moroccan breakfast

today my neighbour Dom from Belleau Kitchen came over for a day of cooking and fun and we started with this delicious Moroccan style breakfast.  It's influenced a little by an ottolenghi recipe but as usual i've adapted it for what I had in the fridge and what we like.  I made my own ras el hanout because it's just so easy and I also made a very quick hollandaise sauce which isn't shown in this picture.

moroccan breakfast
it may seem a little complicated but actually it's really simple, there's just a few stages.

ras el hanout
1/2 teaspoon ground Cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground anise seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground all spice
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground white pepper

vegetables
4 large firm tomatoes - cut into six
2 medium courgettes - thick slices (unless you're The Grumpy Greek who likes them thinner)
3 medium potatoes - cut into wedges
1 large green pepper - cut into wedges
1 green chili - thinly sliced

quick hollandaise
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon white whine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
85g melted salted butter

to make the ras el hanout simply combine all the spices in a bowl (you can grind the cardamom and any other spices if you like) - this will keep in a jar for up to 8 weeks - set aside

to make the veg, par boil the potatoes for 10 mins and then dry roast them for 10 mins on 180C - set aside (this can be done in advance)

put the tomatoes and courgettes in a roasting tin with a little olive oil and seasoning and roast for 10 mins - set aside

put the peppers in a bowl and drizzle with olive and sprinkle generously with salt then heat a griddle pan and griddle on each side for 7 mins until beginning to soften and colour - set aside, now quickly griddle the courgettes and chili to give them a little colour

to make the hollandaise place the yolks, mustard and vinegar in a bowl then using a hand-held blender gradually add the melted butter as you whizz... it will start to thicken and should be creamy and smooth

fry your eggs as you like them - this dish is nice lovely with runny yolks!

to assemble, place all the veg in a large bowl and sprinkle over a heaped teaspoon of the ras el hanout and one teaspoon of white wine vinegar and combine gently with your hands so the tomatoes don't break, adding salt and pepper to taste

heap on a plate, lay your egg on top, scatter fresh rocket over the dish and then drizzle with the hollandaise

scoff!