Khlea w Bayd (خليع بالبيض)

The fat goes in first. Not much, just enough khlii fat to loosen in the pan and turn glossy, carrying with it the taste of cured meat, coriander seed, cumin, garlic, and time. Then the little pieces of preserved meat wake up in that fat, and only after that do the eggs arrive.

This is the breakfast of a house that keeps something ready for hunger. Khlii was made ahead in quantity, often after Eid al-Adha, meat salted, spiced, dried, cooked, and sealed under fat so it could feed the family long after the feast had passed. For khlea w bayd, the one rule is gentle heat. Heat the fat first, then lower the flame before the eggs go in, so the whites poach soft in the seasoned fat instead of frying hard at the edges.

You eat it straight from the pan with khobz, tearing bread and chasing the yolk before it sets. Put the pan in the middle. Someone will say they only want a bite. Make one more egg anyway. Une table, c'est une porte qu'on laisse ouverte, a table is a door you leave open.