Shakshuka

​Shakshuka

 

Shakshuka is an egg dish that is beloved throughout the Middle East and North Africa (and at the Featherbed Inn), made with tomatoes, peppers, onions, and a pile of warm spices. As we were testing out recipe ideas before we bought the Featherbed, we wondered whether Shakshuka was too weird, too ethnic, too something to serve to our guests for breakfast. By now we must have served it hundreds of times, and it’s a favorite among our savory breakfasts (some of our returning guests even call ahead of their stay to request shakshuka).

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Serves 6

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Ingredients

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• A couple tablespoons olive oil

• 1 large onion, diced

• A clove or two of garlic, roughly minced

• 1 red (or yellow or orange) bell pepper, diced

• 1 ½ tablespoons cumin (or more)

• 1 ½ tablespoons coriander (or more)

•  1 ½ tablespoons smoked paprika (or more)

• ¾ teaspoon sumac (or more)

• ½ teaspoon allspice (or more)

• ½ teaspoon ancho chile (or more)

• A healthy grind of black pepper

• 28 oz can of whole tomatoes

• 6 eggs`

 

Yogurt Sauce

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• 1 clove of garlic

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 1/3 cup plain yogurt

• 1 teaspoon honey

 

Smoked Paprika Oil

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• ½ cup olive oil

• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon salt

 

Directions

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• Heat oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over a medium flame, then add onion. Sauté a few minutes until translucent.

• Add all the spices. The amounts listed are just suggestions. Maybe start with a little less, then add more later on if you think it needs it. Stir the spices into the onion and oil for maybe a minute, then add the garlic. Sauté for another minute then add the bell pepper. Continue stirring this around for a few minutes until the pepper is a bit soft. 

• Now add the canned tomatoes. I like to pour them in and then (after washing my hands) squish the tomatoes with my fingers. You could, of course, start with diced tomatoes, but I like the texture of the whole tomatoes better.

• Bring the shakshuka to a simmer, then cook it for a good long while. An hour or so. Give it a stir every once and a while, and taste often to decide if you want to add more spices.

• While the shakshuka is slowly simmering, make your yogurt sauce. Smash the garlic, sprinkle the salt onto it, then smush it with either a mortar and pestle or just a spoon in a bowl. Add the yogurt and honey, and give it a stir. Taste and add more of anything if needed.

• For extra credit, make some smoked paprika oil. Slowly heat the olive oil in a small skillet, taking off the heat when little bubbles just start to break the surface (if the oil is too hot, you’ll burn the paprika). Stir in the smoked paprika and salt. It will probably foam up a bit. If it seems burnt (don’t feel bad, I’ve done that plenty of times), toss it out and start over after wiping out the skillet. After a good stir, let the paprika settle to the bottom. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a small jar or a squirty bottle if you’ve got one.

• Finally, it’s time to cook your eggs. We use 5-inch cast iron skillets for individual servings, but if you don’t have those don’t worry. Make six divots in the shakshuka, and crack an egg into each. Cover the pan, and eggs will cook in the sauce. Check frequently until the eggs have cooked to your desired level of doneness.

• Drizzle the yogurt sauce and smoked paprika over the eggs, and serve with naan or pita. Here’s how we like to prepare our naan: Lay one piece of naan directly onto a gas burner. Using tongs, flip the naan several times until little patches of char appear here and there and the bread is warm and soft. Quickly shmear some butter on the warm naan, and sprinkle with zaatar (a lovely Middle Eastern spice mix).

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Dunk your naan or pita into your shakshuka, and enjoy! Pro-tip: Use a spoon.