Shakshouka recipe - breakfast page

[Satch]

Thought I'd share one of my favourite breakfasts. Shakshouka is basically eggs poached in a rich spicy tomato base. I'm not an exact cook, so this changes depending on my mood and what I have in the fridge/pantry. The first time I had this was at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Cape Town, and it was love at first taste. It seems to be eaten all around the Mediterranean, with Lebanese, Israeli, Egyptian and Moroccan versions. This is my own adaptation, but if you google it, you'll find lots of variations.

Dice and cook onion in olive oil (I use brown, red or spring onions). Stir through a teaspoon of ground cumin and a teaspoon of ground paprika. Throw in loads of garlic, crushed tomatoes (I use the jars of pureed tomatoes, but tinned would work well too, or even fresh, skinned and chopped.) and cook for a few minutes. (You can add diced red or green peppers, chilli, grated ginger, salt, pepper, at this stage too.) Once the veggies are nice and mushy, crack in as many eggs as you want. Simmer gentley until eggs are cooked. (And here you could throw some fresh coriander over the top, or a cheese like feta or Roquefort if you eat dairy, or a squeeze of lemon or lime.)

[breadsauce]

Love the sound of this. And especially the fresh coriander - delicious!!

[Kata]

Sounds delicious! Question - do you use sweet, hot or smoked paprika?

[SoccerGrok]

I do this one quite often, as a dinner too. Smoked paprika is my fav:-)

[Kata]

I was thinking smoked paprika would taste wonderful with this. Paprika is delicate and burns easily though, so it may be a good idea to remove the pan from the heat for a minute before adding it to keep it from burning and developing off flavors. It was the first thing my mom taught me when she was showing me how to make gulyas.

[JoanieL]

This is a terrific dish with room for a lot of variations. I like to cook a quality sausage in the tomato sauce and then toss in the eggs. Excellent. I love when healthy stuff also tastes like mana from heaven.

[magicmerl]

Just made this for breakfast this morning with basil instead of paprika.

It was delicious.

[lopeolinda]

I do this one quite often, as a dinner too.

[arevinotion]

yeah,me too,I do this one quite often, as a dinner too. Smoked paprika is my fav. thanks

[Sandra in BC]

We had this for dinner last night. I added some baby spinach and some chopped up venison farmer sausage. And topped with avocado. Its a primal hit with my non-primal family. I would eat it for breakfast, but there are never any leftovers!