Shakshuka

Ingredients:

• 2 Eggs
• 1 Garlic Clove, thinly sliced
• 14 oz. Canned Tomatoes (1)
• 1/4 Onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 Shallot, thinly sliced
• 3/4 tsp Ground Cumin
• 3/4 tsp Paprika
• Cayenne Pepper, sprinkled to desired heat
• Queso Fresco (2)
• 2 tbsp Cilantro Leaves (3)

Directions:

1. Chop all the veggies. Heat small skillet over med-high heat (4), add drizzle of oil.
2. Add onion and shallot, cooking for 5-6 minutes, stirring once every minute. (4)
3. Add garlic, and cook 2 minutes until fragrant and lightly brown.
4. Add dry spices, stir to combine, and cook for 30 seconds.
5. Pour can of tomatoes into the skillet, scraping the bottom to deglaze the pan. Crush up tomatoes to desired chunkiness.
6. Cook tomatoes on medium, stirring often, for 5-7 minutes, until they have begun to darken in color and there is a little bit of browning around the edges of the pan. Season the dish with a good amount of salt (5) and pepper.
7. When tomatoes are cooked, add half of the fresh cilantro and stir in.
8. Create two little wells in the tomatoes. Crack an egg into each well (6), reduce heat to med-low, and cover.
9. Cook for 7-10 minutes until egg whites have set and yolk reaches desired doneness. (7)
10. Take off the heat, lightly season eggs with salt and pepper, add the rest of the fresh cilantro, then sprinkle the dish with cheese.
11. Serve the eggs, or better yet eat right out of the pan. Enjoy!

Notes:

1. I used half a 28oz canned of whole peeled tomatoes, including half the juice. I like these tomatoes for this dish because you can control how crushed up you want them to be. If you know you want it smooth, use tomato sauce. If you like a uniform smaller dice, use diced tomatoes.
2. I used Queso Fresco because that’s what I had on hand but Feta is a very common cheese to use and adds a nice salty tang at the end. You can also omit cheese.
3. I like cilantro so I’m using it here. You can use fresh parsley if you like it, scallion, chive, or no fresh herbs. Up to you!
4. We’re looking for a different texture of onions and shallots here. By only stirring every minute we’ll get some pieces that are more well done, and some with a traditional sautéed texture. If you like them to be all cooked down and soft, just lower the heat and stir often.
5. We haven’t seasoned the dish yet because we didn’t want to sweat the onions too early. Tomatoes also take on a lot of salt, so you want to be aggressive seasoning the dish here.
6. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, crack the egg into a small bowl first, then use that to transfer to the dish.
7. You just need to poke around and feel for the doneness for the white and the yolk.
8. In general, this dish can be done a couple ways. One would be to put it into the oven, or even the broiler, to set and cook the egg. I think it’s just easier to leave on the stovetop, and easier to keep checking the eggs. But the oven would provide the most even cooking for the eggs.
9. This dish also often has bell peppers, or other peppers along with the onion. I don’t love bell pepper so I kept it out. Feel free to add if you like.

©2020