Ojja Merguez

Name: Ojja Merguez
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Tunisian
Ingredients: 400 g Merguez sausages, cut into chunky pieces; 1 tbsp Olive oil; 1 Onion, finely sliced; 2 Red peppers, sliced; 3 Garlic cloves, finely chopped; 1 tbsp Harissa paste; 1 tsp Caraway seeds; 400 g Chopped tomatoes; 4 Eggs; 15 g Fresh coriander, chopped; to taste Salt; to taste Black pepper; 4 slices Crusty bread, to serve

Spicy merguez sausages simmered with peppers, tomatoes and harissa, then topped with softly set eggs for a fast, generous Tunisian skillet supper with crusty bread.

40 mins total for first methodServes 4On the Hob

Ingredients ↓Method ↓

Ingredients

400 g Merguez sausages, cut into chunky pieces
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 Onion, finely sliced
2 Red peppers, sliced
3 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp Harissa paste
1 tsp Caraway seeds
400 g Chopped tomatoes
4 Eggs
15 g Fresh coriander, chopped
to taste Salt
to taste Black pepper
4 slices Crusty bread, to serve

Method

10 mins prep30 mins cook40 mins total

Brown the merguez in a wide frying pan for 5 minutes, then remove excess fat if needed.
Add the onion and peppers and cook for 8 minutes. Stir in garlic, harissa and caraway for 1 minute.
Pour in the tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes until thick. Return the sausages.
Make four hollows in the sauce and crack in the eggs. Cover and cook for 5–7 minutes until the whites are set.
Scatter with coriander and serve with crusty bread.

Notes

Cook the sauce until thick enough to hold the eggs in separate wells; use half the harissa for a milder finish.

About this recipe

Ojja merguez is a lively Tunisian skillet built around browned lamb sausages, sweet peppers and a thick tomato sauce. Harissa and caraway bring warmth and depth, while the eggs cook directly in the pan and soak up the spiced juices.

Keep the sauce fairly thick before adding the eggs so they sit in distinct pockets rather than disappearing into the tomatoes. Cover the pan until the whites are just set and the yolks still wobble, then finish with coriander and serve with crusty bread for scooping at the table tonight.

Tunisian Spicy Quick