While I was familiar with the idea of brunch from a young age, I never truly experienced the delightful mixture of sweet and savory dishes that is a great brunch until grad school. I immediately fell in love. I’m generally inclined to sweets for breakfast in general; waffles are high on my list of favorite foods. However, a really great egg dish can hit the spot as well. Hence, brunch is a great spot for me.
This egg dish is different than any I had ever tried before. Spicy and full of tomatoes and peppers, but not in a Hispanic way. I even broke the pregnancy rule of no runny yokes to eat a poached egg. Worth every bite. Enjoy!
Shakshuka (Serves 3-4)
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bell peppers, thinly sliced (preferably 2 different colors)
1 jalapeño chile, sliced into thin strips
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon paprika
1 (14-ounce) can no salt added diced tomatoes, crushed through your fingers a bit
6-8 eggs (depending on how many eggs each person wants)
½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
6 small or 4 large whole-wheat pitas or flatbreads (optional)
1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and cook until beginning to soften, about 4-5 minutes. Add garlic; cook one minute more. Add all the peppers; sauté until they soften, about 5 minutes more. Add cumin, oregano, marjoram, and paprika. Cook one minute more.
2. Pour in the tomatoes plus half a can of water. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionaly.
3. Warm pitas or flatbreads, if using.
4. Make indentations in the sauce for each egg. Crack an egg into each indentation. Put lid on the pot. Cook the eggs to your desired level of firmness, keeping sauce at a simmer. Scoop eggs and sauce into pitas or onto flatbreads, if using, or just onto a plate. Garnish with feta. Eat immediately.
Nutritional Information (Amount per Serving):
Calories: 443
Protein: 23 g
Fat: 19 g
Saturated Fat: 7 g
Cholesterol: 389 mg
Carbohydrates: 44 g
Fiber: 7 g
Sodium: 606 mg
Recipe notes: I omitted the times for how long the eggs cook from the original recipe. My eggs took much longer to poach than it suggested. I don’t know if my sauce wasn’t simmering enough at that point or what. Just watch the whites to see when they are set. The yolks will probably be set fully 3-5 minutes after that, but I wouldn’t recommend going that far. I served mine on top of flatbreads, and I liked it that way. The original recipe suggested serving it in a pita. I honestly don’t know how that would work. My sauce was way too runny for that. But maybe yours will thicken up more. And I liked the runny egg, which I think would also be a mess in a pita sandwich. I’d love to hear how you serve it in the comments.
Source: adapted very slightly from Smitten Kitchen
Low iodine adjustment: Skip the feta and pita.