Shakshuka or chakchouka – fun to say however you spell it! It’s a North African and Middle Eastern dish of eggs poached in a spicy sauce of tomatoes and ‘other vegetables’. Shakshouka means ‘mixed’. This helps explain that, beyond the eggs in tomato sauce part, this dish is very adaptable. You will see many different versions of it.
Shakshouka is a brunch favourite, particularly here in Melbourne cafes. They do brunch so well. At home, we love this for a quick midweek dinner. It covers all the main food groups and is flavourful and hearty. This is my spin on it. Of course, I’ve elected to omit onion and garlic (always). I can’t claim that this is low FODMAP though. One thing that unifies all shakshouka variants is the tomato sauce part. Unfortunately, tomatoes are high FODMAP unless you stick with quite small quantities. This is too tasty (and useful) a dish to miss out on though, so I still make and enjoy it. The dish is vegetarian and gluten-free (if you serve it with GF bread!).
Shakshouka is a dish that you can pull together very quickly, it could be ready in 30 minutes. The flex time is how long you want to simmer the tomato sauce before laying cracked eggs on the surface. A longer simmer time will result in a thicker, more intensely flavoured sauce. You can make the simple sauce in advance. It will keep well in the fridge or freezer. All you need to do is bring to a simmer again before adding the other ingredients.
For shakshouka eggs, we want fully cooked whites but softly set yolks. Slightly runny yolks are ideal for dunking bread. The trick is to cook the whites without overcooking the yolks. I’ve given clear guidance about how to achieve this below.
This is a very straightforward recipe to scale up or down. Allow 2 eggs per person. You could easily do a mini version for one person in a small frying pan or for more people in a bigger pan. You’re only limited by the amount of eggs you can fit in one layer in a frying pan or other wide pan that can be used on the stovetop and oven (that means no plastic handles!) 🫠
🥘 Ingredients
The quantities required are very flexible. There’s no need to weigh them. I’ve given some weights in the recipe card below for those of you who might want some more guidance. Feel free to ignore them!
Canned whole tomatoes – buy good quality ones for better flavour. Some of the cheaper ones are less ripe and watery. I always buy whole canned tomatoes and crush them by hand. That way they’re less processed (surely always a good thing?), plus you only need to buy one type of canned tomato for all applications.
Cumin & hot smoked paprika – add subtle fragrance and heat. At this quantity, the paprika offers mild heat. You can increase the quantity if you like more spice.
Saffron – adds fragrance and colour. Luckily, a little goes a long way. You only need a small pinch; this stuff's expensive!
Potato – any type will work well. If you like your potato softer, use a floury variety. If you want a bit more bite, go with a waxy variety, like a new potato. Either way, we simmer cubes of potato until tender before adding into the shakshouka. I've tried cooking the potatoes directly in the sauce, but it doesn't work well.
Green Bell Pepper/Capsicum – less sweet than red or yellow varieties (less ripe). It’s a good balance against the sweet sauce. It’s added towards the end of the tomato simmering time so that it retains some bite but doesn’t taste raw.
NB: the name for this vegetable (technically a fruit arrghh!) is so confusing! ‘Bell peppers’ in the US, plain old ‘peppers’ in the UK, ‘capsicum’ in Aus, NZ and Pakistan. I hope this is clear to everyone 😊
Kale – adds colour and texture. We don’t need much, just enough to dot between and around the eggs. The curly edges get crisp in the oven.
Eggs – allow 2 eggs per person. Always free-range (please). Fresher ones will have less runny whites that spread less in the sauce. This isn't a deal-breaker though.
Sumac – citrusy sweet red spice, great for sprinkling over the eggs to serve. I forgot to do this for the photos 🙄
You can customise this by adding other ingredients. This recipe is a great way of using up odds and ends you might have that need using up, maybe:
- some sliced avocado, dotted over before serving.
- crumbled feta to garnish.
- drained chickpeas from a can stirred through the tomato sauce to heat through.
- fresh herbs, scattered over the finished dish.
- leftover cooked vegetables to stir into the tomato sauce.
- olives
🔪 Instructions
We ‘bloom’ spices – add hot smoked paprika, cumin and saffron strands to some hot olive oil in the pan. This heating of spices in fat draws out and extends the spice flavour to spread throughout a dish.
Tip in crushed whole canned tomatoes and a little seasoning of salt, black pepper and sugar.
We simmer the sauce while we prep the potato. Then peel and chop the potato and simmer that for around 10 minutes in salted water. We want to soften them, but not so much that they're falling apart. Once we’re ready to proceed, we stir cubes of green pepper and the cooked potatoes into the sauce. Now we’re ready to poach the eggs….
Here are a few tips for success for mastering eggs with set whites but runny yolks:
- make sure the tomato sauce is simmering hot before adding eggs.
- lay the eggs in shallow wells on the surface of the sauce so that the whites are spread in a thin layer. This will help them cook evenly and fast. Gently rest a wide shallow spoon on the surface of the tomato sauce and crack an egg onto it. Slide out the spoon to remove it, leaving the egg in place.
- work quickly to get all your eggs in the pan for even cooking.
- simmer the eggs (covered) for a few minutes in the hot sauce on the stove top to cook bottom up.
- transfer to a hot oven (uncovered) to cook from the top down for a few more minutes.
Scrunching kale in olive oil and a little salt helps it crisp up without burning and adds flavour. It’s important to lay the kale on the surface of the sauce around the eggs rather than pushing it in. Any exposed kale gets crisp in the oven, which is what we want.
The cook time in the oven serves to crisp up the kale and finish cooking the egg whites. 5-10 minutes is about right, but keep a close eye! Get ready to take the dish out of the oven if the yolks look like they're getting hard and/or the kale is burning. The eggs will continue to cook in the sauce after you take the dish out of the oven. Err on the side of undercooking rather than over-cooking the eggs.
Bring the shakshouka dish to the table to serve. Gently scoop portions with a wide shallow spoon. We want to pick up whole eggs without breaking the yolks and you keep the kale on top. Transfer to wide shallow bowls and let everyone dig in with plenty of bread of your choice. Cafes never give you enough bread!
Although perhaps not ‘traditional’, I like serving shakshouka with focaccia. The spongy texture is the best for mopping up egg yolk and sauce. The edges are crisp for great contrast. The olive oil flavour goes so well with this dish too.
📖 Recipe
Equipment
- Shallow, wide pan, about 30cm wide. It needs to be stove-top and oven-safe.
Ingredients
- 800 g canned whole tomatoes
- olive oil
- teaspoon hot smoked paprika
- pinch of saffron threads
- Teaspoon ground cumin
- Tablespoon sugar
- salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium potato
- Small green bell pepper/capsicum (around 150g)
- 8 eggs
- big handful kale (about 30g)
- ⅛ teaspoon ground sumac (to sprinkle over the eggs)
To Serve: warm bread of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat Oven – to 180°C
- Crush Tomatoes - empty the tomatoes into a large bowl and crush by hand. Squeeze each tomato slowly one at a time under the surface of the liquid. Set the cans aside, we’ll rinse them out later.800 g canned whole tomatoes
- Preheat Pan - over medium heat on the stove top. Add two tablespoons oil.olive oil
- Bloom Spices - add the paprika, saffron and cumin to the oil. Stir frequently until fragrant, about 10 seconds.teaspoon hot smoked paprikapinch of saffron threadsTeaspoon ground cumin
- Tomatoes & Seasoning - add the tomatoes with 200ml water (you can use this to rinse out the tomato cans). Add sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt & freshly ground black pepper. Simmer over low heat (with the lid off) for around 30 minutes (or at least while you do the next step).Tablespoon sugarsalt¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Prepare Potatoes & Bell Pepper - peel the potato and cut into small cubes. Place in a small saucepan with enough cold water to cover (about ½ litre) and ½ teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain gently/lift out with a slotted spoon. Cut the pepper into small cubes (about the same size as the potatoes).salt1 medium potatoSmall green bell pepper/capsicum
- Poach Eggs – once you're ready to poach the eggs and serve, add the potatoes and green pepper. Fold these through gently so you don’t break the potatoes. Lay a shallow large serving spoon on the top of the tomato sauce to make a shallow well. Crack an egg onto the spoon, aiming to keep the yolk intact. Gently remove the spoon, sliding the egg onto the surface of the tomato. Repeat for all the eggs. Season the eggs with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Once all the eggs are in, put the lid on for 5 minutes (or cover tightly with foil if you don’t have a lid).8 eggs
- Kale – cut out any fibrous stalks/veins, keeping the leaves in big segments. Place in a small bowl. Pour over about ½ tablespoon of olive oil and ⅛ teaspoon salt. Use your hands to scrunch up to coat with the oil. When the 5 minutes is up, take the lid/foil off. Lightly lay the kale around and between the eggs without pushing it into the sauce.olive oilbig handful kalesalt
- Bake - transfer the dish (uncovered) to the oven. Cook until the whites of eggs have turned opaque and are mostly set and the kale edges are crispy. This will take 5-10 minutes but keep a close eye – we want to keep the yolks soft and not burn the kale.
- Serve - sprinkle a pinch of sumac on top of each yolk.⅛ teaspoon ground sumac
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