Shakshuka [Eggs in Spicy Tomato Sauce]

I had never heard of shakshuka until a few days ago when I happened upon a recipe for it.  After searching around a bit I noticed that lots of people have written about it over the years and everyone seemed to love it.  So I was excited to give it a try myself!

If you, like me a few days ago, have never heard of shakshuka, it's a breakfast dish that is popular in many different countries including Israel.  It sounds like a lot of countries claim it was their creation, so the history is a bit fuzzy (though interesting).  In any case, it is delicious!  It's a spicy tomato sauce with whole eggs cooked into it.   I also added kale, chickpeas, and feta cheese.  It is crucial that you serve shakshuka with bread for sopping up the sauce.  We had sourdough bread, but naan, pita, or another hearty bread would be great as well.  We had the shakshuka for dinner, but it would of course be a great savory breakfast- as it was intended!

This was a pretty quick meal to come together, and very flavorful and satisfying.  It's also fun to see the eggs cooking in the sauce!  We both really liked this meal.  Whether or not you are already a fan of shakshuka, I hope you'll give it a try!

Shakshuka [Eggs in Spicy Tomato Sauce]

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 6 large cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 28 ounce can whole tomatoes, undrained (no salt added if possible)
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• salt to taste
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup roughly chopped kale
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas
• 4 ounces light feta cheese, crumbled or chopped into small cubes
• 6 eggs
• sourdough bread, naan, pitas, or other bread for serving

DIRECTIONS:

1)  Heat oil in a dutch oven or large skillet over medium high heat.  Add jalapenos and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

2)  Add garlic, cumin, paprika, chipotle chile, black pepper and turmeric.  Cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft, about 2 minutes.

3)  Add tomatoes (with juice from can), vegetable broth, salt, honey, and apple cider vinegar and stir to combine.  Reduce heat to medium and cook for about 10 minutes.  While cooking, use a wooden spoon to stir and mash up the tomatoes.   As the tomatoes cook, this will become easier to do.  Ultimately small chunks of tomatoes are okay.

3)  Add kale and chickpeas and cook, stirring occasionally, until kale is wilted.  Add feta cheese and stir to combine.

4)  Make 6 small wells in the sauce as best you can.  Carefully crack an egg into each well.  Cover the dutch oven/skillet and cook over medium until eggs are cooked to your liking, about 5-10 minutes.

5) Serve shakshuka with bread and additional feta cheese if desired.  Enjoy!

(recipe adapted from smitten kitchen and david lebovitz)