Pantry Shakshuka
Shakshuka is something we make for breakfast probably every other weekend because we always have the ingredients in our pantry. The dish is so quick to put together and everything happens in one pot so it’s something you can pull off on weekday mornings too. Common throughout the Middle East, “shakshouka” is Arabic for “mixture” and we love it so much because it’s a medley of all the best things - tomatoes, warming spices, eggs, cheese. This recipe omits the traditional bell peppers but they’re a great addition if you have them on hand. Hope you like it!
INGREDIENTS
1 tsp olive oil
Half a yellow onion diced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne (double it if you want it extra spicy)
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 can (28 fl oz) of whole tomatoes
4 eggs
A couple of dollops of Yogurt (optional but recommended)
Feta (optional but recommended)
Cilantro or Arugula (optional but recommended)
METHOD
Heat oil in a heavy bottom saute pan.
Saute onions until translucent then add garlic and saute for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add in cumin, paprika and cayenne and combine with onion and garlic so the spices bloom.
Add in tomato paste, incorporating into the spice/onion/garlic mixture until the paste goes crimson (less than a minute). If you find the paste is sticking to the pan, add in a bit of water to deglaze the pan.
Pour in the can of tomatoes and stir. Let the tomato mixture sit for about two minutes so that it’s heated through then proceed to squish whole tomatoes with the back of your wooden spoon (or whatever stirring device you’re using) until the tomatoes have broken down and a chunky tomato mixture has taken form.
Add salt and pepper to taste, give it a stir and then with a ladle, make 4 wells with the bottom of the ladle and crack in one egg for each well.
Cover the pan and let the eggs poach in the mixture until the egg whites have firmed to your liking and yolks are still runny - about 8 to 10 minutes.
Top the eggs with some finishing salt, add some crumbled feta, some cilantro or peppery arugula and serve in the pan. We like to add yogurt sometimes because it offsets the spices nicely and we always eat it with extra crusty bread (as we do most things) for sopping up the yolk.
