Slow cooked eggs (Huevos haminados)

These eggs are cooked for hours over onion skins and with Greek coffee and a few other ingredients so that they acquire a deep brown color. This is by far one of the great, traditional recipes of the Sephardic community of Thessaloniki, and speaks directly to its Spanish roots.

Slow-cooked eggs (Huevos haminados). Credit: My Greek Table

• serves

  6

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  2 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 6 cups onion skins
• 12 eggs
• 1½ tbsp Greek coffee (finely ground)
• ⅓ cup red vinegar
• Olive oil
• Water

This will take 2 hours if using a pressure cooker, five hours if cooking in a regular pot.

Instructions

1. Place a third of the onion skins in a layer on the bottom of a large, wide pot or pressure cooker. Add half the eggs, spaced widely apart. Next, cover with another third of the onion skins and the remaining eggs. Top with a final layer of onion skins.
2. Warm water and dissolve coffee in water in a small bowl. Pour the coffee into the pot.
3. Add olive oil, pepper, sea salt, and vinegar to pot. Add enough water to cover the contents of the pot.
4. Secure the lid of the pressure cooker closed and place on the burner over low heat. Cook the eggs for two hours. If cooking in a regular pot, the eggs will need to be simmered, covered, for five hours, and you’ll need to keep an eye on the water content. Check the colour of the eggs to confirm that they’re done. They should be deep brown.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.