Method

“This is the kind of dish you could largely put together the night before a brunch and all that’s required on the day is cracking a couple of eggs and placing the dish in the oven. The eggs are poached in the spicy tomato sauce,” says author of Roots, Shoots & Leaves Bernadette Le Roux.

Soak the dried kidney beans overnight. Strain, then add to a pot of fresh water. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 1 hour or until the beans are soft. Strain and set aside.

In a deep-sided casserole, sauté the onion in the oil until translucent, but not yet golden. Add the garlic, chilli and smokes paprika, and continue cooking for about 2 minutes, stirring. Add the fresh and canned tomatoes, season, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the kidney beans, parsley and basil, and simmer for a further 5 minutes.

Now you can either crack all the eggs into the casserole on top of the tomato-chilli or you could ladle the tomato chilli into individual serving-sized baking dishes or large ramekins cracking two eggs per dish on top of the tomato chilli sauce.

Place in a preheated oven at 200 °C for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the eggs are baked to your liking. Serve with crusty bread.

Extract from Bernadette Le Roux’s, Roots, Shoots & Leaves, published by Sunbird.