Ottolenghi Test Kitchen’s turmeric fried eggs with tamarind dressing recipe

“These are fried eggs but with a very eccentric wardrobe, thanks to the turmeric and chilli, which make them as good to eat as they are to look at,” say Yotam Ottolenghi and Noor Murad.

Turmeric fried eggs with tamarind dressing

Ingredients
(Serves 2)

1 shallot, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
2tsp lime juice
3½tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
200g baby spinach
½tsp ground turmeric
4 large eggs
1 green chilli, finely sliced into rounds, seeds and all
Salt

For the tamarind dressing:
30g tamarind paste
1tbsp lime juice
1tsp fish sauce
2tsp light soft brown sugar
5g fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Method:

1. Put the shallot, lime juice and a pinch of salt into a small bowl and use your fingers to gently massage everything together. Set aside to pickle lightly while you continue with the rest.

2. Make the tamarind dressing by putting all the ingredients into a bowl and whisking to combine and dissolve the sugar. Add between two to four teaspoons of water to loosen the mixture (this will vary according to different makes of tamarind paste).

3. Put one tablespoon of oil into a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the garlic and cook for 90 seconds, stirring, until fragrant and lightly coloured, then stir in the spinach and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt and cook until wilted, about four minutes. Transfer to a serving plate and wipe out the pan.

4. Add the remaining two-and-a-half tablespoons of oil plus the turmeric to the same pan, stirring to combine, and return it to a medium-high heat. Once hot but not smoking, crack in the eggs and quickly sprinkle the whites with the chilli slices. Season the eggs all over with a good pinch of salt and use a spatula to separate the whites so the eggs are not joined together. Fry for three to four minutes, spooning some of the oil over the whites. You want the whites to be crispy around the edges and the yolk to be runny (fry them for longer if you like your eggs more cooked).

5. When ready, use a spatula to transfer the eggs to the plate of spinach, drizzling with any extra turmeric oil in the pan. Top with the pickled shallots and then drizzle with some of the tamarind dressing, serving any remaining alongside.

Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things by Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi is published by Ebury Press, priced £25. Photography by Elena Heatherwick. Available now.