- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 green Italian frying peppers, halved, seeded, and diced
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- 1 1/2 pounds boiling potatoes (3 medium), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 3 cups chicken stock or broth
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads (0.2 g)
- 4 long sprigs of fresh parsley, tied together into a knot
- 1 Turkish bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/4 cups broken-up fideos (pasta nests) or spaghetti broken into 1- to 2-inch lengths (4 oz)
- 4 large eggs (shells washed)
- Heat oil in a 5-quart heavy pot over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook onion, frying peppers, and garlic, stirring, until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Stir in potatoes, stock, cumin, saffron, parsley, bay leaf, salt, and black pepper, then bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cover and simmer gently over low heat until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Stir in fideos and simmer, covered, over moderate heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Gently lower eggs (in their shells) into stew and simmer 10 minutes to hard-boil them. Transfer eggs with a slotted spoon to a bowl of cold water to cool, then peel and slice. Discard parsley and bay leaf.
- Divide eggs among 4 shallow bowls and ladle stew over them.