Shakshuka And Its Origins
Often considered the best breakfast in the world, this dish consists of eggs either being poached or baked in a rich, fragrant tomato sauce. It is so well known that its origin can’t be pinned down to a single country, as it is a staple both in North Africa (Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria), as well as in the Middle East (Egypt, Palestine).
Even though it is widely considered a breakfast dish, you can also serve it as a lunch, but eating it with some good quality flatbread and sharing it with your friends is non-negotiable.
How To Make Shakshuka
Sauté your veggies and aromatics
Like many Ottoman and Northern African dishes, it starts by sautéing some vegetables and aromatics in a good amount of olive oil. To make them cook evenly, start with onion and bell peppers, before adding minced garlic and chilli. I recommend finely dicing the vegetables, as it will help to incorporate them in the sauce, make them cook faster, and distribute the flavours more easily.
Create A Fragrant Tomato Sauce
First things first: Season with salt and fresh black pepper as you go. Regularly taste the dish and adjust the seasoning to your taste.
Having said that, the main flavours come from three spices that are often used in the respective cuisines:
- Cumin
- Tomato Purée
- Smoked Paprika
- Ground Chilli
Continue to stir until the flavours are well incorporated and the tomato purée has dissolved,
You can use a can of whole peeled ones, but if you use fresh ones, cut them as small as possible, and cook with a splash of water until they have broken down. Your goal is to achieve a quite homogeneous, simmering sauce.
Poached Tofu Egg & Finishing Touches
To replace the egg, I often like to use firm tofu and season it with Kala Namak, a smokey Indian salt, that has a strong eggy flavour, and a touch of tumeric for color. So pad-dry the tofu, and crumble it into a bowl along with the seasoning.
Using a spoon, create a well in the sauce to lay in our tofu-egg. Turn off the heat and let it poach with a lid on for a few minutes to let it soak up some of that delicious sauce.
Even though it is not very common, you can optionally add some lemon juice, or vegan feta cheese, but sprinkling fresh herbs like parsley right before serving with some flatbread is a must.
Full Recipe
Shakshuka
Zutaten
Method
- Season as you cook. Continually add salt and black pepper to adjust the seasoning.
- In a large pan, heat up the olive oil and sauté the peppers and onion over medium heat until translucent (5mins). Add garlic and chilli and repeat for another minute.
- Add the tomato purée, cook until dissolved, and mix in the remaining dried spices.
- Add the diced tomatoes with a splash of water, cover with a lid, and let it simmer until the tomatoes have broken down (10mins). You can mash them to speed up the process.
- Crumble the tofu into a bowl, add the listed seasonings and combine well.
- Using a spoon, create 4 little wells on the outside of the sauce and one in the centre. Add a tablespoon of the tofu mixture to each, turn off the heat, and let it poach with a lid on for 3-5mins.
- When serving, sprinkle over the chopped parsely
- Heat up your flatbread and enjoy
Notizen
- Sub with a 400g can of whole peeled tomatoes.
- This is an Indian black salt that will provide an eggy flavour. You will most likely find these at an Indian (maybe Asian) grocery store, or online.
