Tunisia: Shakshuka

Name: Tunisia: Shakshuka
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Tunisian
Ingredients: olive oil: 2 Tbsp; yellow onion: 1 medium; red bell pepper: 1 large; jalepeno: 1 small; garlic: 3 gloves; smoked paprika: 1 1/2 Tbsp; cumin: 1 Tbsp; whole peeled tomatoes: 1 28 oz can; salt and pepper: to taste; Large eggs: 6; feta; cilantro; crusty bread

Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce

Cuisine:

Tunisian

This dish brings "breakfast for dinner" to the next level, and is healthy, easy and affordable to make - definitely worth making a staple at home!

30
Serves 6
Easy

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion
thinly sliced
1 large red bell pepper
stem and seeds removed, thinly sliced
1 small jalepeno
stem removed, thinly sliced
3 gloves garlic
crushed or minced
1 1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp cumin
1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
to taste salt and pepper
6 Large eggs
For Serving
feta
cilantro
crusty bread

Directions

Shakshuka is a popular breakfast food in Israel. It’s often thought of as a Middle Eastern dish, but it actually originates in the North African country of Tunisia. It’s common that the influences of other countries are adopted and you forget where they came from to begin with, only remembering how much you love them. Beautiful really, I think.

The Jerusalem cookbook describes Tunisian cuisine as having “a passionate love affair with eggs,” and this dish is no exception. The eggs are poached in a spicy tomato sauce and served with a crusty bread to sop up the sauce. This version includes peppers and tomatoes and is topped with crumbled feta and cilantro, but there are as many versions as there are chefs who make it. This dish brings “breakfast for dinner” to the next level, and is healthy, easy and affordable to make – definitely worth making a staple at home!

Recipe Source: Serious Eats

Steps

1 Done	Heat olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, red pepper, and jalepeno and spread into an even layer. Cook, without moving, until vegetables on the bottom are deeply browned and beginning to char in spots, about 6 minutes. Stir and repeat. Continue to cook until vegetables are fully softened and spottily charred, about another 4 minutes.
2 Done	Add garlic and cook, stirring, until softened and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add paprika and cumin and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Immediately add tomatoes. Use a fork to have them and then smush them well and stir to combine with onions and peppers. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3 Done	Using a large spoon, make a well near the perimeter of the pan and break an egg directly into it. Spoon a little sauce over edges of egg white to partially submerge and contain it, leaving yolk exposed (this helps them set faster, allowing you to leave the yolks runnier). Repeat with remaining 5 eggs, working around pan as you go. Cover, reduce heat to lowest setting, and cook until egg whites are barely set and yolks are still runny, 5 to 8 minutes.
4 Done	Sprinkle with cilantro or parsley and feta and serve immediately with crusty bread.