This is a North African dish. It’s a really hearty vegetable stew, then you crack eggs on top of it and let them cook to your liking. If you like runny yolks you can stop it there, if you like them fully set you can steam them to completion. I add chickpeas to mine, but that’s completely optional, I just like chickpeas. The spinach is also optional. It’s a really tasty meal if you eat it with a chunk of bread, and it comes together in about half an hour.
Harissa paste is the key to flavoring it. You can make your own, or you can buy it in the store. Just pay attention if you buy it, there’s usually hot and mild versions, and the hot version might burn your face off if you aren’t expecting it. The important thing here is that my measurements for how much harissa to add are based on the stuff I made myself, so you may want to go easy on it if you’re using something store bought.
Ingredients
1 28 ounce can tomatoes (crushed tomatoes work just fine, you can use whole tomatoes and blend them if you have that on hand instead)
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1 14 ounce can chickpeas, drained (optional)
4 cups baby spinach (optional)
6 eggs
1 teaspoon cumin, ground
1 teaspoon coriander, ground
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup harissa
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Chopped fresh parsley, cilantro, and crumbled feta to garnish
Directions
Okay, so, get a pot or a large saute pan with a lid. Add some oil to it and heat until shimmering. Add the onions, garlic, and peppers and saute for 5-10 minutes over medium heat until the onions are starting to go translucent and the peppers are softened.
If using whole tomatoes, go ahead and puree them in a blender, then add your tomato puree, harissa, tomato paste, and chickpeas to the pot and bring to a boil. It’s a thick stew, so once it boils go ahead and turn down the heat to a simmer, otherwise the bubbles when it pops will burn you. Add the cumin, coriander, paprika, and salt.
At this point, if you’re using spinach, add it a handful at a time so it wilts, then let simmer for 15 minutes to let the flavors combine. Taste to see if it needs more salt one last time.
Now the fun part: using a ladle or serving spoon, make wells in the surface of the shakshuka. Crack an egg into each well, then cover and let the eggs steam until they’re fully cooked. Depending on how done you like your eggs, it can take 4-10 minutes (4 is really runny all over the place, 5-6 gives you set white and runny yolks, 8 is fully cooked. 10 is if you hate chickens and want the eggs to suffer).
Spoon it into a bowl and top with cilantro, parsley, and feta, and go to town on it with a big chunk of bread. If you have too much stew, you can freeze it without a problem.
eatbensmeat 