from Eritrea, after my husband asked him about his favorite food from his home country. He actually showed me a Youtube video of a stew being made with berbere, with chicken and whole boiled eggs. I’m going to have to try to recreate that one too, but as for this time, I had a bunch of veggies in the fridge that needed to be used, so I thought I would make a nice vegetarian baked egg dish, similar to a shakshuka, but with a slightly more complex flavor profile.
Being vegetarian, this recipe is slightly higher in carbs than most that I’ll post, but I had no problem fitting it into my overall day’s macros, even after serving it over cauliflower rice. And it’s also dairy-free, which is nice if you’re doing clean keto. If you want to eat dairy, you can just replace the olives with feta cheese. Either way, the saltiness of olives or feta cheese is what makes this recipe pop.
To begin, I sliced half a yellow pepper and half a green pepper into strips. You can just do this with a whole yellow pepper if you want–I just happened to have this sitting around my fridge, so that’s what I used. Cut a medium zucchini lengthwise, then cut each half lengthwise again, then slice them crosswise into thin wedge-shaped pieces. Finally, slice an onion French-style. Heat a stainless steel skillet over medium heat with two tablespoons of olive oil, add the vegetables, sprinkle with a half-teaspoon of salt, and saute for about five minutes, until they begin to soften a little. At this point, add about a tablespoon of minced garlic and saute for one minute more.
Once the garlic becomes fragrant, it’s time to add the spices and liquids. Sprinkle the veggies with 3 tablespoons of your berbere blend. If you can’t find a local place that makes it and don’t feel like buying it off of Amazon, I linked a recipe in the first paragraph of this post. About the only thing that’s difficult to find is the fenugreek, which is frequently carried at Indian grocery stores if you want to buy it locally. Add a tablespoon of tomato paste and stir, toasting the spices and tomato paste a bit. About a minute later, stir in a can of diced tomatoes, making sure to scrape up any spices on the bottom of your pan. Let it simmer for about five minutes, long enough to thicken up a bit.
This recipe makes three servings. If you’re not going to be eating all the servings immediately, only use the number of eggs you need. The eggs won’t reheat well for leftovers, so you’ll want to add a couple of fried or poached eggs to the reheated veggie blend. Since it was my husband and I eating dinner, I cracked four eggs into the pan to bake. Crack the eggs in, quickly spoon a bit of sauce over the whites to help them set, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and put it in a preheated 375-degree oven for 6-10 minutes. Check them after six. You’ll want the whites to be mostly set but the yolks to still be a bit jiggly, so you get the runny yolks enhancing the sauce. Of course, if you don’t like runny yolks, you can let them cook a bit longer. While the eggs are baking, cut 18 small green or kalamata olives in half. Remove the eggs from the oven, sprinkle with the olives, and serve immediately.
African Spiced Baked Eggs
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow pepper sliced into strips
- 1 medium zucchini sliced into wedges
- 1/2 small yellow onion sliced French style
- 1/2 tsp salt plus more to taste
- 2 tbsp avocado or olive oil
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 3 tbsp berbere spice blend
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 6 eggs
- 18 small green or kalamata olives sliced in half
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- Heat the oil in an oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add the pepper, zucchini, and onion and sprinkle with the salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until the vegetables just begin to soften.
- Add the garlic and saute for another minute, then add the berbere spices and tomato paste. Stir to combine with the vegetables and toast for one minute. Add the tomatoes, stirring to loosen any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer for another five minutes, then crack in the eggs and spoon some of the sauce over the whites to help them set.
- Put the skillet in the oven and bake for 6-10 minutes, checking after six minutes. The eggs should still jiggle slightly when you shake the skillet. Sprinkle with the olives and serve immediately, as the eggs will continue to cook from the residual heat in the pan. If you won't be eating all three servings at once, only bake the number of eggs you need, as this will not reheat well.
- Macros per serving (2 eggs with sauce): 385 calories, 10 grams net carbs, 15 grams protein, 26 grams fat.
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