Shakshouka

Many are the meals you have to make with no plan and almost nothing to cook with. yet often they turn out to be the best.  Here’s an easy, tasty meal that never fails me and with even the barest of cupboards, I almost always have the ingredients for – shakshouka.

Shakshouka originates from North Africa and is a popular breakfast/brunch dish in Israel where you can find restaurants which specialize in it exclusively. There are endless variations of this dish, each getting more elaborate than the next, but I find this basic version deliciously satisfying  – at any time of day.

 

Before you start make sure you have a lid to cover your frying pan.

Ingredients

Serves 2

4 eggs – preferably free range

olive oil

I medium onion sliced

I can tomatoes (obviously you can use fresh tomatoes too if you want)

I heaped tablespoon tomato paste (concentrate)

Half a red pepper sliced (optional)

I heaped tsp freshly ground coriander seeds

A healthy pinch of dried chili flakes – or fresh if you have it.

Salt, black pepper

Coriander leaves (cilantro) to finish

 

Method

• Start by making the tomato sauce. Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the onions till they are translucent.
• Next add the red pepper then the tomato puree and coriander seeds and fry for a few minutes.
• Add the tomatoes and chili flakes and season with salt and pepper and cook till you have a thick spicy sauce.
• Now, gently break the eggs directly onto the sauce and cover your pan with a lid.  The eggs will poach on the sauce but keep your eye on them. As soon as the white are cooked, it should be ready. Be careful not to overcook – the yokes should not get hard.
• Sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves -or parsley – and serve straight out of the pan with some fresh bread to mop it all up.