London lunch box: Za’atar spiced eggs with tomatoes

Laoise Casey shares a recipe for one of her go-to egg recipes
Laoise Casey
Laoise Casey2 October 2017

Much has been written on the virtues of eggs; wonderous little beings. They are amongst a cook’s best friends - onions, sea salt, cracked black pepper and butter also being part of the gang. While they have many exciting uses (emulsifying, raising, glazing, thickening), one of their best qualities, in my view, is how quickly you can create a lovely meal for yourself with them.

If you have a few eggs, some odd veg, a spice or two, good oil and butter, that’s pretty much all you need. Oh and a pan. Or if you’re stuck in the office then a jug and a microwave. Softly scrambled eggs are a sure-fire fall back. But when I don’t want to wash up an extra bowl, it’s cracked eggs all the way - straight into the pan, then swirl.

This week’s lunch box is a variation of what I normally make for myself when I’m recipe writing at home. It takes 10 minutes from start to finish, eaten in less than that probably. To turn this into a dinner add flatbreads and a generous scoop of Greek yoghurt. You could also try one of the following combinations; spring onions, mint and paneer, or caramelised red onions, taleggio and pumpkin seeds, or lightly crushed caraway seeds, gorgonzola and sweet potato.

I’ve made this in one form or another so many times now. Like most good things in life, I hope I’ll never tire of it.

Za’atar spiced eggs with tomatoes

Ingredients (serves 1)

2 tsp olive oil

5g butter

2 – 3 medium free-range eggs

1 tsp za’atar

100g ripe plum tomatoes, sliced in half

30g feta

Sea salt flakes, cracked black pepper

To serve, optional

Sourdough or flatbreads

Greek yoghurt

Method

Heat the olive oil and butter in a wide-based pan on a medium heat. When the butter starts to foam crack the eggs straight into the pan. Season generously with salt, pepper and sprinkle the za’atar on top and leave them to cook for a minute. Then with a wooden spoon swirl them gently in the pan until they crack.

Leave to cook for another 2 – 3 minutes. When the eggs are almost set, pop the tomatoes into the pan and warm through. Crumble the feta on top and serve straight away.

Laoise (Lee-sha) is a chef, food stylist and writer, living in London. Follow her on Twitter @laoisecooks and Instagram @laoisecooks. She studied at Leiths School of Food and Wine, where she now teaches. She has worked in a number of top London restaurants including The Dairy in Clapham and Paradise Garage in Bethnal Green.

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