If trying new cuisine is one of your resolutions, then let me introduce you to brik a l’oeuf
I first had this Tunisian dish in a orth African restaurant in North London when I had just moved to the city. I hadn’t seen it on a menu for some years, until brik a l’oeuf de canard popped on the breakfast menu at the Groucho Club in London’s Soho. It’s actually very easy to make, which is why I’ve been cooking it at home for many years. My house guests always love it as they’ve never seen or tasted it anything like it before. It’s extremely quick and simple to cook, it also makes a perfect breakfast when your fridge is nearly bare.
Brik is a very thin pastry, similar to filo, which is common to North African cuisine. Unlike filo, brik pastry is already partly cooked and slightly thicker too, so more robust so more like a crispy pancake when cooked. I always keep a packet or two of Feuille de Brik (brik leaves) in my freezer. Buy these convenient pastry leaves online or from Mediterranean grocers.
Brik a L’oeuf
Serves 4
2–3 tbsp olive oil
4 sheets of Feuille de Brik
4 Braddock white duck eggs or eggs of your choice, cracked into individual small pots
salt and freshly ground black pepper
harissa paste, to serve
Method: Heat some olive oil in a large, preferably non-stick, frying pan. Lay a sheet of brik pastry into the pan then quickly tip the egg into the centre, season and fold the pastry over into a triangle. Cook for a minute or so on each side, until the pastry is crisp but the egg yolk is still soft. Carefully remove with a spatula and serve immediately, with or without the harissa paste.
