Shakshouka شكشوكة
What is Shakshouka?
Shakshouka شكشوكة is a North African vegetarian one pan stewed dish that has become a staple in the Middle East and is so incredibly delicious. This dish is very simple to make - all you need is garlic, onion, bell pepper, carrots, canned tomatoes, cumin, paprika, ginger, turmeric, salt, and pepper for the stewed part, crack an egg, add feta, and a herb medley on top and you have yourself an amazing shakshouka! You can make this guilt-free dish for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Every person has their own way of making this dish, so tweak to your preference.
STORY TIME
The first time I ever tried Shakshouka was at Hummus Bistro in Amsterdam. It was the most amazing dish filled with so many flavors from the tomatoes to the spices. The second time I had Shakshouka was at Republique in LA and equally like the first time, I fell in love all over again. Both restaurants made their own style of Shakshouka, and paired the dish with different sides. In Amsterdam, the dish was paired with hummus and pita, and in LA, it was paired with a very simple baguette. I am so excited for the day we are able to travel freely to North Africa, so that I can bring the spices back into my kitchen and tweak where I need to here and there. When the Covid 19 pandemic hindered our ability to travel safely, I began to experiment with dishes that we had in our travels. I studied so many recipes, and after making this dish more than a handful of times in the year, I eventually didn’t need the recipes anymore and ventured into adding different veggies, more of this, more of that, and here we are today. I am a big advocate of using only the best and freshest ingredients.
From my kitchen to yours,
Mel
Ingredients
1tbspOlive Oil or Avo Oil
3 minced Garlic Cloves
1 sliced Onion
1 sliced Bell Pepper
2 sliced Carrots
Canned Tomatoes (I prefer whole San Marzano tomatoes & hand crushing them myself)
2tbsp Cumin Powder
1tbsp Garlic Salt
2tsp Ginger Powder
2tsp Tumeric Powder
2tsp Paprika Powder
Salt to taste
2tsp Black Pepper
4 Eggs
Feta Cheese
Chopped Cilantro, Green Onion Medley
INSTRUCTIONS
Start by slicing all your veggies up and making sure that you have all of your ingredients, it helps a whole lot when you have everything right in front of you, especially when this is a new recipe you’re trying or you need to tweak anything!
Heat up your pan on high heat, add 1tbsp of olive oil or avo oil, after about a minute it should be hot. Add your minced garlic, sauté for about 10 seconds, and then add your sliced onions, sauté this for about a minute over medium high heat. Once you see the onions start to soften add the spices; cumin, garlic salt, ginger powder, turmeric powder, paprika powder, mix this all up in your pan with the garlic and ginger.
After about 30 seconds, add your canned tomatoes (hand crush them while they’re in the pan, just don’t burn yourself.) You’re going to bring this stew to a boil, give this about 1o minutes on medium heat. I love to taste as I go so once you see the stew boiling, try a taste of the shakshouka, adjust the flavor accordingly. (I noticed that I am usually adding more cumin or salt to the dish.)
When you get the stew just right and within 15 minutes after you start cooking this dish, the eggs are ready to be placed into this stew. I usually make some room in my stew to place the cracked eggs… immediately after, turn your heat to low and cover the stew with a lid.
Prepare your feta cheese, and chopped green onion/cilantro medley. You are going to check on your Shakshouka and if the eggs look like they are cooked and not too runny turn off your heat and dress your dish; sprinkle the feta cheese, green onion/ cilantro medley, cracked black pepper, and finish with a sprinkle of Maldon salt.
Serve with Baguette, pita bread, Babaganoush, hummus, Tzatziki, and or Harrissa.
