Shakshuka Tunisian one-pan dish | How to Cook

JD

October 10, 2019

0

breakfast, brunch, healthy-food

Shakshuka is a Tunisian one-pan dish featuring eggs poached in a spiced tomato, onion, and pepper sauce. It’s great for a savory breakfast or when you’re looking to dress up some eggs for dinner. The beauty of shakshuka is that rather than fussing with poaching individual eggs and adding them to a dish, you poach eight eggs right in the flavorful sauce for a fully integrated meal. The key to great shakshuka is balancing the piquancy, acidity, richness, and sweetness of its ingredients. Roasted peppers make the perfect base. We finished our shakshuka with a sprinkling of bright cilantro and salty feta cheese. Jarred or homemade roasted red peppers can be substituted for the piquillo peppers. Serve with pita or crusty bread to mop up the sauce. You will need a 12-inch skillet with a tight-fitting lid for this recipe.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 onions, chopped fine
• 2 yellow bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• Salt and pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1½ cups jarred piquillo peppers or Roasted Red Peppers, chopped coarse
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• ¼ cup water
• 2 bay leaves
• ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 8 large eggs
• 2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (½ cup)

Cooking Procedure

1. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions and bell peppers and cook until softened and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, cumin, turmeric, 1½ teaspoons salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and cayenne and cook, stirring frequently, until tomato paste begins to darken, about 3 minutes.
   
2. Stir in piquillo peppers, tomatoes and their juice, water, and bay leaves and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Off heat, discard bay leaves and stir in ¼ cup cilantro. Transfer 2 cups sauce to blender and process until smooth, about 60 seconds. Return puree to skillet and bring sauce to simmer over medium-low heat.
   
4. Off heat, make 4 shallow indentations (about 2 inches wide) in surface of sauce using back of spoon. Crack 2 eggs into each indentation and season eggs with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until egg whites are just set and yolks are still runny, 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with feta and remaining cilantro and serve.

HOMEMADE ROASTED RED PEPPERS - A Chef's tips and trick

Sweet red bell peppers take on a whole new layer of complex, smoky flavor when roasted. Jarred roasted red peppers are definitely a convenient alternative to roasting them at home, but you can also roast your own with just a little extra effort. Our preferred method uses the broiler. Cooking times vary depending on the broiler, so watch the peppers carefully. You can substitute yellow or orange bell peppers here, but note that they roast faster than red ones; decrease the cooking time by 2 to 4 minutes. Roasted peppers make a great
topping for a pizza or addition to scrambled eggs or antipasto spread. You will need two bell peppers if you want to use them in place of the jarred piquillo peppers in this Shakshuka recipe. Store extra peppers
in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Roasted Red Peppers

Makes 3 cups
Adjust oven rack 2½ to 3½ inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Cut off top and bottom of 4 red bell peppers, then remove cores and stems. Slice down through sides of peppers, lay them flat on cutting board and trim away any remaining ribs. Place flattened peppers, pepper tops, and pepper bottoms skin side up on aluminum foil–lined baking sheet. Broil peppers until skin is charred and puffed but flesh is still firm, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through broiling. Transfer broiled peppers to bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let steam until skins peel off easily, 10 to 15 minutes.