Ojja with Eggs and Merguez
A pan-fried stew of peppers, garlic, and harissa, into which eggs are cracked at the end of cooking, spiced up with merguez or simply with spices. You eat it straight from the pan, dipping bread into the sauce.
A pan-fried stew of peppers, garlic, and harissa, into which eggs are cracked at the end of cooking, spiced up with merguez or simply with spices. You eat it straight from the pan, dipping bread into the sauce.
Here is the dish of ordinary days, and there is no shame in it. When I was a young man, we did not always have meat to put on the fire: a pan, a little oil, garlic, eggs, and we dined like kings. I tell you solemnly: a people who know how to eat simply are a free people. Crack the eggs at the last moment, let them barely tremble, and dip your bread without ceremony.
- •Olive oil — generous (cooking base)
- •Garlic — several cloves (dominant aromatic)
- •Harissa — a good spoonful (fire and color)
- •Peppers and tomatoes — according to season (stewed base)
- •Eggs — two per person (final protein)
- •Merguez (optional) — a few (spiced meat)
- •Caraway and coriander — a pinch (spices)
Ojja with Eggs and Merguez
A pan-fried stew of peppers, garlic, and harissa, into which eggs are cracked at the end of cooking, spiced up with merguez or simply with spices. You eat it straight from the pan, dipping bread into the sauce.
Why this dish? Ojja is the popular, quick everyday dish of Tunisia, the one of modest families like the one Bourguiba came from. A self-proclaimed man of the people, he liked to recall the simple, sober cooking of his childhood, blending Mediterranean influences and local flavors.
Here is the dish of ordinary days, and there is no shame in it. When I was a young man, we did not always have meat to put on the fire: a pan, a little oil, garlic, eggs, and we dined like kings. I tell you solemnly: a people who know how to eat simply are a free people. Crack the eggs at the last moment, let them barely tremble, and dip your bread without ceremony.
Ingredients (period version)
- Olive oil — generous (cooking base)
- Garlic — several cloves (dominant aromatic)
- Harissa — a good spoonful (fire and color)
- Peppers and tomatoes — according to season (stewed base)
- Eggs — two per person (final protein)
- Merguez (optional) — a few (spiced meat)
- Caraway and coriander — a pinch (spices)
Ingredients
- Olive oil — 4 tbsp (cooking)
- Garlic — 4 cloves (aromatic)
- Harissa — 1 tbsp (heat)
- Crushed tomatoes — 400 g (sauce)
- Green bell pepper — 1 (vegetable)
- Eggs — 4 to 6 (protein)
- Merguez — 4 (optional) (meat)
- Ground caraway + salt — 1 tsp + to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Brown the merguez (if using) then set aside, cut into pieces.
- In the same pan, sweat garlic and bell pepper in olive oil, add harissa and caraway.
- Add tomatoes and let reduce for 10 minutes into a thick sauce; season with salt.
- Return the merguez, make wells and crack the eggs into them; cover until whites are set but yolks are runny.
- Serve boiling hot in the pan with plenty of bread for dipping.
How it was made : A noble poverty dish, ojja was cooked on the kanoun (brazier) with whatever was on hand; without meat, it was enriched with potatoes or fava beans depending on the season.
The contemporary twist : A 'brunch' version served in a small individual cast-iron skillet, sprinkled with fresh coriander and accompanied by olive oil toast.
Habib Bourguiba · Charactorium