Craving France -- And A Piperade Recipe

I craved the warmth of France yesterday. A sultry summer day drinking Pastis in Duras. A drive through the vineyards of the Rhône valley. Sunday lunch under the trees in Soumensac. An afternoon with a bottle of wine at a terrace in Buxy.

To think that we're basically not even a month into winter...

And that it'll be three months before I'm in my heart's home again...

After spending the morning writing about food memories in France yesterday, there's nothing I wanted to do more than close my laptop and head out for a three-course lunch at my favorite French restaurant. But alas. It's about 1200 km away from here. Instead, I treated myself to a steamy, garlicky and rather spicy piperade. 

Here's the recipe:

Piperade for One

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1 bell pepper, halved and thinly sliced

¾ can of chopped tomatoes

1 tsp piment d’espelette

½ tsp sugar

fleur de sel

freshly-ground pepper

1 large egg

Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan and gently sweat the onion and garlic until soft. Add the peppers and continue to cook for about 5 minutes. Tip in your chopped tomatoes and season with piment d’espelette, sugar, salt and pepper. Leave this to cook over a medium-high heat for about 8 minutes. Make a small well in the center, crack in your egg, cover and cook for about 3-5 more minutes. Serve!