Shakshuka: Eggs in Spiced Tomato Sauce
The eggs cook covered in the sauce over low heat until the whites are set and the yolks still runny. It goes to the table in the same skillet, with bread for dipping.
Eggs cooked right in a tomato and bell pepper sauce scented with cumin and paprika, brought to the table in the same skillet with bread for dipping. It's the breakfast of North Africa and Israel that became a brunch classic around the world, and it's ready in half an hour with pantry ingredients.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 800 g canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon sugar (only if the tomatoes are acidic)
- 6 eggs
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped
- Bread, for dipping
Method
- 1
In a wide skillet (frying pan) with a lid, heat the oil and cook the onion and bell pepper over medium heat for 8 minutes, until soft.
- 2
Add the garlic, cumin, paprika and pepper flakes and stir for 1 minute. The spices toast in the oil and that's when they release all their aroma; if they burn, they turn bitter, so don't walk away.
- 3
Add the tomatoes, season with salt and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Taste it: if it's acidic, balance it with the sugar.
- 4
With a spoon, make 6 wells in the sauce and crack an egg into each one. Season the yolks with salt and pepper.
- 5
Cover and cook over low heat for 5-8 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny. Take it off the heat a minute earlier than you think: the hot skillet keeps cooking.
- 6
Finish with the parsley or cilantro and bring the skillet to the table, with the bread for dipping.