Shakshuka
I think it’s safe to say that the best breakfast/brunch/lunch meal has some variation of egg in it. When we would go out for brunch (remember the time when you would go out to enjoy overpriced eggs? 😉) and see Shakshuka on the menu, one of us was always bound to order it. I can’t say that each time it was amazing but the overall idea was great! We decided to try it out for ourselves. There are so many recipes to pick from and although we went with another Bon Appetit recipe, we did not follow it to the t. If you are out of B/B/L ideas, we highly recommend trying out some Shakshuka!
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
6 garlic cloves, divided
2 medium shallots, divided
1 12-ounce jar roasted red peppers (we did not use this as we didn’t have any)
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes (we used a 28oz can of diced tomatoes)
4 large eggs
½ cup plain Greek yogurt (we did not use this as we didn’t have any)
Mint leaves and crusty bread (for serving) (we used parsley)
Directions:
Place 1 tsp. coriander seeds and 1 tsp. cumin seeds in little piles on a cutting board. Using the bottom of a medium skillet, crush seeds, pressing down firmly with even pressure. You’ll have to do this several times, repositioning skillet to break apart any whole seeds that remain. Transfer seeds to a small heatproof bowl.
Slice 2 garlic cloves as thinly and evenly as you can; add to bowl with seeds. Finely chop remaining 4 garlic cloves.
Cut half of 1 shallot into thin rounds and add to same bowl with seeds and garlic. Chop remaining shallots.
Open jar of red peppers and pour off any liquid. Remove peppers and coarsely chop.
Combine ¼ cup oil and seed/garlic/shallot mixture in skillet you used for crushing seeds. Heat over medium and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until seeds are sizzling and fragrant and garlic and shallots are crisp and golden, about 3 minutes.
Place a strainer over same heatproof bowl and pour in contents of skillet, making sure to scrape in seeds and other solids. Do this quickly before garlic or shallots start to burn. Reserve oil.
Spread out seed mixture across paper towels to cool. Season with salt and pepper.
Return strained oil to skillet and heat over medium. Add remaining chopped garlic and shallot and cook, stirring often, until shallot is translucent and starting to turn brown around the edges, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and lots of pepper.
Add chopped peppers to skillet and stir to incorporate. Using your hands, lift whole peeled tomatoes out of can, leaving behind tomato liquid, and crush up with your hands as you add to skillet (beware squirting tomato juices). Discard leftover liquid. Season with more salt and pepper.
Cook shakshuka, stirring often, until thickened and no longer runs together when a spoon is dragged through, 10–12 minutes.
Reduce heat to low. Using the back of wooden spoon, create four 2"-wide divots in tomato sauce. Working one at a time, carefully crack an egg into each divot.
Cover skillet and cook, simmering very gently and reducing heat if necessary, until whites of eggs are set while yolks are still jammy, 7–10 minutes. Uncover skillet and remove from heat. Season tops of eggs with salt and pepper.
Bon Appetit!
