Kafteji

Method

1. Peel the potatoes and squash and cut them into 1.5 cm cubes; rinse the potatoes in cold water and pat them very dry. Seed the peppers and chilli and cut them into 2 cm pieces, slice the onion thickly and quarter the tomatoes, patting them dry too. Wet vegetables make the oil spit hard.

2. Pour the oil 1 to 1.5 cm deep into a 26 cm deep frying pan and heat it on medium heat to 170 °C; a cube of potato should fizz steadily. Fry the potatoes in a single layer for 10 min, turning now and then, until golden and a skewer slides in easily. Lift them onto paper towels. If the pan is crowded, fry in batches.

   Add in this stepSunflower or other neutral oil, for frying 300 mlPotatoes 350 g

   medium heat

3. Fry the squash in the same oil for 6 min, until soft with caramelised edges, then lift it out. Squash cooks faster than potato and breaks easily, so turn it gently.

   Add in this stepButternut squash or pumpkin 200 g

4. Add the peppers, chilli and onion and fry for 5 min, until soft and blistered in spots; add the tomatoes for the last 1 to 2 minutes, just to soften them, then lift everything out. Lower the tomatoes in carefully and stand back, as they can spit.

   Add in this stepLong mild green peppers or green bell pepper 2Hot green chilli 1Onion 1Tomatoes 1

5. Turn off the heat, let the oil cool, then pour off all but 1 tbsp (never down the sink). Return the pan to medium heat, crack in the eggs and fry for 4 min, until the whites are fully set and the yolks nearly firm. In Tunisia the eggs are cooked through before chopping.

   Add in this stepEggs 3

   medium heat

6. Pile the fried vegetables and eggs onto a large board and sprinkle over the harissa, caraway, coriander and salt. Chop with a big knife into roughly 1 cm pieces, folding as you go; chop, don't mash, so you still see each vegetable. Taste, adjust the salt and serve warm with the baguette.

   Add in this stepHarissa 1½ tspGround caraway ¾ tspGround coriander ½ tspSalt ¾ tspBaguette ½