Recipe
Must-try Shakshuka recipe from Keppos Street Kitchen
Breakfast, lunch or dinner, shakshuka is a vegetarian staple you'll turn to again and again.
By Michael Rantissi & Kristy Frawley
Originating in North Africa, shakshuka has become a traditional Middle Eastern dish that every family makes – and that every family makes differently. I make my version quite spicy with more paprika and cumin coming through, but if you’d like it lighter you can reduce or omit some of the spices. You can also add greens to this dish – spinach works really well. This is a very satisfying and easy dish to make, and it can be served straight from the pan. You can make the sauce in advance, too, and reheat it when you start cooking the eggs.
Serves 4
Ingredients for shakshuka recipe
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 small brown onion, diced
5 garlic cloves, diced
2 large green chillies, diced (optional)
2 large red capsicums (peppers), coarsely diced
1 tablespoon mild paprika
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons tomato paste (concentrated purée)
1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) ripe tomatoes, blanched and peeled (see Note) and coarsely chopped
1 handful coriander (cilantro), leaves and stalks chopped
8 eggs flat-leaf (Italian) parsley sprigs, to garnish
extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
How to make this shakshuka recipe
Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Add the chilli and capsicum and cook for 2 minutes. Add the paprika, ground coriander and cumin and cook for 2minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato and cook for 20 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced to the consistency of a tomato passata (pureéd tomatoes).
Season with salt and stir through the fresh coriander. Gently crack the eggs over the tomato sauce in the pan, spacing them out, and cover with a lid. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 3 minutes, or until the egg whites start to cook. Remove the lid, increase the heat to medium and cook for a further 3–5 minutes, until the yolks are still runny but the whites are firm. Don’t worry if the eggs are not fully cooked, as the heat of the sauce will continue to cook them. Remove from the heat. Scatter over the parsley sprigs, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and serve.
NOTE:
To blanch and peel the tomatoes, score a shallow cross in the base. Put in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 30 seconds, then transfer to cold water and peel away the skin from the cross.
Citro food tip
Before serving, you can garnish with feta or goat cheese, along with coriander and parsley for an extra flavourful shakshuka dish.
Images and text from Middle Eastern Feasts by Michael Rantissi & Kristy Frawley, photography by Alan Benson. Murdoch Books RRP $39.99.
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