In my mind the King of all egg dishes, shakshuka is a staple of North African and Middle Eastern cuisine, with everyone fiercely loyal to their own slightly different version. You see it mostly on Brunch menus in the West, but as someone who find it hard to stomach eggs too early in the morning (much as I'd like to be, I am just not a go-to-work-on-an-egg sort of person...), I can happily confirm that this dish works just as well for dinner as it does for breakfast or brunch. Serve it with some crusty bread like sourdough, or couscous, and don't be afraid to play around with the ingredients and spices here. As long as you've got the tomatoes and eggs, you can play fast and loose with the other ingredients.
Finally - a quick note on the picture. Two eggs works best per person, but I was desperately attempting to use up the lone wolf egg at the back of my fridge with an excess of red pepper the day I cooked this photo, so you'll have to use your imagination here to imagine the typically more egg-y finished product!
What's the A to V?
It's hard to know where to begin with eggs. These nutritional champs are packed full of vitamins and minerals, being notable sources in particular of vitamins A, D, B2, B3, B12, B7 and sulphur. The tomatoes are rich in vitamin C and folate, but the eggs are the real star of the show here.
Ingredients (Serves 2):
4 eggs
1 red pepper, finely sliced into strips
1 red onion, halved and then sliced into crescent moons
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 x 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp's of harissa paste
1 tbsp of tomato puree
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of turmeric
1 tsp of sweet paprika
Generous handful of coriander, roughly chopped
Optional
1 small preserved lemon, finely chopped
Two generous handfuls of spinach, if you want a slightly greener shakshuka
Half an avocado, or a spoonful of tahini to finish
Method
Heat your olive oil in a shallow pan, and add the onion and garlic when hot. Once your onion has softened, add your pepper strips and stir.
Add your dry spices, and the harissa paste, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the pepper is soft. Then add your tinned tomatoes, puree, and spinach (if you decide to add this into the proceedings). You may wish to add a squeeze of lemon juice or a dash of cinnamon here too if you find the taste too sharp as is.
Cook for a further 10 minutes on low heat, and then break your eggs on top of the tomato, and cover your dish with a lid or foil. Continue to cook the eggs on low heat so the yolks are still a bit runny - I find this takes about 6 to 8 minutes in a shallow pan but the aim here is to cook your eggs until they're just set.
Finish with a sprinkle of coriander, and add some sliced avocado, some chopped preserved lemon, or a drizzle of tahini sauce if you really want to make this egg-cellent (sorry).