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Have you fallen under the spell of the aromatic, tomatoey and egg-laden stew, shakshuka, come brunch time?
Perhaps, Ottolenghi, englightened you to this popular dish that's as old as the Ottoman empire but still hitting the high notes in google searches, vegetarian and gluten-free cooking and the trending keto diet.
But what is shakshuka, (also spelt shakshouka, chakchouka) and how do you prepare this Middle Eastern breakfast dish at home?
WHAT IS SHAKSHUKA?
Shakshuka is a spicy dish of eggs stewed in a fresh tomato sauce. It's a basic one-pot dish with its origins in northern Africa, but has since become a national favourite in Israel.
Shakshuka is at it's simplest cooked in its classic version, but it's also a dish open to experimentation. Try riffing on the classic with a green shakshuka made with spinach, shakshuka with feta, humshuka (topped with hummus) and shakshuka with aubergine instead of peppers. Whatever you do, it's a dish made for brunch and breakfast but also makes a satisfying and cheap mid week dinner.
How to Make Shakshuka?
Preparing classic shakshouka is accessible to the humble weekend breakfast cook or the one pot wonder.
All you need is a pan and plenty of ripe tomatoes, spices like cumin, saffron, cayenne, a generous bunch of herbs including thyme, parsley and coriander, onions, peppers and double the number of eggs depending on how many people you're feeding.
Shakshuka is usually cooked in a cast iron pan, set down on the table and served with bread to mop up the juices.
Learn how to cook shakshuka like Ottolenghi in the Israeli-British chef's simple recipe, outlined in the video below:
