Shakshuka

When I lived in Israel, I discovered the Sephardic cuisine. Growing up in Uruguay, I had occasional eaten over by some of my Sefaradi friends but never encountered most of the delicacies I found in the Holy Land. One of this discoveries was Shakshouka, therefore I felt compelled to scour the web in search of easy recipes for it.

What is Shakshouka, you ask? Wikipedia describes it as:

Photo from: Wikipedia

Shakshouka (Arabic: شكشوكة‎; Hebrew: שקשוקה‎) (also shakshuka, shaqshuqa) is a dish from Maghreb consisting of eggs cooked in a sauce of tomatoes, peppers, onions, and spices (often including cumin, turmeric, and chillies), and usually served with white bread.

[..] Shakshouka is now a staple of Tunisian, Algerian, Egyptian, Moroccan, Somali, and Yemeni cuisines, and is also popular in Israel, where it was introduced by Tunisian Jews.

And here is the Wikibooks recipe for Shakshouka:

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons of frying olive oil
• One tablespoon of sweet paprika
• 6 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• One large sweet red pepper diced
• One Chili pepper (red or green) diced
• 6 ripe tomatoes diced
• Ground fresh black pepper
• Salt to taste
• 6 eggs

Procedure

1. On a high flame, heat the oil for about half a minute.
2. Add the paprika and blend well.
3. Add the garlic and peppers, and turn to low flame. Cook for about ten minutes – until the peppers have slightly softened.
4. Add the tomatoes and spice it with salt and pepper and then blend it.
5. Bring it to a boil, taste it and if necessary – add spices to get the taste refined.
6. Makes six dents in the mixture. Into each dent put an egg yolk, and spread the egg whites around.
7. Continue to cook on low until the egg whites have coagulated.
8. Serve the Shakshouka with black bread and fresh parsley.

From the Spanish language blog: Absolut Marruecos, we bring you this authentic Morrocan recipe:

Photo by: Absolut Marruecos

shakshuka con huevos

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 grated onion
  
• 7 ounces water
• 36 ounces tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoons rice
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• 1 tablespoon green pepper, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 5 eggs

Directions

1. Sauté onion in very hot oil until just golden.
2. In a pot add the water, tomatoes, let it boil for 5 minutes.
3. In a separate pot cook the rice.
4. Add the parsley, salt, pepper and green pepper.
5. Carefully break the eggs one at a time and drop on the tomato pot.
6. Cook for about 40 minutes on medium flame.

When Mia Cooks, adds an interesting variation:

Photo by: http://when-mia-cooks.blogspot.com/

Ingredients

• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped bell pepper
• 4 to 5 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup veg broth
• 1/4 cup peas
• 1/4 cup corn
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• salt to taste
• coriander/cilantro leaves
• Vegetable oil

Actually, it’d be better if you boil the tomatoes and then peel and chop them. But I forgot….heck, ok, I was too lazy.

1. In a pan, heat a tbsp of vegetable oil.
2. Add the chopped onions and bell pepper and saute for a few minutes.
3. Add the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and veg broth.
4. Add the peas and corn as well. Season with salt and chilli powder.
5. Simmer and allow to cook till the corn and peas are cooked and there’s some liquid left.
6. Break the eggs into the base.
7. Break the yolks with a spoon, cover and simmer. If you like your eggs runny, remove it well under a minute. I don’t, so i let it cook for 2 minutes till it firmed up. Add chopped cilantro and serve with bread.

Enjoy gentle reader, enjoy!

CS