I first came across shakshuka at a local Aroma Espresso Bar, an Israeli coffee chain that has been popping up all over Toronto (I know that New York has a few as well, but I think Toronto has more per capita). This egg and tomato sauce dish is delicious, and great for not just breakfast or brunch, but dinner, as well. While it’s typically cooked stove top, baking makes it even more delicious. It doesn’t take long (15 minutes for the eggs to set) and is delicious with baguette or ciabatta and salad (or you can go the Israeli route and serve it with pita).
Ingredients:
- 3 plump vine tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 cups of pureed tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 medium bell pepper, chopped
- 1 small eggplant, chopped
- 1-2 tablespoons of minced garlic
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1 pinch za’taar (optional)
- 4 eggs
Directions:
- In a pan, cook the vegetables and spices until soft and set aside. I usually cook it with 1/4 cups of broth, but you can use water or a tablespoon of oil. If you want, you can add some chopped green bell pepper to the sauce after it cooks (the peppers will be slightly more crunchy that way). This should be about five to 10 minutes, max
- Spoon the sauce into two individual sized casserole dishes
- Crack two eggs into each casserole dish
- Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 F for about 20-30 minutes or until the eggs are set (and depending on how you like your eggs. The ones I made above were close to hard-cooked at about 30 minutes)
- Serve in the dishes
Makes 2 dinner portions.
