Eggs in Tahini Sauce with homemade raw tahini

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat.

   StoveFrying pan
2. 2
   Add and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   Stove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 3
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   Stove
4. 4
   Add the pepper and fry about 10 minutes, stirring, until it softens.

   Stove

To assemble

1. 5
   Add the paprika and cumin and stir for a minute, until fragrant.
2. 6
   Add the tomatoes and season with salt and black pepper. Turn down the heat and simmer for 8–10 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

   Stove

   💡The sauce is ready for the eggs when a spoon dragged across the bottom of the pan leaves a trail. A sauce that's too thin cooks the eggs in water, not in sauce.

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
3. 7
   Grind the sesame seeds in a powerful blender about 3 minutes, until smooth paste forms.

   Blender

   💡At first the sesame looks like dry crumbs: keep grinding, scraping down the sides, and after a few minutes it releases its oil and turns liquid.

   💡In a food processor, grind in short pulses and check between pulses: it's easy to go from coarse to paste. (Sesame for tahini, on the other hand, is ground continuously.)
4. 8
   Taste and adjust the seasoning.
5. 9
   Mix the tahini and lemon juice.
6. 10
   Gradually add cold water while stirring, until the sauce is smooth, pale and pourable.

   💡When you add the first water, the tahini thickens and looks like dough: that's fine. Keep adding water and stirring, and it loosens into a smooth sauce.
7. 11
   Make wells in the Dressing and crack an egg into each one. Cover and cook 5–7 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny.

   StoveLid

   💡Crack each egg into a small cup first and slide it into the well: that way the yolk doesn't break, and a stray bit of shell is easy to remove.
8. 12
   Drizzle the tahini sauce on top.
9. 13
   Sprinkle the cilantro on top and serve immediately with pita.