Baghdad Eggs on Simple Flatbread

This is a perfect breakfast dish to make on a lazy, Sunday morning. I had intended to make it on the Saturday, but I hadn’t read the recipe carefully, and as such didn’t realise the amount of time required to make the bread and to let it prove before the main part of the breakfast, namely the eggs, can begin to be prepared. So on a sunny Sunday morning, I rolled up my sleeves and began making my first ever form of bread. From the many recipes I’ve read so far, I’ve gathered that it’s very important not to try to make the dough in a food processor – it just doesn’t knead properly. You need to manually knead the dough on a counter in order to make the dough tough. Many times during the process of making the dough, I realised the importance of having a well-floured counter! The dough would stick to the counter and I would begin to think that it would never form a rubbery consistency, but then I would add some more flour to the bench top and the kneading would take off again! I was really happy with the final product, and when I eventually tasted the flatbread on its own, it was of a much superior quality to pre-made breads in a supermarket that are full of preservatives (the bane of modern food!).

Another thing that I’ve discovered over the past few years when cooking breakfast and eggs in particular are methods to use in order to ensure the eggs don’t burn. I used to cook fried eggs simply with some oil, and obviously they would sputter everywhere and, when they weren’t burnt, they were invariably as dry as my humour often is. Now, I cook fried eggs by placing a bit of butter in the pan and, importantly, adding some lemon juice. The lemon juice stops the butter from burning, and so the eggs cook wonderfully and turn out exactly as you want them, whether sunny side up or, well, whatever the other types are called (for years and years I didn’t even know what sunny side up referred to – I thought it was maybe a special American sauce to go with the eggs!!!). So I used lemon in this recipe, and it is also used to provide further acidity by splashing some over the top of the finished product and flatbreads. The combination of the ground cumin seeds and mint leaves provides that wonderful Middle Eastern twist to what would be considered a relatively standard breakfast, and the lemon enhances these flavours. Another reason why this is a wonderful breakfast dish is that it isn’t heavy, and the flavours leave you feeling light and refreshed. I was very proud after cooking this dish, as it was the first bread I had ever made, and it gave me a great deal of relaxation and enjoyment to make this breakfast. I’ll certainly make it again!

Recipe (serves 1):

½ tsp cumin seeds

20g butter

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

1 tbs lemon juice

2 free-range eggs

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

8 mint leaves, thinly sliced

Simple Flatbread

125g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

¼ tsp salt

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup tepid water

To make the flatbreads, put the flour and salt in a food processor. With the motor running, trickle in oil and enough tepid water to make a dough, processing for 1-2 mins (without breaking the machine!!!) until mixture forms a ball. If mixture is too moist, add more flour.

Turn the dough onto a workbench lightly dusted with flour and knead until it feels smooth and silky. Place in a bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave at room temperature for at least 30 mins.

Preheat oven to 100 degrees celsius and put a baking tray inside to warm.

Divide dough into four pieces each about the size of a small egg, then use a rolling pin to roll into flat rounds on a floured workbench.

Heat a heavy-based cast-iron frying pan over high heat until very hot; there is no need for any oil. Slap a dough round into it. Cook for 2-3 mins or until little burnt blisters appear, then turn to cook the other side. Keep warm on the baking tray in the oven while cooking remaining flatbreads and eggs.

Dry-roast cumin seeds in a small frying pan over medium heat until fragrant, then tip into a mortar and grind with a pestle to a powder. Tip into a small bowl until needed.

Meanwhile, melt butter over medium heat in a small non-stick frying pan. When butter starts to foam, drop in garlic and cook for 30 secs until it just starts to change colour. Add lemon juice and eggs and fry gently until set. Sprinkle over cumin. Serve on warm flatbread or toast, seasoned with salt & pepper and sprinkled generously with thinly sliced mint.

Category: Iraqi/Middle Eastern

Source: “Kitchen Garden Companion” by Stephanie Alexander

Rating: Four stars