Does anyone else have something they’ve just been throwing themselves at lately? I seriously can’t stop cooking. I mean, I love to cook, and I do it often. But last week I developed nine recipes for this blog. NINE. Guys, I usually do one a weekend. Apparently I have all this built up energy from not doing things in the outside world, and making new food has fueled my creativity. Gnocchi was the first one, so here’s number two: shakshuka!
If you’re not familiar with shakshuka, I’ll enlighten you. Shakshuka is a tomato-based dish that comes from Middle Eastern and North African culture. The eggs in the dish will actually poach in the tomato sauce instead of being poached in water, and it all cooks together in a cast-iron skillet. The tomato sauce typically has onions, and the whole thing is topped with crumbled feta cheese and herbs.
Now, let’s not confuse it with eggs-in-purgatory, an Italian dish that is very similar. Eggs-in-purgatory is usually made with just tomato sauce, olive oil, parmesan cheese, and basil on top, a bit simpler than the shakshuka. Shakshuka tends to be a bit chunkier than eggs in purgatory and sometimes served with merguez sausage.
Compared to most shakshuka recipes, My recipe is certainly different than most because I load it up with a lot of vegetables. I liked the idea of getting an extra boost of nutrients in the morning.
Oh, and if you missed it, I featured it in this article with some of my fellow editors talking about the meals we’re cooking in quarantine. Gosh, I hate the word quarantine. Anyone else?
Enjoy shakshuka for brunch, or dinner!
Just because it’s an egg dish doesn’t mean it’s only allowed to be enjoyed with breakfast. Shakshuka is actually a great dish to have with dinner!
There’s this hummus place I absolutely love to go to in our neighborhood, and when I go for dinner I love to order their shakshuka with a glass of red wine. With their fresh pita bread for dipping, of course.
Use up a can of diced tomatoes
For this recipe, I liked using a can of fire-roasted tomatoes, mostly because I think the flavor made more sense in this dish. However, if you have a simple can of diced tomatoes that you want to use up, that should also work. You can doctor it up with some other spices to give it a robust flavor, like smoked paprika.
It’s best in a cast-iron skillet
Time to invest! I use my cast-iron skillet for a lot of things—like pizza and homemade mac & cheese—and it’s a dream to have for skillet dinners like this. Here’s where you can snag yours.
Shakshuka
Equipment
- Cast-iron skillet
Ingredients
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 1/2 green bell pepper diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 14.5 oz. can of fire-roasted tomatoes
- 4 eggs
- Dash of salt & pepper
- 1/4 cup feta cheese
- Chopped parsley optional
- Toasted pita bread optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Heat a non-stick skillet (preferably cast-iron, 10" if possible) over medium heat. Add the teaspoon of olive oil.
- Once heated, scrape in the diced green bell pepper, diced onion, and minced garlic cloves. Sauté the vegetables for 4 minutes.
- Pour in the can of fire-roasted tomatoes—the full can, do not drain the juices. Mix the vegetables, then let them simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Using a spoon, create four divets in the tomato mixture. Crack the eggs gently into each divet. Use the spoon to carefully scoop a little bit of the tomato sauce mixture on top of the egg whites.
- Sprinkle the shakshuka with a dash of salt and pepper, then move the skillet to the oven.
- Bake for 10 minutes. The eggs may still jiggle a bit as you take them out, this is okay! You don't want to overcook them.
- Sprinkle with feta cheese and chopped parsley, if desired. Serve with toasted pita bread in bowls.
Notes
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