Shakshuka
If you are looking for a perfect brunch style breakfast recipe, then please try my take on Shakshuka or Shakshouka (both spellings work).
A delicious Middle Eastern savoury dish of eggs poached in a fresh tomato sauce and an array of delicious spicy vegetables. Best served hot with warm pitta bread (Arabic flat bread) to mop up the flavours, however, still delicious if eaten cold the next day.
I love Shakshuka, as I have a taste for spicy food at anytime of the day, but if you find the spiciness challenging, then omit the chilli, however, by doing this you will certainly lose the recipes true authenticity.
Traditionally a breakfast dish but equally acceptable as a late supper time meal.
Ingredients
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2 red onions- finely chopped
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2 cloves of garlic- finely chopped (optional)
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2tbs extra virgin olive oil
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½ tsp chilli flakes
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1 large green pepper- seeds removed and cut into 2 cm chunks
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1 large red pepper- seeds removed and cut into 2 cm chunks
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4 medium potatoes- peeled and cut into 2cm thick slices
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6 ripe tomatoes- peeled, de-seeded and roughly chopped
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Handful of fresh parsely- roughly chopped
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4 whole eggs
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Sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper- to taste
Instructions
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Prepare potatoes:
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01 Peel and place sliced potatoes in a saucepan with enough water to cover and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil, cover and then immediately turn off the heat and allow to cool in the water. Drain.
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Prepare tomatoes:
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02 Place in a bowl. Pour over boiling hot water and leave to sit for 2 minutes. Carefully remove from the hot water and peel away the skin. Cut in half and remove the seeds. Roughly chop. Keep to one side.
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Assemble:
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03 In a frying pan, sweat the onion and garlic in a little oil until translucent, and then add the chilli flakes and peppers.
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04 Add chopped tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes, stir in the parsley and season.
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05 Now add the pre-cooked potatoes. Gently mix together.
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06 Either place mixture in individual oven proof bowls or keep whole in an ovenproof pan. Crack the eggs into the mixture and bake until white is solid but the yolks still runny.
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07 Serve with warm crusty bread.
Notes
To prevent the eggs running into each other make small individual recesses to crack the eggs into. It is possible to prepare the all the vegetables ahead of time, up to the stage of adding the eggs. Let everything go cold, cover and keep until required. Just before cooking, add the eggs and bake for 40-45 minutes or so in the oven until all the vegetables are hot again and the eggs are cooked. I find a slightly lower oven temperature of 180°C works well here and it will noticeably take longer to cook, as the ingredients are all cold at the start of baking.
