I first had this dish, or at least a version of it at Bustan in NYC. It was savory, delicious, and amazing in every way. After eating it, I discovered this entire corner of the culinary kingdom that I knew nothing about. Tomato, egg and feta shakshuka is middle eastern comfort food, and you can find it anywhere around the Mediterranean, from Israel to North Africa.
Often I crave something truly satisfying, delicious and savory, but don’t want to spend hours toiling in the kitchen. This dish is absolutely the thing to make. I have made it for skeptical company who thought I was feeding them some sort of strange frittita, or for house guests who had never heard of this apex of savory eggy goodness. Everyone devours it. The dish does take a bit of time, but very little involvement. You can make it in one pan, and serve it out of the same pan. It can be breakfast, lunch, or dinwner, and you can make it anywhere from rocket hot to totally mild, as I do for my kids, and the dish does not suffer. Serve it with warm pita bread or a crusty baguette to make it a meal.
EQUIPMENT
A 12” ovenproof skillet, not non-stick. I use a calphalon skillet. Cast iron is great too.
This recipe is adapted from Melissa Clark and The NY Times.
Serves 4 to 6
15 minPrep Time
45 minCook Time
1 hrTotal Time
Save RecipeINGREDIENTS
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika (pimenton) (optional if you like it mild)
- ½ teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika, or to taste
- 1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes with juices, coarsely chopped
- ¾ teaspoon salt, more as needed
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, more as needed
- 5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 6 large eggs
- Chopped cilantro, for serving
- Harissa, for serving
METHOD
- Heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook gently until very soft, about 20 minutes. Add garlic and cook until tender, 1 to 2 minutes; stir in cumin, paprika and pimenton, and cook 1 minute. Pour in tomatoes and season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; simmer until tomatoes have thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbled feta.
- Make six little indententations in the tomato mixture for the eggs so they stay put.
- Gently crack eggs into skillet over tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until eggs are just set, 8 to 11 minutes. If the yolks seem set how you like them, but the whites are still runny, pull the pan from the oven and cover with a pot lid for a minute or so. The residual heat will set the whites. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with harissa.
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