Shakshuka

Description
This recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi's vegetarian cookbook "Plenty". It was published in guardian.co.uk

Ingredients

 * ½ tsp cumin seeds
 * 180 ml light olive oil or vegetable oil
 * 2 large onions, sliced
 * 2 red and 2 yellow peppers, stems and seeds removed, cut into 2 cm strips
 * 4 tsp muscovado sugar
 * 2 bay leaves
 * 6 thyme sprigs, picked
 * 2 tbsp chopped parsley
 * 2 tbsp chopped coriander, plus extra to garnish
 * 6 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
 * ½ tsp saffron threads
 * pinch of cayenne pepper
 * salt and black pepper
 * up to 250 ml water
 * 8 free-range eggs

Directions

 * 1) In a very large pan, dry-roast the cumin on high heat for two minutes.
 * 2) Add the oil and onions, sauté for five minutes, add the peppers, sugar and herbs, and cook on a high heat for five to 10 minutes, to get a nice colour.
 * 3) Add the tomatoes, saffron, cayenne and some salt and pepper, and cook on a low heat for 15 minutes.
 * 4) Add water as necessary, so it ends up with a pasta sauce consistency.
 * 5) Taste and adjust the seasoning – it should be pretty potent (you can prepare the dish to this stage well in advance)
 * 6) Remove the bay leaves and divide the mix between four deep frying pans (or one large one), each large enough to take a generous individual portion.
 * 7) Place these on a medium heat to warm up, then make two gaps in the mix in each pan and break an egg into each gap.
 * 8) Sprinkle with salt, cover, and cook on a very gentle heat for 10–12 minutes, until the eggs are just set.
 * 9) Sprinkle with chopped coriander and serve.