This is one of our favorite skillet dishes for breakfast or brunch — or dinner or lunch! It’s a simple traditional dish of Israel that rivals hummus and falafel as one of the most popular meals. The recipe stems from northeast African cultures that made their way to Yemen and on to Israel. Shakshuka means ‘all mixed up’ which describes the composition of tomatoes, peppers, aromatics, spices, herbs, eggs, bread and sometimes cheese. The one-pot cooking makes it a simple dish to prepare and enjoy family style.
My camera was on the wrong setting so my photo is horrible! But you can get a sense of how we served our Shakshuka with the mint garnish and feta around the edge of the tomatoes and eggs. Enjoy!
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
- 3 T extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 T minced garlic
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 T ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne, or to taste
- 1 (28-ounce) can whole San Marzano tomatoes, and juice, rough chopped
- 3 C fresh organic baby spinach
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 extra large farm fresh organic eggs
- 1/3 C fresh organic mint, chopped (or Italian parsley)
- 7 ounces feta, crumbled (about 1 1/4 cups)
- Fresh pita, warmed
- Lemon wedges (optional)
- Hot sauce (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet on medium-low temperature. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook for about 7-8 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add in cumin, paprika and cayenne and cook 2 more minutes. Gently pour in tomatoes and season with salt and pepper and continue to simmer tomatoes for 15 minutes to thicken a bit. Add in spinach and slightly wilt in the tomato juices. Now at this stage people often add feta and melt into the tomato mixture. I prefer to garnish feta on top after the eggs are done. So you choose. Both methods are very good.
Gently crack eggs into tomatoes so that they are sitting in the tomato mixture and not touching one another. Season eggs with salt and pepper and a sprinkle of paprika. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until eggs are just set about 8 to 10 minutes. You want the yolks to be warm and runny and the whites to be firm, not runny. Garnish with chopped mint and feta and serve family style with warm or toasted pita, lemon wedges and hot sauce.