3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
½ aubergine, chopped into 2cm cubes
za’atar, to season
100g cherry tomatoes, halved
75g halloumi, chopped
8 large eggs
salt and black pepper
fresh thyme, to serve
Heat the oven to 100°C/80°C fan/gas mark ¼ to keep the vegetables and halloumi warm while making the omelette.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan and cook the aubergine over a low heat, tossing every now and then until golden. Season with za’atar and some salt and pepper. Spoon into a roasting tin. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan and fry the tomatoes, cut-side down, until just golden and caramelised, but not squishy. Season in the same way as the aubergine and put in the tin.
Cook the halloumi in the pan, tossing it every now and then so that the cubes turn golden on each side and then season them, too. Spoon into the tin, then put the tin in the oven to keep warm.
Beat the eggs in a bowl and season well. Add a drizzle more oil to the pan and place over a low-to-medium heat. Pour in the beaten eggs.
As the egg starts to cook, draw a wooden spoon across the base of the pan to allow more of it to cook. It’ll wrinkle up and make a much thicker – and more delicious – omelette this way. Lower the heat if it cooks too quickly and continue until the egg is just set on top. Spoon the aubergine, tomatoes and halloumi on top, garnish with fresh thyme and more za’atar, and serve.
FETA 4 WAYS
JEBNA FETA
It’s a bit unusual to have feta for breakfast, but I’ve been brought up on it and the salty, slightly sharp flavour goes brilliantly with both savoury and sweet ingredients. To be honest, I’m so greedy I could easily hoover up a block when it’s served with any of the accompaniments here. Sometimes I use a handful of mixed nuts in place of pistachios, and toast them in a pan first for extra flavour. And, if I can get hold of them, I love it topped with candied figs and a drop of rose water. Fingers of hot, just-toasted pitta cut through the richness, and a bowl of fruit completes the meal. If you have any left over, save it for lunch and serve it in a sandwich. (photos on here.)
FETA WITH TOMATOES & SPRING ONIONS
EACH BLOCK OF FETA SERVES 4–6
250g block of feta, cut into three equal pieces
3 tomatoes, halved, deseeded and chopped
3 spring onions, sliced
½–1 red chilli, sliced
small handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
black pepper, to season
olive oil, for drizzling
juice of ¼ large lemon
paprika, to sprinkle
Arrange the feta on a plate. Spoon over the tomatoes, spring onions, chilli and parsley. Season with black pepper – there’s no need to add salt as the feta is salty.
Drizzle over some olive oil – about 2 tablespoons will be plenty – then squeeze over the lemon. Finally sprinkle over a little paprika and serve.
250g block of feta
3–4 tsp za’atar
2 tbsp olive oil
Place the feta on a plate. Mix together the za’atar and olive oil, and spoon over the top of the cheese.
FETA WITH PISTACHIOS & DATE SYRUP
250g block of feta
2 tbsp date syrup
25g shelled pistachio nuts, toasted and chopped
Place the feta on a plate. Spoon the date syrup over the top of the cheese, then scatter over the pistachio nuts.
FETA WITH SESAME SEEDS & HONEY
250g block of feta
1–2 tbsp runny honey
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
Place the feta on a plate. Spoon the honey over the top of the cheese, then scatter over the sesame seeds.
My pitstop snack as a little boy when I ran in from playing with my friends was to wolf down a scrambled-egg sandwich – so quick and very filling. Then, later, as a teenager I loved merguez sausages – the spicier, the better – stuffed into a sandwich with frites (skinny, and sometimes not so skinny, hand-cut chips) and harissa. This recipe, inspired by my friend Aziz, who made it for me in Beirut, combines the two and uses Middle Eastern sujuk. It’s thinner and longer than merguez, usually made from beef and flavoured with garlic, cumin and sumac. First make a big pan of scrambled eggs, then take it to another level by topping it with chunks of the sausage, just fried with some cherry tomatoes. A little pomegranate molasses and a sprinkling of parsley cuts through the richness. Use chorizo or merguez if you can’t track down sujuk sausages.
BEYD BIL SUJUK
SERVES 6
8 large eggs, beaten
1 tsp salt
a good grinding of black pepper
25g butter
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tsp olive oil
60g sujuk sausage, sliced into 1cm chunks
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
Season the eggs with the salt and pepper and stir together. Heat the butter in a large frying pan over a low-to-medium heat. When the butter stops foaming, add the eggs. Start stirring the eggs to scramble them, watching them carefully. When they’re half cooked, stir in half the parsley.
Keeping one eye on the eggs, cook the topping. Put a separate, smaller frying pan on a medium heat, add and heat the olive oil. Cook the sujuk chunks until golden and crisp, tossing regularly. Add the cherry tomatoes to the pan and cook until they’ve just blistered and turned golden on the flat side. Drizzle the pomegranate molasses over the top and toss everything again.
Check the eggs and stir them again – you want