How do you like your eggs in the morning? High protein, low calorie, and high flavor, your favorite new way to enjoy this protein will be with my simple shakshuka recipe. My take on this classic is inspired by the flavors of the traditional North African shakshuka.
Warm a skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Once hot, add the onion and pepper to the pan.Sauté the onion and pepper over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes until the peppers have softened.
Add the chillis, paprika, salt, and pepper. Stir to incorporate them into the onion-pepper mixture. You could also wait and season with salt and pepper just before adding the eggs, to get it exactly right, to your taste.
Throw in the cherry tomatoes and leave to simmer for a couple of minutes. I throw them in whole. However, you can also add them diced.
Add the canned tomatoes and tomato paste and stir well, to thoroughly combine.
Carefully crack the eggs into the pan. Cook for a few minutes until desired. I prefer to cook until my egg whites are cooked, but the yolks are still a little runny.
Optionally, top with parsley and serve immediately.
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Notes
Choose your canned tomatoes wisely. Tomatoes are the key ingredient here so you don't want to use just any old can. My favorite options are either crushed fire-roasted tomatoes or DOP "San Marzano" tinned tomatoes.
Some people don't have much luck when cooking the eggs just in the skillet. If you have issues then transfer the pan, uncovered, to your oven and bake until the egg whites are set.
If you are cooking the eggs on the stovetop, you can keep the pan uncovered, but then it will take longer to cook the eggs through. If covering the pan, then it's best to place a kitchen towel between the lid and pot. This will capture the condensation from the steaming pan. It will allow your eggs to steam without the cover dropping liquid back onto your shakshuka and making it "watery".
Optional add-ins: Shakshuka is extremely customizable and can easily be tweaked towards different tastes:
Swap out vegetables - or add more. For example, eggplant, potatoes, squash, carrot, zucchini, spinach, kale, chard, etc.
For vegan shakshuka - You can omit the eggs and add tofu instead. Also, feel free to crumble over vegan feta or other vegan cheese.
For more spice - Add extra chilis, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, etc.
Swap spices - You can easily change the entire flavor of the dish with your choice of spices. Cumin, paprika, curry powder, za'atar, etc. all add their own spin to the dish.
Add cheese - Crumbled feta is delicious when combined with rich, hearty tomatoes and eggs.
Swirl in pesto - It adds a lovely, salty, richness to the dish.
Other toppings - Include homemade creamy labneh, other types of cheese, olives, fresh avocado slices, your herbs of choice, etc. Sometimes, I even like to add a sprinkle of Simple Middle Eastern Pickled Turnips.
Check the blog post for more tips and serving recommendations!