Shakshuka - Eggs Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce

Shakshuka is a flavorful dish of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce. It's origins are North African and it is now a very popular breakfast in Israel.

The spicy tomato sauce in the shakshuka (don't you love the name?) is flavored with a wonderful combination of spices. The ingredient list is long, but all of the elements in this recipe come together to make a "jump-up-and-down, I can't believe how good this is" dish.

After falling in love with the flavors of this sauce, I made it again, and instead of poaching eggs in it, I used it to poach halibut for dinner. Delicious. In fact, it was so tasty, that I made it a third time with cod for Easter dinner.

You can poach the eggs together on the stove top in a large skillet, or you can transfer the prepared sauce to individual dishes and poach the eggs in the oven. This is really convenient when making breakfast or brunch for a crowd. Just place your small baking dishes on a baking sheet, and place them in the oven until the eggs have set.

You can make the sauce in advance, heat it up when you are ready to serve brunch, divide it among your ramekins, add the eggs, and bake!

Of course, if you don't have time to made the sauce, another great option for brunch is Baked Eggs. 

After the recipe, be sure to check out the rest of the BrunchWeek recipes.

Yield: 6 servings

Shakshuka

This recipe describes the oven method for poaching the eggs. To make the eggs on the stovetop, turn off the heat and crack the eggs and drop them into the sauce. Turn the heat back on to a low simmer, and cook for about 10 minutes, while basting the eggs with the sauce. Then cover and cook for an additional 3 minutes.

ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, crushed in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• Two 14 ounce cans diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1 cup (20 grams) loosely packed greens, coarsely chopped. I used Cal-Organics Spinach. 
• 4 ounces feta cheese, cut into bite sized pieces
• Optional garnishes from one of our sponsors: Cento marinated artichoke hearts, chopped, capers, and/or Kalamata olives, chopped. 

instructions:

1. In a 12 inch skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Add the jalapeño, salt, and pepper, and the paprika, caraway, cumin, and turmeric. Cook the mixture, stirring, for one minute. 
2. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, honey, and vinegar. Lower the heat to to medium low, and cook for about 15 minutes. Add the spinach or other chopped greens. 
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Divide the sauce among 6 ramekins or small baking dishes and place the dishes on a baking sheet. 
4. Divide the feta among the baking dishes and press the pieces into the tomato sauce. Make and indentation with a spoon into each baking dish, and add an egg to each. Sprinkle each with the optional olives, chopped artichoke hearts, and/or capers. 
5. Bake until the eggs are cooked with the whites set, and the yolks are still runny, about 10 to 15 minutes. You can baste the eggs with the sauce if you like. 
6. Serve with crusty baguettes to sop up the sauce. 

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2018/05/shakshuka-eggs-poached-in-spicy-tomato.html

This recipe was adapted from Jerusalem: A Cookbook, and Secrets of the Best Chefs via David Lebovitz

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