The weather is always a safe topic of conversation, an opener, whether you know the other person or not. Or persons. Or virtual readers. You.
Brunch recipes are a safe topic too when it comes to food. And eggs. And something called egg curry that involves homemade harissa and hard boiled eggs that are fried, does the job pretty nicely, don’t you think?
Even though it doesn’t have bacon. You can forgive me for that. But it does have fried hard boiled eggs guys. First hard boiled, then fried. You didn’t see that one coming.
Breakfast all day long. Or brunch in my case, since my breakfast is coffee. These days, when it´s finally acceptable to eat breakfast at night, when you can go into a coffee shop or bakery and have a cafe latte with croissants instead of dinner, and believe me when I say a lot of people do, dishes with eggs have to get creative.
How do you like your eggs? For me it’s scrambled or poached, the latter over hot french fries or rice with butter, a meal from my childhood. Or the sophisticated version with creamy mushrooms from dorie.
This one today is probably a new idea. I saw it in David’s blog and couldn’t resist it. Maybe I was hungry? Or wanted to use that homemade harissa I had in the fridge? He posted a beef curry with a pic of the book opened in this recipe.
The picture tempted me, and though I don’t have the book he mentions, the recipe was online. I substituted harissa for all the red chiles, cayenne and garlic it called for. After all, what is harissa but a blitz of dried chiles and garlic mostly, right? Right.
The fried hard boiled eggs are a fun thing to do, and they come together in no time, all blistered and golden.
The flavor is not very different, but there’s a barely there crunch. And the spicy tomato mix is perfect.
Sort of huevos rancheros if you really need a comparison. Which you probably don’t, but I always look for comparisons. Which makes me very annoying. I know. People around me made it clear through the years.
But when it comes to food, comparisons are welcome. To get you in the mood. Food comparisons are good. I’m sticking to that idea.
This would be a great brunch recipe to use those leftover hard boiled eggs, from the last time you took eggs to a picnic and returned home with a few, or miscalculated the amount of deviled eggs you wanted to make. I should probably remind you of it around easter time next year. Fat chance I will remember.
So my advice is to make and enjoy it now. Just because it’s a great, tasty, spicy, brunch dish.
I had just made this cheddar scallion bread and it was fantastic with the egg curry.
There’s no time like the present.
PS: Leftovers are great over rice.
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GOLDEN EGG CURRY WITH HOMEMADE HARISSA
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
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Ingredients
For the harissa:
- 2 oz. dried red chiles
- 4 garlic cloves (peeled)
- 1 Tbs coriander seeds
- 1 Tbs cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Juice of ½ lemon
- ¼ cup olive oil
For the egg curry:
- 4 eggs (hard boiled)
- 4 Tbs olive oil
- 1 Tbs sesame oil
- 2 small shallots (minced)
- 2 Tbs harissa
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- Salt to taste
- Bread (to serve)
Instructions
For the harissa:
- In boiling water, soak dried red chiles until soft, about 1 hour. Chop coarsely.
- In a clean skillet (I use my crepe skillet), heat coriander and cumin seeds until fragrant, about 1 or 2 minutes, stirring.
- Careful not to burn. Transfer to mortar and ground with the pestle. Or use a nut or coffee grinder.
- Put soaked chiles, seeds, garlic and salt in a food processor.
- Process until it begins to form a paste, while you add the olive oil in a thin stream. You will probably have to use a spatula a few times to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl, before you have a paste. If necessary add a few more tablespoons of olive oil.
- Remove from the processor, add the lemon juice and transfer to a jar with lid. Keep refrigerated.
For egg curry:
- In a pan or skillet, heat both oils. Add peeled hard boiled eggs and brown on all sides. Use tongs to aid you in this. Transfer to plate and reserve.
- To the same skillet, add shallots and harissa.
- Season with salt to taste, and cook for a minute or two, until softened.
- Add tomatoes and cook until they start to break down.
- Add worcestershire sauce and turmeric, and cook until it´s the consistency of a chunky sauce.
- Cut eggs in half and add to the skillet.
- Cook for a minute or two, and add a few Tbs of water if needed to prevent tomato mixture from sticking to the bottom.
- Serve immediately with crusty bread.
curry adapted from Rasa Malaysia and David Lebovitz
harissa adapted from Food Wanderings and Wonderland Kitchen
Angie Schneider says
June 12, 2013 at 17:42I think I still have a small jar of harissa sitting at the back of the fridge. The curry looks delish, Paula.
dentistvschef says
June 12, 2013 at 19:00We used to called this as sambal in Indonesia….
lovely Paula!
Julieta says
June 12, 2013 at 19:15Great recipe!!! I have to try the eggs, perhaps I´ll eat them before I can make the curry.
Thanks Paula!!!
Christine @ 24 Carrot Kitchen says
June 12, 2013 at 21:37This looks absolutely delicious! I like my eggs scrambled or poached also.
Pachecopatty says
June 12, 2013 at 21:45Paula-you make everything look so delicious! I think you've elevated eggs to a whole new level! Gorgeous photos of an inspired meal 😉
Chef Di says
June 12, 2013 at 22:38Fried hard boiled eggs? OMGoodness, you are amazing, Paula! Love this dish, and like you, I love breakfast all day, too!
Shulie Foodwanderings says
June 12, 2013 at 23:23OMG you are too funny and not at all annoying, I say. Comparisons are welcome & btw I didn't see it coming, hard boiled and fried?! How brilliant! Is this something Argentinians do? A tradition of sorts or I got to double check the links….I have the book Burma & believe it or not I haven't cooked from it yet and it's been months. Now I must! Great post my friend! The food is mouthwatering!
wp_vknotes_admin says
June 12, 2013 at 23:34No, no, it´s from the book, apparently the burmese do it…!
mimi rippee says
June 12, 2013 at 23:33This looks unbelievably delicious!
Anne ~ Uni Homemaker says
June 12, 2013 at 23:49I love eggs and curry together and this sounds absolutely wonderful Paula!
Kathy says
June 13, 2013 at 00:40Looks wonderfully delicious, Paula! Sounds like an interesting dish!
Abbe@This is How I Cook says
June 13, 2013 at 03:08Paula, so unique. We eat breakfast all day long! And my husband loves spicy. This will be given a try!
Nancy @ gottagetbaked says
June 13, 2013 at 04:49Holy mother of yum, this is the most creative dish I've seen in a long time. You've seriously got me drooling over here, Paula. I love eggs so much, there aren't enough words for me to express my feelings. Whenever I want a quick 'n delicious meal, I make eggs. I'm definitely going to try frying hard boiled eggs. Look at that gorgeous golden crust!
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
June 13, 2013 at 17:10What a delicious brunch dish…very creative.
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says
June 13, 2013 at 17:25FRIED hard boiled eggs?!!!! I LOVE this! OMG, totally going to try this . . looks delicious! My breakfast is coffee too. . by the way, are you still doing the lemon water? so I'll have to have this for lunch or dinner! 🙂
Deb says
June 13, 2013 at 19:01What a seductive egg recipe! I've never tried fried hard boiled eggs but will add this scrumptious recipe to my "to make" list. Recipes that suit morning, noon or night are keepers!
Guru Uru says
June 13, 2013 at 20:04This egg is brilliant, I am not usually a fan but I need to try this 😀
Looks so delicious!
Cheers
CCU
The Ninja Baker says
June 13, 2013 at 23:08Egg and curry go together like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers! As always I learn so much from you, Paula. Now I know what harissa is =) And I am aware of fried hardboild eggs =)
P.s. Glad you like breakfast for dinner, too.
P.s. 2. Poached is my favorite, too…and it would lend itself perfectly to your yummy recipe =)
Cocoa and Lavender says
June 13, 2013 at 23:17First, I love poached eggs and especially on a baked potato. Like you and the rice, it is a childhood favorite and such powerful comfort food. The harissa is beautiful with the eggs – I have a question, though… what kind of dried chiles did you use? Were they chiles de Árbol? This is a plateful of YUM!
wp_vknotes_admin says
June 13, 2013 at 23:59They´re called red thai chiles here. Have no idea specifically what kind they are!
Liz Berg says
June 14, 2013 at 00:04Such a gorgeous dish, Paula. So many new ideas…frying hardboiled eggs, making harissa… You're on fire, my friend!
laurasmess.me says
June 14, 2013 at 00:34This looks amazing Paula… just like all of your recipes! Harissa is a bit of an addiction for me. Ever since I discovered it a couple of years ago I've been eating it on everything. I love the idea of the fried eggs. Mmmmm! Thanks for sharing this xx