MFM – Shaksuka

I’m always on the lookout for interesting recipes for Meat-free Mondays and when Carolyn Cramer (aka @thecaz) said she felt like some shaksuka yesterday morning I had to ask.  In a nutshell, it’s an Israeli dish with egg poached in a spiced tomato sauce.

Sound a little mad?  You bet.  I spent the whole day wondering whether I would (a) have the guts to make it (b) not fuck it up and (c) actually eat it.

So (a) and (b) went well and I actually ate it too.  The egg-white was still a little runny (grim) but it was delicious.  I had it with mash instead of pita as wheat is not my friend and it was really good winter food.  Next time I’ll try it on some rye.

For once I followed the entire recipe and only replaced the chilli with 2 green peppers.

Just.  Do. It.

Shakshuka
(Original recipe here and check out her wonderful photography)

Serves 4 to 6

1/4 cup olive oil
2 green peppers, chopped
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed then sliced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
2 cans whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
Salt, to taste
6 eggs
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
Warm pitas, for serving

Heat oil over medium-high heat (I used a pot) . Add peppers and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and paprika, and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft, about 2 more minutes.

Put tomatoes and their liquid into a medium bowl and crush with your hands (I just took the masher and got rid of some frustration). Add crushed tomatoes and their liquid to pot along with 1/2 cup water, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt.

Crack eggs over sauce so that eggs are evenly distributed across sauce’s surface. (I cracked the eggs into another bowl and then poured into the sauce.)  Cover and cook until yolks are just set, about 5 minutes. Using a spoon, baste the whites of the eggs with tomato mixture, being careful not to disturb the yolk. Sprinkle shakshuka with feta and parsley and serve with pitas, for dipping or on top of mash.

ps as a variation, Etienne fried some (cough) sausage for the kids and tipped half of the tomato mix into his pan and I only used 3 eggs.

I love how all my on-line and IRL friends egged (hahaha!) me on to check how it went, thanks so much!