You all know the feeling. Slight nausea, banging headache, utter dehydration and, on some occasions, it even feels like every muscle in your body aches. Yes, it’s the dreaded hangover. You felt amazing last night though, right?
Many of my hangovers start with an almost urgent requirement for paracetamol and a glass of cold water, followed by an extended period in bed waiting for the water and pain-killers to take effect.
Then, once in a more ‘normal’ state, the next quest is for… FOOD.
During a hangover, the need for food is much more pressing compared to the need for food on a usual day, especially as you may have skipped dinner the night before, after all, ‘eating is cheating’. Therefore, something relatively easy, tasty, filling and nutritious is needed, which will give the kick-start you need, to this rather grim day.
The use of spices, chilli, eggs and lots of veggie goodness (added meat optional) really does mean this dish works to actually cure your hangover, because it’s balanced and nutritious and just delightful.
This recipe is my adaptation of Milton Crawford’s ‘shakshuka’, a Middle Eastern dish, from his brilliant ‘THE HUNGOVER COOKBOOK’, which my wonderful friend Rachel bought for me one year for my birthday. Great recipe book. I’d highly recommend.
So, if you’re planning a big night out, check you have all the ingredients in first as to avoid any unexpected, disorientated trips to Tesco in your onesie.
This recipe takes about 30 mins from start to finish, and serves 2 starving people, or 4 hungry people.
What you need:
- a good glug of rapeseed oil
- 1 onion, diced
- a handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 beef tomato, diced
- any leftover veggies, I threw in half a diced yellow pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 level tsp ground cumin
- 1 level tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1 green chilli, deseeded and diced
- 1 400g tin chopped tomatoes (I like the one with added herbs for this recipe)
- 4 large free-range eggs
- bread of choice, I used brown but pitta works so well, or warm baguettes
- for a meaty kick: 4 thick slices of smoked bacon (optional)
- small handful of flat-leaf parsley, to serve
What to do:
- Pre-heat the grill to medium.
- Heat some of the oil in a small frying pan and gently fry the bacon on each side (if using), until crisp and golden, set aside on some kitchen paper to absorb any excess fat.
- In a larger, lidded frying pan, heat the oil on a medium heat and cook the onion and green chilli until softened and translucent (about 4 minutes).
- Add the cumin and paprika and stir well to let the spices release their aromas (about 1 minute). Feeling a little better already? Next, add the bay leaves, cherry tomatoes, veggies, beef tomato and stir well to coat everything in the spices. Cook for 2 minutes or so.
- Stir in the tinned tomatoes and season well with salt and pepper, leave to simmer on a low heat for about 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pop the lid on if you have one.
- Make 4 small holes in the sauce using a spatula, and break an egg into each hole. Put the lid back on an simmer on low-medium heat for about 3 minutes.
- Warm your bread and get it buttered.
- For the last 2 minutes, transfer the frying pan to a low-medium heated grill to finish off the eggs. Runny yolk is key here, so keep and eye on them and don’t over-cook!
- Top the baked eggs with chopped parsley and serve with your bread to mop up the goodness and bacon (if using).
What’s your go-to hangover cure?
