SHAKSHUKA RECIPE – spicy eggs poached in bell pepper and tomato sauce

The Shakshuka is a tasty North-African and Israeli recipe commonly prepared for breakfast and sometimes served at dinner along with hummus, sausages and Pita bread. The eggs are poached in a hearty tomato sauce enriched with bell peppers, garlic, onions, and spices. I love to serve Shakshuka as particular and amazing brunch, preparing the sauce the previous day, and poaching the eggs at the moment: delicious!

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• 6 eggs
• 2 red bell peppers
• 5 lb (1.6 Kg) whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 (400 g) big onion
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp fresh cilantro
• 1 dash cilantro powder
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 dash Cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp black pepper
• to taste table salt

A BIT OF HISTORY

The recipe of Shakshuka has its origins from the Ottoman Empire cuisine and has spread across many countries of the Mediterranean basin. The word “Shakshuka” means “mixture” in Berber, and it was previously used to indicate a meat and vegetable stew.

The Jewish people of Tunisia were renowned for their eggs recipes, and they started to prepare the Shakshuka as we currently know replacing the meat with eggs. Because the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 and the climate of tension in several Arab states, plenty of Jewish people decided to immigrate to Israel. Particularly, in 1950 thousands of Jews came from Tunisia, bringing with them their recipes resulting of contamination between the Arab and Hebrew traditions.

Since then, the Shakshuka has become a staple of the Israeli cuisine. Shakshuka is commonly eaten at breakfast, served with pita bread, Hummus, and Baba Ghanoush.

SHAKSHUKA VARIATIONS AND SIMILAR DISHES

Given that the journey of Shakshuka has been long and various across different countries and cultures, there are many versions of this recipe and similar dishes.

A tasty variation is made adding fried eggplants.

The Algerian Chakhchoukha is a recipe that recalls the original Idea of Shakshuka: a vegetable stew composed of tomato sauce, zucchini, potatoes, and bell peppers. Diced lamb meat replace the eggs, and is slowly cooked along with the vegetables.

In Morocco, Shakshuka recipe has prepared with the same ingredients but cooked with the Tajine oven instead cast iron.

In Turkey, two different recipes seem to originate to Shakshuka. Saksuka: eggplant stewed in tomato sauce topped with a spoon of yogurt. Merem recalls Shakshuka as well: mixed peppers stew stirred with eggs.

Spain also has a recipe very similar to Shakshuka, called Pisto: vegetable stew topped with a fried egg. Another Spanish variation requires sausages along with poached eggs.

Finally, Italy also has a recipe similar to Shakshuka, called Uova in Purgatorio, and typical in Naples: eggs poached in a simple tomato sauce enriched with garlic and basil.

SHAKSHUKA RECIPE

BELL PEPPERS: BAKED OR SEARED?

It is possible to cook the bell peppers for the Shakshuka in two different ways, depending on your preferences:

1. SEARED: rinse and dice the bell peppers discarding the seeds and white parts. After that, place a pan, best if cast iron, over high heat and sear the bell peppers until well seared, stirring continuously. Once ready, pour the dices into a bowl, season with a tbsp of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of pepper.
2. BAKED: preheat the oven to 390° F (200° C). Now, rinse the peppers, and place on a tray lined with parchment paper. Bake the bell peppers about 40 minutes until the skin will be brown, flipping them on halfway. After that, seal the peppers into plastic or paper sandwich bags for 5 minutes. Finally, peel the peppers still hot, discard the water inside and the seeds, and reduce into dices or stripes. Season the peppers with 1 tbsp of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of black pepper.

CARAMELIZED ONION AND TOMATO SAUCE

Peel the onion and cut it into halves, then reduce them into slices. Now, pour 2 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil into a pan, best if cast iron, and place over low/medium heat. Finally, add the onions along with a generous pinch of salt, and cook slowly until the vegetables start to caramelize, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, the onions caramelize, peel and crush the cloves of garlic, and saute them in a pot along with 2 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil. After that, raise the peeled tomatoes from their sauce, dice them and pour into the pot. Cook slowly the sauce until thick.

Once the onions are golden brown, add the cumin seeds, and the Cayenne pepper, then stir-fry a few minutes more. After that, add the cilantro powder, and the diced tomatoes, and the bell peppers.

SERVING SHAKSHUKA

Cook the Shakshuka sauce until thick enough to create six holes. At this point, crack the eggs and pour carefully one egg into each hole. Cover the pan, and cook over low heat until the eggs are ready: cooked but still smooth.

Complete with fresh cilantro minced, and a sprinkle of black pepper. Serve immediately.

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TAKE A LOOK AT THIS:

ROASTED BELL PEPPERS HUMMUS with goat cheese and mint

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