We are loving our new apartment in Wellington. It could not be a better location, right in the middle of everything and just a block away from the waterfront. The best part is every Sunday, there is a massive farmer’s market with tons of super cheap fruits and vegetables, much like City Market in Kansas City.
Its about a 2 minute walk from our apartment which is a good thing because two weeks in a row now, I’ve told Caleb, “I’ll just get a few things!” and we’ve ended up lugging home about a hundred pounds of produce. There’s just so many beautiful vegetables! I mean really, look at that spinach! So pretty, so yummy. I have had so much fun cooking up a storm with all these veggies!
Speaking of the spinach here, I’ve never seen such massive bundles of big spinach leaves! All I ever see in the US is baby spinach. I don’t know why we don’t have mature spinach at our grocery stores, because it is delicious.
Alright, back to business, this shakshuka. If you’ve never had shakshuka before, let me tell you, you are missing out. I first had it at an Israeli restaurant in Nepal a couple years ago, weird I know, but it was delicious and it’s become one of my favorite meals since. I order it anytime I see it on a restaurant menu, and it’s actually really easy to make at home!
Shakshuka is originally from Tunisia but it’s very popular in Israel and North Africa. In Israel, it is eaten for breakfast, but it’s perfect anytime of day. First, you make a delicious sauce with tomatoes and red peppers, cumin, paprika, lots of flavor, and then you break some eggs in there and let the sauce poach them. While I did it all on the stove, it is easier (and quicker) to do the sauce in a cast-iron skillet on the stove first and then crack the eggs in the sauce and bake the whole thing so the eggs cook in the oven. I’m just currently oven-less… Either way works though. And personally, I think it’s easier to ensure the yolks stay runny cooking it on the stove-top.
Shakshuka should be served with good bread, any kind of bread, a baguette, pita bread, naan, toast, whatever you’ve got. I love naan, so I made some garlic naan, which I will be posting the recipe for shortly and I topped it with cilantro and feta cheese. I highly recommend cilantro but it’s still delicious without it of course. I also think avocado would be a wonderful addition.
This would be a perfect breakfast for the holidays, look how festive it is!
This delicious dish of poached eggs in a tomato-red pepper sauce can be eaten anytime of day, breakfast, brunch, or dinner and should be served with bread. Top with cilantro, feta, and/or avocado, if desired.
Ingredients
- 1 T extra virgin olive oil
- 2 red bell peppers, sliced
- 2 small onions or 1 large, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 t cumin
- 1 t paprika
- 1/8 t cayenne
- 4 tomatoes, diced
- 1 t salt
- 1/8 t black pepper
- 2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- 4 eggs
- cilantro (optional)
- feta (optional)
Instructions
- Click HERE to see step by step photos I took.
- 1. Heat a skillet on medium heat and add 1 T olive oil. Make sure to use a cast-iron skillet if baking the eggs.
- 2. When oil is hot, add bell peppers and onions and sauté until very soft, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- 3. If baking the eggs, preheat the oven to 375 F.
- 4. Add the garlic to the onions and peppers, cook for 2 more minutes. Add cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper, and stir. Cook 1 more minute.
- 5. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper, and 1/4 cup of water. Stir and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 more minutes, until tomatoes are broken down and a thick sauce is forming. Add the spinach, stir and cook 2 more minutes.
- 6. Now, make four shallow wells in the sauce. Don't expose the bottom of the pan, you still want some sauce underneath the eggs. Crack one egg into each well.
- 7. If baking the eggs, pop the cast iron into the preheated oven for 7-10 minutes, until the eggs are cooked to your liking. Closer to 7 for a runny yolk, closer to 10 for a hard yolk.
- 8. Skip this step if you're baking the eggs. If cooking on the stove top, cover and let the sauce simmer and poach the eggs. The part of the egg whites closest to the yolk takes the longest to cook. If you just let the eggs cook as is, by the time the white is all the way cooked, the yolk will also be hard and cooked through. To avoid this, after the eggs have cooked for 3-4 minutes, very carefully scoop some sauce on top of the egg whites surrounding the yolk. Don't cover the yolk! This traps the heat and cooks the white faster, ensuring your yolks stay runny. This is illustrated in picture 7 HERE.
- 9. With either method, you can poke the egg whites very gently with a fork to see how firm they are. When the eggs are cooked to your liking, the shakshuka is done and should be served right away! Garnish with cilantro and feta, if desired and serve with bread! YUM
I love your posts Tay! This looks delish!! You must make it when you come home!!
by Kari December 12, 2015 at 05 : 38Deal! I can handle that:)
by Taylor December 12, 2015 at 08 : 27