One-Skillet Spicy Shakshuka (love that name ❤️) with Spinach and a side of Chilli Butter Drowned Yogurt.
Soul-warming and perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner.
Ingredients:
- Olive oil – 2 to 3 tbsp
- Onion – 1 (diced)
- Garlic cloves – 5 or 6
- Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
- Garlic paste – 1 tbsp
- Salt – 1 tsp (or to taste)
- Ground white pepper – 1 tsp
- Cracked black pepper – 1 tsp
- Paprika – 1 tsp
- Chilli powder – 1 tsp
- Dried red chilli flakes – 1 tsp
- Cumin powder – 1 tsp
- Ras el hanout – 2 tsp (optional, but adds a superb flavour)
- Cherry tomatoes – 10 to 15 (must be ripe to over-ripe, roughly chopped)
- Chopped tomatoes – 400g (I used carton, but fresh is also good)
- Green chillies – 4 or 5 (chopped)
- Dried or fresh parsley/oregano/any herb of your liking – 1 tsp
- Spinach leaves – 100g
- Eggs – 5 or 6
To season:
- Salt
- Cracked black pepper
- Dried red chilli flakes
- Herb of your choice
Method:
In a skillet, heat up olive oil and fry onion and garlic cloves until golden and fragrant. Add cumin seeds and wait for them to crackle before adding garlic paste. Fry for a minute and then add all the spices. Cook them down until the oil separates.
Now add the tomatoes, green chillies, and herb of your choice. Let everything bubble together and when the tomatoes are cooked and sauce has thickened, stir in the spinach leaves.
Using the back of a wooden spoon, make shallow wells in the sauce and crack the eggs into them. Cook on high heat for 2 to 3 minutes and then cover and simmer on low heat to let the steam cook the top of the eggs.
Once done, season the eggs with a pinch of salt, freshly cracked black pepper, dried red chilli flakes, and herbs.
Serve immediately. To serve, cut triangular servings (like you would a pie) with an egg on top of each portion.
I served with traditional Middle Eastern bread and chilli butter drowned-yogurt.
The bread – I brushed oil on both sides and warmed in a heated oven for a few minutes each side. Comes out wonderfully toasty on the outside and soft on the inside and beautifully aromatic; perfect to mop up the eggy goodness.
Chilli butter drowned-yogurt – Whip up plain yogurt with a pinch of salt so it’s fluffy and smooth. In a small sauce pan, melt a little butter and add dried red chilli flakes and a pinch of paprika. Fry for a minute and then pour over the yogurt.
Notes:
You can add almost any vegetables. Popular choices are red/green/yellow capsicums, aubergine, and potatoes.
You can also add crumbled feta cheese on top at time of serving. The tangy and crumbly feta works really well with this dish.
Any kind of bread is good with this dish but I also find steaming hot chips to be a wonderful match.
This dish once made does not re-heat well because of the eggs. If you want to make ahead of time, then prepare according to the above method but just leave out the eggs. When you are ready to serve, put the pan with the sauce back on the heat, let the sauce heat up until it’s bubbling and then add the eggs and serve once ready.