Shakshuka (v)

I have seen a myriad number of ways of preparing this dish; this is my veggie version. I have put feta as an optional ingredient because I don’t usually use it myself (mainly because I don’t buy it very often). But it definitely brings something to the dish. Some versions cook the egg on the hob with a lid on top of the pan, I have had more success with baking in the oven, with a quick flash under the grill.  But experiment!

It is a bit tricky to get a nice runny yolk and ensure the whites are cooked, but if you manage to then this is a sensational breakfast! (It’s good even if the yolk hardens somewhat!) This dish is great with some good bread/flatbread for dipping.

This serves about 3 but can be easily scaled up or down.

Gear

• Chopping board and sharp knife
• Large saucepan (with lid if poaching)
• 1 very large baking dish, or a couple of medium sized ones
• Wooden spoon
• Oven set to 200^oC

Shakshuka (v)

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion peeled and sliced into half moons
• 1 small red pepper – diced quite finely.
• 3 cloves garlic peeled and sliced
• 2 red chillis, chopped
• 1tsp smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (ground in pestle and mortar or use ground cumin)
• 1 tsp coriander seeds (ground in pestle and mortar or use ground coriander)
• 2 or 3 tsp of harissa paste (to your taste)
• 400g tin of plum (or chopped) tomatoes
• 400g tin of chick peas
• 20g bunch of fresh coriander leaves roughly chopped
• 6 eggs (large, free range if possible)
• (optional) 200g feta cheese – roughly cubed
• sea salt and black pepper

Method

1. Put 2tbsp of olive oil into the saucepan on a low/medium heat.
2. Add the onion, the diced red pepper and a pinch of salt, ‘sweat’ for 7-8 minutes until the onions are turning translucent.
3. Add the garlic and chillis and cook for a further minute.
4. Then add the paprika, cinnamon, turmeric, ground cumin and ground coriander.
5. If it is  bit too dry then add another slug of oil, stir well and add the harissa paste.
6. Raise the heat to medium and fry everything together for about a minute before adding the tinned tomatoes, if using plum tomatoes make sure you break them up.
7. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes allowing the sauce to reduce slightly, keep stirring to prevent sticking and burning.
8. Drain the chickpeas and add them to the sauce, stirring well.
9. Season with sea salt and black pepper (if adding feta cheese later then be careful as this is quite salty!) Stir in about half of your fresh coriander and turn the heat off the hob.
10. Preheat your oven to 200^oC.
11. Pour your sauce into your baking dish(es)
12. If using feta then scatter liberally, pushing some bits down into the sauce.
13. Make 6 ‘wells’ and crack your eggs into these
14. Drizzle with about 1tbsp of olive oil; add a final sprinkle of sea salt and a few good ‘grinds’ of black pepper.
15. Bake in the oven for between 12-15minutes or until the whites are nice and opaque.  (I sometimes flash this under the grill for a couple of minutes if it seems to be taking ages.
16. Scatter over the remaining chopped coriander (and some extra fresh chilli if that’s your thing) and serve.

As an alternative to baking, use a very large based saucepan instead of oven dish and crack your eggs into the wells, then put the lid on and ‘poach’ the eggs for about 10 -12 minutes.