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(28/5/1999)

This dish I came across in Lyon, in the South East corner of France, while I was hitch-hiking to Rome with a friend.

France must be one of the worst places in Europe for hitch-hiking. We had actually given up hitching in Orleans, and caught the train down to Lyon. As I remember, we couldn't find anyone to sell us tickets on the train - so, in the grand karmic scheme of things, we still owe SNCF a few francs.

We arrived at the railway station in central Lyon in the mid-evening, and made our way to the outskirts to begin hitching - or to find a place to camp for the night. Somehow, we met up with some Lebanese students from Lyon University, who invited us to stay with them in their halls of residence. ("Ah have ahhways relahhed on the kahndness of strangers") One of them insisted on vacating his room and sleeping on his friend's floor, so that my friend and I could have a room to ourselves.

Before we went to bed, they cooked up a pan of eggs and tomatoes, which we all shared.

• Slice up some tomatoes - about two for each egg.
• Put the tomatoes in a pan with a little oil and salt, and perhaps some herbs, or paprika or cayenne. Stir them round and cover the pan, so they cook for a little while on a medium heat.
• Crack the eggs into a bowl, and then pour them in with the tomatoes, stiring all the time - until the egg is cooked.
• Serve up in bowls - like soup - and eat with bread.