When I lived in Melbourne, I fell in love with the dishes of eggs baked in spicy tomato sauce that I had at some of the Middle Eastern restaurants in my neighborhood. I'd never really seen anything like this in America, and I didn't really know what the dish was officially called, so I couldn't seem to track down a proper recipe. Now I know that the dish I love so much is an Israeli dish called Shakshuka, and that it is ridiculously easy to make. I found the recipe that I (approximately) followed over at smitten kitchen (one of my very favorite food blogs). The dish starts with onion, chilies, garlic, and a large can of whole tomatoes.
The chilies and a small onion (or half of that large onion above) are chopped and sautéed until soft and starting to color. Cumin, paprika, and sliced fresh garlic are stirred in...
The hand-crushed whole tomatoes are stirred in and the sauce simmers until it starts to thicken (15 to 20 minutes).
In go the eggs. I screwed up the sixth one, but it didn't impact the awesomeness of the dish.
The dish is covered and allowed to gently simmer for about 5 minutes, until the whites are just set. The last two ingredients are feta cheese and parsley.
The chopped parsley and crumbled feta are sprinkled over the cooked eggs...
I toasted up a pita in the oven to serve with this and called it dinner (plus two breakfasts).
This is one of those dishes that feels like it's what I've been craving my whole life. It's perfect in every way, including that it's actually fairly healthy. I love the spiciness of the chilies, the saltiness of the feta, the brightness of the parsley (and I don't even like parsley), and the, um, tomato-iness (?) of the tomatoes with the soft, rich, perfectly cooked eggs. This is definitely going to go into rotation as a regular weekend breakfast.
The chilies and a small onion (or half of that large onion above) are chopped and sautéed until soft and starting to color. Cumin, paprika, and sliced fresh garlic are stirred in...
The hand-crushed whole tomatoes are stirred in and the sauce simmers until it starts to thicken (15 to 20 minutes).
In go the eggs. I screwed up the sixth one, but it didn't impact the awesomeness of the dish.
The dish is covered and allowed to gently simmer for about 5 minutes, until the whites are just set. The last two ingredients are feta cheese and parsley.
The chopped parsley and crumbled feta are sprinkled over the cooked eggs...
I toasted up a pita in the oven to serve with this and called it dinner (plus two breakfasts).
This is one of those dishes that feels like it's what I've been craving my whole life. It's perfect in every way, including that it's actually fairly healthy. I love the spiciness of the chilies, the saltiness of the feta, the brightness of the parsley (and I don't even like parsley), and the, um, tomato-iness (?) of the tomatoes with the soft, rich, perfectly cooked eggs. This is definitely going to go into rotation as a regular weekend breakfast.
3 comments:
Holy crap, where has this dish been my whole life? Oh yeah, you said. Israel.
Hey Emmo,
We made this, and it was good! Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome! I'm actually planning on making it again tomorrow. =)
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