Shakshuka

Tomatoes and eggs are a couple of my favorite ingredients to use in my cooking so you can only imagine how excited I was to stumble upon a recipe for shakshuka on Smitten Kitchen.  Shakshuka (also spelled shakshouka, shaqshuqa, or chakcouka) consists of peppers, onions, and spices cooked in a tomato sauce with eggs poached in it.  The dish is usually served with white bread and is popular in Tunisia, Algeria, Somalia, Morocco, Yemen, and Israel.  It’s pretty simple in that everything can be made in one pot and doesn’t require too many ingredients. 

My version of shakshuka is almost identical to the one from Smitten Kitchen with a few exceptions. I add mushrooms into the mix with chopped red onion and jalapeño peppers, cooked with paprika and cumin, then with canned crushed tomatoes.  Eggs are then poached right in the sauce and served with feta and parsley over a bed of brown basmati rice.   Few dishes to clean, not too many ingredients, minimal cooking time and prep work, and incredible flavor.  You really can’t ask for more. 

Serves 4

½ red onion, diced

2 large jalapeños, seeded and diced

8 ounces sliced mushrooms

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

4 eggs

Feta cheese

Chopped parsely to garnish

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

1. In a medium pot over medium heat, add in onion and jalapeños.  Season with salt and pepper.

2. When onions become translucent add in mushrooms and mix in garlic, paprika, and cumin when mushrooms cook down.  Stir well.

3. Pour in canned tomatoes and stir. 

4. When tomato sauce thickens crack eggs into pot and cover for 5 minutes.

5. Serve over brown basmati rice topped with feta and parsley.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakshouka