Shakshuka - A Savory, North-African Egg Dish
Big Horn is taking our taste buds on an international journey to Northern Africa! Shakshuka (pronounced: "shuhk-shyoo-kuh") is on the menu, and we're excited to explore this dish's truly vibrant personality.
Shakshuka is a Maghrebi dish, typically consisting of poached eggs in a spicy tomato sauce, seasoned with peppers, onion, garlic, and an array of spices. Sounds like quite the yummy mixture, right? In fact, the word "Shakshuka" actually means "mixed" in the Maghrebi Arabic dialect. (Come for the recipes, stay for the lessons in Arabic, am I right?! 😉)
Thanks to Shakshuka being relatively quick and easy to make, it's been a breakfast and lunch staple in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya since the mid 16th Century. Since the 1950s, the dish has gained significant popularity in Israel, and more recently, the likes of Spain and England have also adopted this delicious dish for very good reason.
So, if rich and vivid flavors packed into a hearty meal are your thing - and you can spare the 30 short minutes it takes to make the dish - let's dive in!
Big Horn Culinary College:
Choosing the Right Eggs - The Definitive Guide to Select the (Actual) Best!
Shakshuka's star ingredient is, of course, the humble egg. But don't let the egg's ubiquity detract from its gastronomic importance or its health benefits!
Eggs are healthy. They're full of protein and essential amino acids (eggs have all nine of the essential aminos we can't make in our own bodies), and are extremely nutrient dense. Vitamins and minerals abound! Eggs also help with improving the good, HDL cholesterol, lowering one's triglycerides, and increasing satiety.
SO, load up your Shakshuka with eggs! However, selecting the best eggs can be a task easier said than done. With so many options and so many marketing tactics at play, allow Big Horn to help simplify your egg shop.
Here's what to look for and why:
🍳 Pasture Raised - The myriad of marketing terms and nonsense in the egg world can be misleading and even frustrating. One example? "Cage free". While the implication is that "cage-free" chickens lead a life free of confinements, the actual FDA requirements to be considered "cage-free" are far less favorable.
If you want eggs from the happiest, healthiest chickens (which directly translates into the best-tasting eggs), opt for "pasture-raised" eggs. Pasture-raised chickens live their entire lives free of cages, able to roam about happily, providing plenty of high-quality eggs.
🍳 Organic - Admittedly, buying organic isn't always the most important consideration (search "Clean 15 Foods" for a list of foods in this category). However, this isn't the case with eggs. We absolutely want organic here!
Organic eggs come from chickens that must meet a set of rigorous standards. These regulations dictate everything from the chickens' diet, to their sanitation standards, to removing creepy hormones, fertilizers, and pesticides from the equation.
The organic standards accomplish two things:
1. The unsavory, inflammatory, potentially carcinogenic things you don't want to be consuming are not in the eggs (e.g., hormones, fertilizers, antibiotics, etc.).
2. Studies show that organic eggs have nearly twice the Omega-3 content and significantly higher amounts vitamins and minerals. In other words, they're measurably healthier by no small margin.
Bottom Line: Look for "Pasture-Raised, Organic Eggs" next time you're in the supermarket. You're doing yourself AND the chickens a favor!
Ingredients:
Now, let's get shopping!
(Recipe makes 6-8 servings)
- 3 Tbs of High-Quality EVOO (Any of these will do nicely!)
- 1 Large Onion (Halved and thinly sliced)
- Kosher Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper
- 1 Large Red Pepper (Seeded and thinly sliced)
- 3 Garlic Cloves (Thinly sliced)
- 1 Tbs Ground Cumin
- 1 Tbs Smoked Paprika
- 1/2 Tsp Piment d'Espelette
- One 28-Oz Can Whole Plum Tomatoes (With juices, hand-crushed or coarsely chopped)
- 1 Bunch Fresh, Flat-Leaf Parsley (Chopped)
- 6-8 Large Eggs (Go for "Pasture-Raised, Organic" if possible!)
Shopping done? Let's get cooking.
Instructions:
Act 1 - Ovens Ready!:
Preheat your oven to 375 F.
Let's manage our time well to keep this recipe <30 minutes! While the oven is preheating...
Act 2 - Build Flavor Foundations in the Skillet:
Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Note: Be sure to not overheat the olive oil in too hot of a pan.
Next, add the peppers, onions, and garlic, and let some flavors develop! (Your kitchen will start to smell pretty divine, by the way. 😁)
Let this mixture cook for about 18-20 minutes, and be sure to gently stir things occasionally. You can expect the peppers, onions, and garlic to eventually soften up.
At this point (around that 18-20 min mark), stir in the cumin, smoked paprika, piment d'Espelette, salt, and pepper.
Next, incorporate the tomatoes and chopped parsley. Be sure to reserve a small handful of parsley for garnish.
Let this mixture simmer fo about 5 more minutes on the stovetop.
Act 3 - A Dish "Eggxpertly" Finished:
Puns aside, it's time to add eggs to the party! Grab a large spoon, and create several craters in the tomato mixture. Map out enough craters to accommodate the 6-8 eggs you'll be using. Once the craters are established, crack one egg into each crater - using the spoon to reshape the craters as needed.
After each egg has found its home in the tomato mixture, transfer the skillet into the preheated oven to cook the eggs to perfection. Cook for about 5 minutes. You'll want the egg whites to be completely set while the yolks are still a bit runny (although, you can cook the eggs to your personal taste).
Once the eggs are cooked to your liking, remove the skillet from the oven, sprinkle the remaining parsley over the top, and serve directly from the skillet!