Shakshuka, Tunisian Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce

Tomato sauce, eggs, and  a little chili heat. What’s not to love?

Shakshuka came to Israel by way of immigrants from Tunisia. Its rustic North African origin is betrayed by the chili bite and how it makes the most of local ingredients: ripe tomatoes, bell peppers, and eggs. Sustainable, flavorful, folkloric and quick. Can’t get better than that.

Shakshuka: Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce

Yield: four servings

Ingredients:

4 ripe tomatoes, not peeled and roughly cut into chunks

2 medium yellow onions, peeled and sliced thinly

2 bell peppers of different colors (red and yellow are especially attractive), seeded and sliced into eighths

2 cloves garlic, chopped roughly

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

Freshly-ground black pepper to taste

1 small, de-seeded red chili, finely chopped – or 1/2 teaspoon cayenne flakes

1/4 – 1/2 cup water, as needed

4 large eggs

A handful of chopped coriander, parsley, or spring onions, for garnish

Method:

Prepare the vegetables, putting each sliced or chopped one in a separate bowl.

1. Put the ground cumin into a large skillet and let it heat through for a few seconds or until the aroma rises. Add the olive oil to the skillet.

2. Add the onions and sauté  for two minutes, till they wilt. Add the sliced peppers to the skillet and sauté another 5 minutes, or until they too are softened.

3. Add the chopped tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, and chopped chili or cayenne flakes. Cook over medium heat, stirring, for 20 minutes. Add water as needed to make a thick sauce. Do not add so much water as to make the sauce runny. It should be juicy but semi-solid, like a thick pasta sauce.

4. With a spoon, gently push aside the vegetables in four places. Break one egg into each of these places. Cover the skillet with a lid, lower the heat, and cook a further 10 minutes or until the eggs are set to your liking.

5. Sprinkle the shakshuka with the chopped green herbs. Serve 1 egg per person, with generous amounts of sauce.

1- portion serving: spoon some of the sauce into a small frying pan and cook one egg in it.

Meat alternative: Fry a few hot Merguez sausages in olive oil and garnish the Shakshuka with them.

Lazy cook’s alternative: Take any amount of leftover pasta sauce, cook green peppers in it, add cayenne, and poach eggs in it. Add grated cheese (not traditional, but nice) or sausage as above.

Green alternative

Moshe Basson’s book has a version of green shakshuka

In any case, make sure to have plenty of fresh bread to mop up the sauce.

Enjoy!

More Middle-Eastern recipes from Green Prophet:

Za’atar-topped Pita

Moroccan Stuffed Artichoke Hearts
Apricot Chutney
Pea Pod Soup Recipe

Photo of shakshuka by Miriam Kresh

Author: Miriam Kresh

Miriam Kresh is an American ex-pat living in Israel. Her love of Middle Eastern food evolved from close friendships with enthusiastic Moroccan, Tunisian and Turkish home cooks. She owns too many cookbooks and is always planning the next meal. Miriam can be reached at miriam (at) greenprophet (dot) com.