Name: Shakshuka
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds; 90ml light olive oil; 1 large onion, peeled and sliced; 1 red pepper, cored and cut into 2cm strips; 1 yellow pepper, cored and cut into 2cm strips; 2 teaspoons light muscovado sugar; 1 bay leaf; 3 sprigs of thyme; 5g flat-leaf parsley, chopped; 15g fresh coriander, chopped; 300g/4 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped; ¼ teaspoon saffron strands; Large pinch of cayenne pepper; ⅛ teaspoon fine salt; ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; Up to 125ml water; 4 free-range eggs; 200g Greek yoghurt; ½ - 2 teaspoons of harissa, to taste (optional)

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A heavenly yet healthy vegetarian breakfast dish (or lunch or supper) made from sweet, slow cooked tomatoes, peppers/capsicum, onion and garlic, some roast cumin seeds, and a range of fresh herbs: coriander, parsley, thyme and bay leaves. The crowing glory – the eggs, poached in this fabulous flavour bomb. Cooked in and served from one pan, all this dish needs, is some fresh chunky bread.

Most people would aim to serve their eggs with a delicious runny yolk – maybe now is the time to confess, I like a well cooked yolk! I know, I’m a peasant! I grew up eating runny yolks, but when I was pregnant, my taste changed and I just couldn’t face them – they tasted so metallic! Bizarrely, this was 23 years ago, and my taste has not returned to normal. Hard yolks, I adore, but soft, no thank you! I’m very happy to confirm that this dish is absolutely delicious with hard yolks but the eggs can be cooked exactly to your liking! Interestingly, I can woof down a chocolate mousse or two with raw egg yolks though!!

I have eaten Shakshuka many times, but made it for the first time, only recently. I really don’t know why because I absolutely love it and, since working in Beirut over 25 years ago, I have been drawn to Middle Eastern and North African flavours. Normally, when I have never made a recipe before, I do a whole pile of research and end up with a combination of recipes and ideas. For this recipe, however, I went straight to the Prince of Middle Eastern food, Ottolenghi. I have eaten it on enough occasions to know exactly what I was looking for, and I most certainly found it. This dish is a triumph of deliciousness.

The cooked vegetables would be incredible stirred through pasta or on bruschetta, served with feta cheese or with fried and crispy chorizo. Utterly delectable – I will be returning to these at a later date! For now, let’s focus on Shakshuka

How to make Shakshuka

Collect all your ingredients together:

cumin seeds
light olive oil
large onion, peeled and sliced
red and yellow pepper, cored and cut into 2cm strips
light muscovado sugar
bay leaf
sprigs of thyme
flat-leaf parsley, chopped
fresh coriander, chopped
ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
saffron strands
cayenne pepper
fine salt
freshly ground black pepper
water
free-range eggs
Greek or natural yoghurt
harissa (optional)

Make the Shakshuka:

Heat your pan over a moderate heat and dry roast the cumin seeds for 2 minutes.
Increase heat to moderately high and add the oil and sliced onions. Sauté for a further 2 minutes
Now add the sliced peppers, sugar, bay leaf, fresh thyme, chopped parsley and all bar 1 tablespoon chopped coriander.
Cook for around 5 minutes or until the peppers are lightly caramelised.
Add the chopped tomatoes, saffron, cayenne, seasoning and 60ml water.
Cook on low for 15 minutes until the tomatoes are softened and broken down into the sauce. Add more water if necessary. It should be the texture of a thick pasta sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove whole herbs – bay leaf and thyme.
Make holes in the vegetables for the eggs.
Crack in the eggs and season the yolks with some salt.
Cover and continue to cook on low until the eggs are cooked to your liking – between 5 and 10 minutes.
When cooked, top with remaining coriander and serve with some fresh bread or toast and some yoghurt. I like to add some spicy harissa to the yoghurt. (See below.)

Yoghurt and Harissa

I like to serve the Shakshuka with some Greek or natural yoghurt. For breakfast, I keep the yoghurt plain, but if I am eating this later in the morning, I tend to fancy a bit of spice, so I stir some harissa into the yoghurt. Harissa is a North African hot chilli pepper paste or sauce. Today I used some Goch and Company harissa which has a fiery kick. Harissa varies – some are much stronger than others, so just stir in to your liking.

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Shakshuka

A heavenly yet healthy vegetarian breakfast dish (or lunch or supper) made from sweet, slow cooked tomatoes, peppers/capsicum, onion and garlic, some roast cumin seeds, and a range of fresh herbs. The crowing glory – the eggs are poached in this fabulous flavour bomb. Serves 2

Course Breakfast, brunch, Light meal, Lunch

Cuisine Middle Eastern, North African

Keyword eggs, Fresh Herbs, peppers, tomatoes

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the Shakshuka:

¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
90ml light olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1 red pepper, cored and cut into 2cm strips
1 yellow pepper, cored and cut into 2cm strips
2 teaspoons light muscovado sugar
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs of thyme
5g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
15g fresh coriander, chopped
300g/4 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
¼ teaspoon saffron strands
Large pinch of cayenne pepper
⅛ teaspoon fine salt
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Up to 125ml water
4 free-range eggs

For the yoghurt and harissa:

200g Greek yoghurt
½ – 2 teaspoons of harissa, to taste (optional)

Instructions

Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
Make the Shakshuka: heat your pan over a moderate heat and dry roast the cumin seeds for 2 minutes.
Increase heat to moderately high and add the oil and sliced onions. Sauté for a further 2 minutes
Now add the sliced peppers, sugar, bay leaf, fresh thyme, chopped parsley and all bar 1 tablespoon chopped coriander.
Cook for around 5 minutes or until the peppers are lightly caramelised.
Add the chopped tomatoes, saffron, cayenne, seasoning and 60ml water.
Cook on low for 15 minutes until the tomatoes are softened and broken down into the sauce. Add more water if necessary. It should be the texture of a thick pasta sauce.
Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove whole herbs – bay leaf and thyme.
Make holes in the vegetables for the eggs.
Crack in the eggs and season the yolks with some salt.
Cover and continue to cook on low until the eggs are cooked to your liking – between 5 and 10 minutes.
When cooked, top with remaining coriander and serve with some fresh bread or toast and some yoghurt. I like to add some spicy harissa to the yoghurt. (See below.)
Make the Harissa Yoghurt: harissa varies – some are much stronger than others. Stir as much or as little harissa as you would like to suit your palate. Alternatively, serve the yoghurt plain.

Recipe Notes

Equipment:

kitchen scales and measuring spoons
chopping board and knife
frying pan or cast iron pan with a lid
small mixing bowl

Shakshuka