Smoky White Bean & Pepper Cazuela with Baked Eggs
Smoky paprika white beans and sweet peppers simmered in a cazuela, then baked with eggs cracked into the sauce.
Best for A high-protein, high-fiber vegetarian brunch built on legumes and peppers with runny-yolk eggs.
This is my vegetarian answer to a slow Spanish Sunday: creamy white beans and roasted red peppers stewed with sweet and smoked paprika until glossy, then finished with eggs baked right in the pan. The beans do the heavy lifting for protein and fiber, the peppers bring sweetness and vitamin C, and the smoked paprika does the work of chorizo without the meat. Serve it straight from the cazuela with bread to drag through the sauce — it should look a little rustic and taste deeply savory.
Ingredients
- 45 ml olive oil
- 1 onion , finely diced
- 2 red bell peppers , seeded and sliced into strips
- 3 garlic cloves , thinly sliced
- 2 g smoked paprika , about 2 tsp
- 1 g sweet paprika , about 1 tsp
- 1 g ground cumin , about 1/2 tsp
- 400 g canned crushed tomatoes
- 480 g canned white beans , drained and rinsed; about two 240 g drained cans
- 100 g jarred roasted red peppers , drained and sliced (optional – can be omitted)
- 120 ml vegetable stock
- 10 ml sherry vinegar , about 2 tsp
- 5 g fine sea salt , or to taste
- 4 large eggs
- 50 g crumbled feta or manchego (optional – can be omitted)
- 10 g flat-leaf parsley , roughly chopped
Instructions
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1
Warm the olive oil in a cazuela or wide heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and fresh pepper strips with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring now and then, until softened and starting to color at the edges. Add the sliced garlic and cook another minute until fragrant.
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2
Lower the heat, sprinkle in the smoked paprika, sweet paprika and cumin, and stir for about 30 seconds so the spices bloom in the oil without scorching. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, stock, drained white beans and the jarred roasted peppers. Season with the salt and the sherry vinegar, then simmer gently until the sauce thickens and turns glossy, mashing a few beans against the side of the pan to lightly thicken it.
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3
Taste and adjust salt and vinegar. Make four shallow wells in the sauce with the back of a spoon and crack an egg into each. Scatter over the crumbled feta or manchego if using, cover the pan, and cook until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny, 6 to 8 minutes. Finish with chopped parsley and a final dusting of smoked paprika, and serve straight from the pan with crusty seeded wholegrain bread.