South Africans eat 146 eggs per person a year, but for optimal health we should eat more of them. Compared with countries such as Mexico (380 eggs per person), our egg consumption lags well behind.  

The Department of Health’s dietary guidelines encourage us to eat eggs in moderation every day. This is because eggs offer a lot of nutritional bang for your buck when it comes to a healthy and balanced diet. They are an excellent source of high-quality protein, as well as nutrients like choline, zinc, vitamin A, phosphorous, iodine, and some B vitamins.

Whether cooked up on the skottel with some boeries, or served with baked peppers and leftover rice or samp, let’s keep eggs local, lekker and a regular feature in the South African diet.

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

2 large peppers, halved and deseeded

15ml (1 Tbsp) olive oil

500ml (2 cups) cooked rice

4 eggs

1 x 400g can spicy tomato onion mix

Fresh chopped herbs, to garnish

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Place the pepper halves in a casserole dish and drizzle with olive oil. Spoon the cooked rice into the pepper halves.

Pour 125ml (½ cup) water into the bottom of the pan, cover with foil and bake in a preheated oven until the peppers are soft and the rice is heated through, about 15-20 minutes.

Using the back of a spoon make an indentation into the rice and crack an egg into each indentation. Spoon tomato and onion mix around the peppers.

Bake uncovered until the eggs are cooked to your liking and the sauce is heated through, about 5-8 minutes. Serve immediately. DM/TGIFood