When we were in London for three days of eating, one of the highlights was a Mediterranean breakfast at Fernandez & Wells. Amelia had morcilla sausage and two fried eggs, while Jeff and I each had a small skillet of incredible eggs poached in tomato sauce. I don’t think they called it shakshuka on the menu, because I’m pretty sure I would have made a note of it. Shakshukah is a popular dish in Northern Africa, and there are many different versions of it out there– also spelled chakchouka or shakshuka. It wasn’t until I saw this post from David Lebovitz, that I was sure what the name of the dish was I’d been missing. As soon as I saw the pictures, I had intense hunger pangs.I went to bed thinking about it, and woke up the next morning with firm resolve to make it. Rather than waiting till a more reasonable time, I made my family get dressed and walk to the supermarket with me, so I could buy the ingredients to make it for breakfast. Everyone decided it was well worth the effort. The recipe I followed, more or less, was the one adapted from Jerusalem (who’s author I am kind of crazy about) by David Lebovitz.
Shakshukah: Edible Mediterranean Sunshine
Shakshukah is a wonderfully fragrant and pungent Middle Eastern dish of eggs poached in a flavorful tomato sauce. It’s great for any meal of the day!
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, ghee, or bacon grease (obviously not the Israeli choice!)
- 1 medium onion, peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/2 – 1 chile pepper, stemmed, sliced in half and deseeded, finely diced/minced (I actually substituted some dried aleppo chile flakes)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (or sweet you can substitute sweet)
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, crushed
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed, or 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- two 14-ounce cans of diced or crushed tomatoes (you can also use fresh– highly recommended when they’re in season– but cooking time will be a bit longer)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon red wine (or cider) vinegar
- 1 cup (20g) loosely packed, roughly chopped greens– I used tatsoi this time
- 4 ounces (about 1 cup, 115g) feta cheese, cut in generous, bite-sized cubes (optional)
- 4 to 6 eggs
- a small bunch chopped fresh parsley (cilantro would also be good)
Instructions
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet or a pot, and add the diced onion. Sautee´ for three minutes or so, add the garlic, and cook for another minute.
2. Add all of the spices to the onion mixture, and cook until very fragrant, about two minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, honey, and cider vinegar, as well as the salt. Let it cook down for about 15 minutes, adding the greens halfway through. Use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom or the pan now and then.
4. Once the sauce has thickened, taste for saltiness and acidity, and adjust the seasonings.
5. Now, you have a couple options– you could cook all of the eggs together in the skillet, or you could make up individual servings. I chose the latter option.
6. Spoon the tomato sauce into individual skillets or oven-safe dishes. Press chunks of feta into the sauce at regular intervals, and then make little wells to accommodate the eggs. Crack your eggs into the tomato sauce, and run a spoon through the whites to let them mingle with the sauce (but don’t break the yolks!)
7. You can bake these off in an oven, or cook them on the stovetop. Gently simmer them on the stovetop for about 10 minutes, checking that the whites get cooked through, but the yolks stay soft. I find that covering them helps. Or, you can bake them in the oven at 375º for 10-15 minutes. Again, you are watching the yolks, so they don’t overcook. Garnish with plenty of fresh parsley.
Notes
Traditionally, this dish is served with lots of crusty bread to mop up the tomato sauce with. That sounds really good! We are working with gluten allergies, however, so we improvised with broiled eggplant slices, which did the job very nicely. You could also try this grain-free flatbread recipe.
No one spoke at the table until Amelia looked up from her plate rather dreamily and said, “Mama, there is only one thing I can say about this… YUM.” It was just as good as I had imagined it in my mind. This dish is like edible sunshine– the colors are bright and rich, and flavors warm you from the inside.I saved about a cup of the sauce, and last night I used it to make a really wonderful frittata. I highly recommend doing that, and next time I’ll double the tomato sauce recipe, so we can make this for breakfast again quickly. My stomach is growling right now as I write this out. I think we’ll have to make another trip to the grocery store before Saturday morning!Have you had Shakshukah before?
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doro says
I made the recipe from “Jerusalem” for dinner a couple of weeks ago. Everyone loved it, and I can’t wait to make it again.
Ariana Mullins says
I’ll bet! It’s one of those meals that works at any time of the day. I just bought “Jerusalem” this week, and have been LOVING it.
Robin says
This looks amazing and I have all the ingredients!
kitblu says
Not only have I never had it but I have never heard of it. Now that’s it’s on my radar, I will make it soon.
Ariana Mullins says
I hope you do– it’s so good, and multiplying the recipe makes it a really easy, special meal to whip together.
Amanda says
You read my mind! 🙂
Ever since you originally linked to the Mediterranean Feast videos (and I watched ALL of them on a lazy evening) I have been dreaming about making shakshouka (shakshukah?)! My mouth just watered watching the Dr. Shakshouka segment.
Since watching that I’ve made two semi-not-really-shakshouka attempts, which I simplified to:
– 2 spicy chorizo sausages/person, put directly into a hot pan and browned
– add 2 fresh tomatoes per person, cut into wedges. They will begin to break down and get all stewy and smoky and great.
– add smoked paprika or pimenton
– a bit of salt and pepper
– drop in 2 eggs/person and swirl the whites as the yolks cook
– et voila! mop up the delicious spicy tomatoey juices with a small hunk of fresh baguette (if you are ok with gluten that is.)
So good! I will definitely want to try your recipe though, eggplant and all.
Ariana Mullins says
Amanda, that sounds pretty awesome! I would love to have chorizo in there…
And I’m so glad you have been watching all of the Ottolenghi episodes– so inspiring, right?
Anonymous says
How many servings in your recipe?
Ariana Mullins says
Ours served three, with two eggs apiece.
Caterina B says
This sounds delicious, Ariana. It makes me think of a recipe I found recently but have not tried, called “piperade.” We eat lots of eggs at our house because we have chickens so this will be a good one for us.
I am so delighted to hear that Amelia ate the dish and liked it!
So many children are so extremely picky today and won’t try anything other than the standard things so many people feed their kids.
I don’t know how that happened, that the kids took the “power” away from their parents but I know it happens all the time.
I have friends with small children and I have ordered a couple of books by ladies in France about how their children simply eat everything, hoping it will be helpful in teaching my friends’ children to eat well. I don’t remember what we did when our children were small but they ate whatever we put on the table and liked it.
Ariana Mullins says
Caterina, I know what you means about kids not seeming to eat most foods any more. We recently had a family with kids over for brunch, and I was SO happy and refreshed to see them eating absolutely everything, with gusto and gratitude. In my family, complaining about food was never tolerated, and could be grounds for missing that meal and the next! In our home, we focus on gratitude and curiosity, and complaints are not accepted. I am so thankful to have a child that loves food so much– how wonderful to be able to share this passion as a family!
Cynthia Brown says
Love the fresh cooking! I have hens and ducks so always looking for good ideas. I make a similar dish but it includes tiny lamb meatballs stuffed with sour cherries.
Regarding childrens eating habits, there was a great piece on NPR about a journalist relocated to France who, when enrolling her child in school, said she would pack his preferred food items for lunch because he would only eat certain things. “No, madame, learning to eat well is part of our curriculum.” In 2 weeks he was eating like all the other students, even stinky cheese! What do you think it would take to change our culture of eating in the US? Huge!
Anonymous says
I’ve never had this before but it looks amazing. I’ve been looking for something new to do with eggs. We have 6 chickens and they supply us with way more than we can eat! I do have a question for you Ariana. Has your daughter always been willing to eat the same foods that you and your husband eat? My five year old is rather picky and I can’t help but feel its my fault by not introducing her to more adventurous foods early and even worse falling into the bad habit of catering to her; for example letting her have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and fruit instead of the meal that I’ve made for the family just because she doesn’t like what we’re having. I love your food posts and when I read how Amelia loves what you make I can’t help but be a little envious! Do you have any suggestions that might help my situation? I’d be most grateful! 🙂
Julie
Ariana Mullins says
Hi Julie! You are definitely not alone in having a picky kiddo that turns down a lot of foods. People actually mention this to me or ask for advice ALL THE TIME! I am formulating a couple posts about this in my mind. I think it’s really normal for mothers to want to feed their children, and substituting a favored food just to get a kid to eat quickly becomes a habit– totally normal, but not necessarily the best way. I remember when my daughter was 18 months old, she got on a cracker jag, refusing almost everything but crackers. I was not comfortable with feeding her such a nutrient-poor food, but also felt like I HAD to keep giving them to her, just so she would eat. I had an unusually thoughtful pediatrician that assured me that my instincts to not keep giving them to her were correct, and that she would NOT starve if I withheld them. We have had one rough afternoon when I took them away, but by the end of the week she was eating a rich, wide variety of foods, including bowls of cooked swiss chard. I never cook Amelia substitute meals. She is free to eat what we’re eating, and also free to skip the meal. Her hunger almost always prevails, of course, and her palate continues to expand. We also do a small “no thank you” helping of foods she’s not into (right now, it’s salad greens) so that there is no fighting at the table– she knows she has to eat it, does it quickly, and moves on!
Heather Duff says
I am excited to try this. We have been tweaking everything in our diet toward heathier options. My name is Heather and I am loving everything I am reading from you. I am a gardener and passionate chef. I had a caf’e years ago and now get to cook for my family and friends. I love that my kids have met our recent changes with nothing but YUM. It is “easy” to fall into bad habits with cooking, but so very rewarding to find renewed purpose and health in change. I must find this book, Jerusalem. Thank you for all you share. We are also on a path toward Torah observance and doing our best, thus the interest in the Feasts of the Lord. Bless you and yours.
Anonymous says
This is just like a dish called Eggs in Purgatory on the Deep South Dish website. Both look yummy!
Judee@ Gluten Free A-Z Blog says
My husband is Middle Eastern and we love Shakshuka. Can’t wait to try your recipe.
callisto says
I dont do dairy right now, would it greatly wreck the recipe if i left it out?
Ariana Mullins says
It will still be great! If you happen to have some chorizo on hand, I think adding that would be a nice extra burst of flavor, too.
Cori says
good gravy that looks amazing! can’t wait to make this one!! yum! pinned to share & remember!! xo
Diana says
Best. Breakfast. Ever. 🙂 Thanks for sharing this recipe. Discovered it two weeks ago and have cooked it twice already. It’s definately a firm favourite at this end! 🙂
heather says
I’ve been wanting to make this for weeks and it just so happened that today was the d at. It was also the day my southern mama made a pot of yellow grits cooked thick. Hmmmm …… made me think. Made your recipe and put two huge spoonfuls and two eggs on top of the grits. They were made for each other. Thanks so much for sharing!
Jane says
I was looking for a recipe to use up some of my HUGE fresh tomatoes (have used 38 lbs to make into tomato sauce and just can’t do any more of that for a while?) – came across this recipe and made it right away. I LOVE it! I used beet greens which worked well,. Couldn’t wait to run to the store for feta before trying this, but it was fine without. I sopped up the sauce with a leftover baking powder biscuit from yesterday’s breakfast. Oh, my. Thanks for sharing this recipe,
Karen says
Wow, what an amazing recipe! I have an over-abundance of tomatoes from my garden so I’ve tried a few shakshukah recipes. This, by far, blows doors on the others. What a wonderful combination of spices. I encourage others to make it with fresh tomatoes when available. I’ll be making this for years to come!
ariana says
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for coming back to let me know!
Amanda says
Last summer I canned quite a bit of this shakshukah sauce. It was the first thing in my pantry to get completely used up! We enjoyed having a tasty, yet low input breakfast to serve when we had guests or when we just felt like a treat ourselves. I am getting reading to can some more!
ariana says
Thank you so much for letting me know! I’m glad you all enjoyed it, and love the idea of canning the sauce!!
thekitchengardenblog says
In the oven right now … exciting! Great recipe to follow, thank you.
Najmstar says
Whaaaaatttt! That’s what my kids favorite masallah eggs is called????? Shakshuka wow!!!!
I stumbled onto this site when I was looking for ideas of what to make with too much tomatoes, my brothers trades with fruit and vegetables and they send just too many boxes for me to handle ? anyway years ago I thought I invented this recipe
I make a spicy tomato similar to a curry base in a huge AMC flat pot I braised onions till translucent, add bell peppers, red masallah, chilli, powdered coriander, powdered jeera (cumin), garlic and ginger, a dash of tumetic and Garrum Masallah (braised and grounded whole spices). Because of the acidity with using much much more tomato them in a pot of curry I add sugar after the tomato cook through nicely them I crack eggs into the pot ans close the lid for a short while for eggs to cook through but yellow still be a bit runny. This is a firm favourite with my kids and visitors alike and now I discover I DID NOT invent the recipe it already existed out there ???
Another egg dish I was just as taken aback to find exist was chopping up left over meats or salami etc with bell peppers, onions, spring onion whatever was in the fridge then add beaten egg n condiments this I fry then into triangles… When I saw on a movie this is called Fritata I couldn’t believe my ears I was so sure this was my best invention ever ???
Truth be told I got this ideas just to stretch the meal and not because I’m so good at throwing things together, although my kids, niece’s and nephews believe that’s the case?
divya sharma says
The dish is looking delicious I will definitely try this soon. Thanks for sharing this blog.
maira says
My daughter love this dish that I can’t tell you. She give kiss on my hands and said mom you are the best. Oh god I am so happy and want to thank you from my heart. Thank you Thank you so much.
Verity says
This is a very similar recipe to ‘flamenco eggs’ an andalucia classic! Flamenco eggs has chorizo and Jamon too! Yum!
Louré says
I have:
Too many tomatoes. A ton of duck eggs. A Gazillion onions. Plenty of garlic. Many spices. Thinking this will make a fabulous lunch!
Phyllis Rain Meredith says
This looks AMAZING and I am going to make it asap! I have non-picky kids who eat basically anything vegetarian. One questions though… where did you get these pans from? Who makes cast iron pans with enamel on the inside and out? Would love to get a set!
Timbo says
In the 3rd photo, I see what looks like yellow peppers. Am I correct? It always freaks me out when the recipe is missing something 🙂
Karine says
The onions and garlic turn bright yellow once you add the spices, mostly because if the turmeric.
Timbo says
Oh and to Phyllis there is a link in the article to amazon for the pans … ~$15 each.
Timbo says
And I see celery … Eye Spy anyone?
Karine says
What you’re seeing is the tatsoi stems. They’re sort of like bok choi.
luke vandekieft says
Relatively simple and oh so good! Your recipe has a few more spices than most I’ve seen online and they really helped, no adjustments needed.
Thanks for the fantastic idea !
Karine says
I found this in a search of what to do with my garden tomatoes that are all ripening at the same time. It reminded me of a similar turkish recipe my mom learned when she lived there, so I saved it for a weekend morning.
Holy tastebuds heaven.
It’s not the same as what I grew up with because the spices are different, but it hit all of the right notes for my family. My younger son even went for seconds into the huge skillet I prepared. I served it with my whole wheat sourdough to mop up the sauce.
Thank you for this! I will transcribe the recipe for my index card box of favourites. This will definitely happen again!
★★★★★