Here is a very easy dinner to make at home or on the boat. It uses very common ingredients, often found in the fridge any day of the week: tomatoes, ham, leeks (or onions), eggs…This is my take on Huevos Rancheros or Shakshuka: eggs cooked in a tomato based sauce. It only takes a few minutes to prepare (mostly chopping), cook (let the tomatoes stew for a while), and most importantly, satisfies any appetite. Just add more eggs for hungrier guests!! My son likes to scramble the eggs and sprinkle grated cheese in the mixture, for a super rich lunch. I prefer breaking whole eggs in and cook undisturbed for a poached effect, but the choice is yours. Omitting the ham makes the dish a vegetarian one, and vegans might want to leave the eggs out altogether. By then though, you’re talking about another dish…
Serve with warm tortillas, on toast, boiled rice or even pasta. I happened to have loads of pumpkins and potatoes at home, so roasted a trayful of them and served the eggs on top. Bliss…..!

Eggs in tomato sauce

Serves 3-4 as a light meal

Ingredients

1 leek (or onion), washed and trimmed, thinly sliced
1 kg ripe tomatoes, cut into big chuncks
3 cups ham, chopped roughly
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic salt
6 eggs
A handful of parsley, to garnish

1. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large frypan. Add sliced leek and sautee until leek is soft (careful not to burn!). Add ham, dried herbs and stir. Cook for another 10 minutes.

2. Pour in the chunks of tomatoes and stir to combine. Simmer on high to medium heat for 15 minutes until the sauce thickens, stirring often. Season to taste.
3. Break the eggs individually onto the sauce. Cook undisturbed until the whites are set to your liking ( I put the lid on to speed up the process and keep the yolks soft and runny).

4. Sprinkle with parsley leaves, and drizzle of extra olive oil and serve immediately with roasted potatoes and pumpkin.
5. Enjoy!