Welcome to “The Plate Daily”, the newsletter serving up under 40-minutes meals as international as chef Rafael Cagali’s background

In todays edition:

Lets go🧑‍🍳

“I work so I can afford the things I like”
That’s a sentence I hear often or read online a lot. And yeah, it’s a fair point. But what if we don’t really need all those little things we keep buying here and there?

Don’t get me wrong. I buy a lot of stuff too, and most of it ends up being pretty useless in the long run. So maybe it’s worth thinking a little more about the things we buy and asking ourselves if we actually need them.

Takeaway:
Start paying attention to what you’re buying and why you’re buying it.

Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 2 - 3
Style: Fancy style

2 tbsp olive oil
1 small yellow onion
1 red bell pepper
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
1 can crushed tomatoes (400g / 14 oz)
4 eggs

Salt
Black pepper

Optional toppings
Feta cheese
Fresh parsley or cilantro

For serving
Crusty bread or warm pita

1. Prep the vegetables
Start by chopping the onion into small pieces and dicing the red bell pepper. Peel and finely mince the garlic.

2. Cook the base
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook for about 5 minutes until they soften and start to smell sweet.

3. Bloom the spices
Add the garlic, paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Stir everything together and cook for about 30 seconds so the spices release their aroma.

4. Build the sauce
Pour in the crushed tomatoes and season with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Stir and let the sauce simmer for about 8–10 minutes until it thickens slightly.

5. Add the eggs
Use a spoon to make four small wells in the sauce. Crack one egg into each well.

6. Let the eggs cook
Cover the pan and cook for about 5–7 minutes until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still soft.

7. Finish and serve
Top with crumbled feta and chopped parsley if you like. Serve straight from the pan with crusty bread or warm pita to scoop up the sauce and eggs.

That’s it
Hope you enjoy

Salt used to be so valuable that it was sometimes used as money.

In ancient Rome, soldiers were partly paid with salt or with money meant to buy it. This payment was called a “salarium,” which is where the modern word salary comes from. Salt was essential for preserving food long before refrigeration existed, making it one of the most important ingredients in daily life.

Because of its value, entire trade routes were built just to transport salt across continents.

Takeaway: Food is worth quite a lot.

“The world’s strongest beer has an ABV of 43%”

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