Uncultured Palate

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Mediterranean Night: Shakshuka

Soph

Prep: 10 minutes Cook: up to about 30 minutes

I have been wanting more color and vegetables so I turned to Mediterranean food. I found this recipe with TheMediterraneandish.com who has so many amazing recipes. This one hails from Northern Africa, Tunisia most notably, but also has versions out of Palestine, Israel, Egypt and more. This was super easy and also lead me to think there might be some sharing (specially with the spices used) with Southern American recipes as it brought back some childhood memories. Let’s dive in. (I want to note, I made it with a half serving but will give the amounts used in the original.

Ingredients

  • 3-4 tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil

  • 1 onion

  • 1-2 green bell peppers (I had to use red)

  • 2 cloves minced garlic (minimum)

  • Coriander to taste

  • Paprika to taste

  • Cumin to taste

  • Salt to taste

  • Pepper to taste

  • Red pepper flakes to taste

  • 6 tomatoes

  • 1/2 cup tomato sauce

  • 6 eggs

    Prep

  1. Chop all the vegetables

  2. In a larger (preferably) cast iron pan, heat oil to about medium heat and add the onions, peppers, garlic and all spices to taste

  3. Cook this until the veggies get tender, about 5 minutes most likely

  4. Add the tomatoes and the tomato sauce

  5. Bring this to a boil then reduce to a simmer

  6. Cover the pan and let this cook for about 15 minutes. You will want it to start thickening

  7. Use either the back of a spoon or something to make 6 little indents/holes or so in the sauce (not all the way through)

  8. Crack the eggs into the holes

  9. Cover and let this cook the eggs. You want them to be runny eggs to be true to form, but it’s not a crime to let them cook longer if that’s what you prefer

Afterthoughts

This was a lot of fun and easy to make. It was great working with veggies and more again and the sauce was thick and tasty. I needed a bit more spice to mine, so I do say be generous but it was great. It was recommended to use bread or toast to eat with this and that was a great recommendation. Nothing like sopping up sauces with bread. The red pepper flakes gave a nice little kick, but this is optional. It does make a lot so this is great for larger friend or family gatherings. There will be plenty to go around.