Shakshuka-Style Baked Eggs with Aubergine & Tomato

Ingredients

• 8 eggs
• 50 g feta, crumbled
• 1 large aubergine, cut into 2cm dice
• 2 400g tins chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• salt and black pepper
• 2 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 0.5 tsp chilli flakes
• 3 spring onions, green tops only, sliced
• 15g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Crusty sourdough toast, to serve
• Dressed leaves, to serve

Method

1. Heat the garlic-infused oil in a large, deep ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the aubergine and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8–10 minutes until golden at the edges and softened through.
2. Stir in the grated carrot and cook for another 2 minutes until it loses its rawness and melts into the aubergine.
3. Add the cumin, smoked paprika and chilli flakes. Stir for 1 minute until fragrant.
4. Tip in the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, red lentils and water. Stir well, bring to a gentle simmer, then cook for 15–18 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce is thick, glossy and a deep brick red. Season generously with salt and pepper.
5. Make 8 wells in the sauce with the back of a spoon. Crack an egg into each well. Cover the pan with a lid and cook over low heat for 6–8 minutes, until the whites are just set but the yolks still wobble.
6. Scatter over the spring onion tops, parsley and crumbled feta. Bring the pan straight to the table.