Tomat

This is in response to a question from one of my lovely readers who wanted to know what Tomat is. Tomat is one of my favorite dishes because its so simple and so tasty. My grandfather often ate versions of this growing up in French Algeria and taught my dad who taught my mom who made it for us when we were growing up. Tonight was the perfect night to make it; I just got hold of a delicious loaf of Holla bread from a local bakery and my sister gave me some organic free range eggs from her job last night. Both are important parts. Here is a step by step how-to guide to Tomat.

First, start by gathering your ingredients. I used:

2 large tomatoes

fresh parsley and rosemary

dried basil

garlic powder

two eggs

sea salt

black pepper

olive oil

bread

Obviously fresh ingredients are always better and much more tasty, but Im working with what I've got. There wasn't much left alive in the herb garden..

Start by preheating the oven to 350-400°F. Slice the bread however thick or thin you like it and drizzle some olive oil on it, then sprinkle some herbs, pepper or whatever flavors you like on it.

Toast it in the oven while the tomat cooks, about 15-20 minutes.

Now add some oil to your pan and set the heat to medium low.If you have fresh garlic, add some minced to brown a bit. Let the oil heat up while you cut your tomatoes in half. You will hear the garlic sizzling when the tomatoes are ready to go in.

Put them in face down to simmer for a few minutes with the lid on.

While the tomatoes cook, chop up your other herbs.

After a few minutes the skins should easily slough off. Don't forget to check on the bread! 

Crack your eggs in the middle. Make sure the heat is not too high or the eggs will cook too quickly and get hard while the tomatoes remain undercooked. 

Now you can sprinkle your chopped herbs, spices, salt and pepper over it all.

Its not done yet! Put the lid back on for a few minutes on low heat to cook a bit longer. 

By now, the bread should be nice and toasty. I like it to be good and dry so it can soak up all the savory juices and oil. 

Simmer until the yolk has reached your desired firmness. I like it about half way through, so its still just a little bit runny.

Enjoy! It's best when you break up the tomato and egg so you can get a bit of everything on the crusty bread. This is what my brother and I had for dinner tonight. Yum!