Easter Baked Eggs in Spicy Tomato Sauce

The egg is a symbol of Easter for Christians as it represents new life or re birth as Jesus rose from the dead.
As well as millions of chocolate eggs that are available for you to consume, have a look at some other ideas for eating eggs at Easter.
Shakshuka or eggs in purgatory has it origins in Tunisia, some say and Israel likes to claim it as theirs It is also similar to Mexico Huevos Rancheros. So whatever its origins it is so delicious and far more exciting than scrambled eggs or bacon and eggs.

The basic common ingredients are onion, tomato and eggs,and it is served in the pan it is cooked in.
A delicious dish of eggs cooked in a spicy tomato sauce is so satisfying great for all,simple and quick.

If you are having an Easter brunch with family and friends this is a perfect dish to cook. The sauce can be done way ahead and the eggs popped in just before you are ready. If serving to children or guests who don't like spice just adjust accordingly

Serve it with some of your favourite toast to dunk in the egg or warmed pita bread.

Experiment with many different recipes adding bacon, minced meat, spinach, eggplant for a heartier dinner meal. Serve a salad as a side . This will serve 2 or 4 people depending on appetite and whatever else you have with it.

 2 tablespoon Rylstone olive oil

 1 finely chopped onion
 2 cloves finely chopped Garlic

 1/2 red capsicum finely chopped
 8 black olives sliced

 at least 2 Anchovies more if you love them
 1 teaspoon chilli

 1 teaspoon cumin

 1 Tin chopped tomatoes

 4 eggs
handful of chopped coriander and parsley
good chunk of feta
To serve pita or toasted sourdough

Heat the oil in a pan and add the chopped garlic onion and capsicum and cook until onion is transparent. Add the anchovies these will melt into the mix. Add the tomatoes, olives and spices
and leave to simmer for a couple of minutes stirring the mixture. You may season with salt and pepper at this point. Make four wells and add the eggs.
Traditonally you are meant to eat only when the whites are cooked and yolks are runny.
If you would like it slightly more cooked than this cover the pan for a minute. It is nice to have a bit of runny to dip your toast or bread into.
Garnish with chopped herbs and feta .Take your pan to the table.

Spicy Tomato Relish

We just had another beautiful week end at the coast with a great bunch of friends. I went crazy and cooked quite a few dishes out of the Jerusalem cookbook by Ottolenghi. These cookbooks are so good. Put one on your Xmas list if you don't have any. Refreshingly different from the normal, but then I have always loved Middle Eastern  and Jewish food. Really interesting salads and meat dishes, wonderful pulses and grains with spices, delicious! A lot of it not expensive either, but beautiful fresh ingredients and perfect for a big crowd. There are lots of sauces and condiments in them too, a lot based on garlic and lemon.
I am a huge relish, sauce and condiment fan. Maybe I need to write a new recipe book, just for sauces and relishes.
I particularly love making them at Xmas time and this tomato relish is a favourite. They are a great hostess gift or simply lovely to bring out to smarten up the barbequed meat or spread on a yummy sandwich, or fabulous on the morning after bacon and egg roll. Pretty good on a cheese platter with some cheddar or on some toast under a poached egg. Also fabulous to have with pies, sausage rolls or on a burger. Use your imagination ! Far more glamorous than the Aussie tomato sauce from a bottle. The following recipe is as always adaptable. You could add some chillies if you prefer it spicy hot. Start small, maybe 2 and taste as you go.





1 kilo red tomatoes
500 grams onion chopped
4 cloves garlic crushed
400 grams white sugar
500 mls white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds


Chop the onions and garlic and sauté in a little olive oil, in the saucepan you are going to cook the relish. Chop the tomatoes into large dice and add to the onion, garlic mixture with the white wine vinegar. Add the sugar and stir through and bring to a gentle simmer. Finally add the cumin, Worcestershire sauce and yellow mustard seeds. Simmer gently on the stove top, stirring about very ten minutes. As the mixture thickens and reduces it will spit as you stir so be careful. It takes approximately an hour to cook. It should be quite thick.
Spoon into sterilised jars.

Veal Parmigiana

A beautiful simple Italian dish. If you have your tomato passata already made, half the work is done. The veal can be crumbed and cooked well ahead of time with the tomato passata and cheese added right before you are ready to put into the oven. The time in the oven is really only heating time, so it doesn't need much more than 20 minutes, depending on the oven of course. One piece of veal per person, easy for catering purposes, maybe a couple of extra ones for hungry boys !






6 pieces of veal schnitzel
1 large egg
fresh breadcrumbs or Krummies 
Rylstone olive oil
grated cheese mix
I use a blend of mozzarella cheddar and parmesan, if you buy a blended cheese please add extra very good parmesan.








Tomato Sauce/ Passata
Rylstone olive oil
1 large onion finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 kilo fresh Tomatoes, or 3 tins tomatoes
Chopped basil, parsley and chives 

Fry the onion and garlic gently in some Rylstone olive oil, until soft. Add the tomatoes and chopped herbs and simmer for about 15 minutes. If you would like to increase the quantity add some tomato puree like Sugocasa or Pomi.

Break the egg into a bowl and beat. Place a good amount of breadcrumbs onto a flat plate and mix in some salt and pepper if you wish. It is also good to add a couple of tablespoons of grated parmesan to the breadcrumb mix. Dip the veal pieces one at a time into the beaten egg and coat in the breadcrumbs. Press the crumbs into the meat and make sure each piece of the meat is covered well with the crumbs.You may need to use another egg if you are using more pieces of veal.
Heat the oil in a large fry pan and place a couple of the pieces of veal into the hot oil. Do not overcrowd the pan. Cook until browned on each side and remove. Drain on absorbent paper.
Preheat the oven to 175C.
Place the cooked veal into a greased large ceramic baker, so they aren't overlapping each other. You may have to use two dishes. Cover with a good quantity of the Tomato Sauce and the cheese mixture.
Place in the oven for approx 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and the dish is thoroughly heated.
Serve with a green salad or steamed vegetables.