Mealtime Magic - Basque Piperrada Vasca of Orange and Yellow Bell Peppers and Eggs

A new book takes home cooks on a culinary journey through Spain’s healthiest traditions.  A health book, cookbook, and culinary travel memoir all rolled into one, The Iberian Table by award-winning author Robin Keuneke is a love letter to Spain, decoding one of the world's healthiest and most delicious food cultures. Spain is not only home to more restaurants in the world's top 50 than any other country, but it also boasts one of the highest life expectancies globally, second only to Japan.

 

In The Iberian Table, Keuneke, known for her bestsellers Total Breast Health and The Detox Revolution, takes readers on a vibrant exploration of Spanish food and culture. With over 100 mouthwatering recipes crafted for the American home cook, she brings the Spanish Mediterranean diet to life—an often overlooked yet profoundly life-extending approach to eating. Alongside easy-to-follow recipes, Keuneke offers practical advice on meal planning and weekly menus, with ingredients readily available at most grocery and health food stores.

Recipe and photo reprinted with permission from The Iberian Table by Robin Keuneke/Bay of Roses Books/October 2024

 Basque Piperrada Vasca of Orange and Yellow Bell Peppers and Eggs

Serves 4

 

Ingredients

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Minced pancetta (optional)

1 cup of red, orange, and yellow bell peppers cut into thin strips

1 large yellow onion, sliced (about 1½ cups)

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 large tomatoes cut into bite-size pieces

6 large eggs, from cage-free hens

Salt, pepper

 

In a large skillet or a cazuela, sauté onion, half the garlic, and the peppers in EVOO for 15-20 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper, and taking care to stir with a wooden spoon at intervals to prevent onions and peppers from burning. Remove.

 

In the same pan slicked with plenty of EVOO, sauté remaining cloves of garlic (and pancetta) for about

5-7 minutes.

 

Add tomatoes, season lightly with salt and a grinding of pepper. Continue sautéing until tomatoes soften.

 

Stir in the peppers/onions. Break and arrange eggs over the mixture of tomatoes, peppers,

and onions and salt lightly. Take care not to overcook. The yolks should be runny.

Robin Keuneke is an author, natural foods chef, and fine artist. She is the author of Total Breast Health: Power Foods for Prevention and Wellness, a Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of the Year, and coauthor with Thomas J. Slaga of The Detox Revolution: A Powerful Program for Boosting Your Body’s Ability to Fight Cancer and Other Diseases. The former food editor for Total Health Magazine, Spain’s Mediterranean diet was a story she had to tell. Keuneke has exhibited her oil paintings in New York City and London and her etchings are in the permanent collection of the New York Public Library. With her husband, Thomas, she divides her time between Atlanta, Georgia and Delray Beach, Florida. Her next book, Basque to Barcelona and Stories Along the Way, is a collection of historical fiction around the theme of Spanish culinary pursuits.