Most often people think shakshuka to be an Israeli dish. But if you dig deeper, then Basques, Spaniards, Italians, Tunisians, Algerians, Lebanese, Moroccans, Odessans, and probably someone else consider shakshuka to be their national dish. There are as many versions of this dish as there are those who claim to invent it. Israel brought shakshuka worldwide popularity along with the growing popularity of Israeli cuisine. And yet I think that it came to us from North Africa, and once upon a time was cooked over a fire, eaten together from one large dish, and instead of forks it was scooped up with bread. This was the very first and the most delicious shakshuka in the world.
Most often people think shakshuka to be an Israeli dish. But if you dig deeper, then Basques, Spaniards, Italians, Tunisians, Algerians, Lebanese, Moroccans, Odessans, and probably someone else consider shakshuka to be their national dish. There are as many versions of this dish as there are those who claim to invent it. Israel brought shakshuka worldwide popularity along with the growing popularity of Israeli cuisine. And yet I think that it came to us from North Africa, and once upon a time was cooked over a fire, eaten together from one large dish, and instead of forks it was scooped up with bread. This was the very first and the most delicious shakshuka in the world.- Prep time: 5 minutes
- Cook time: 35 minutes
- Serves: 2
- Difficulty: easy
- Course: breakfast
- Cookware: knife, deep frying pan
- Cuisine: Israeli
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 400 g tomatoes
- 1 aubergine
- 1 bell pepper
- ½ onion
- 1 chili
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 300 ml water
- ½ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp coriander seeds
- ½ bunch of coriander
- sugar or honey to taste
- salt
Cooking method
Step 1
Dice onion, bell pepper, aubergine, tomatoes. Chop finely coriander leaves and chilli.
Step 2
Heat olive oil in a large frying pan on high heat. Add onion and fry until tender. Add spices and chili. Fry lightly, stirring constantly, to open the flavour of spices. Add bell pepper, aubergine, and tomatoes to the pan. Fry for a few minutes. Add tomato paste, honey, and water. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan with the lid, and cook for about 10 minutes, so that the sauce thickens slightly, but flows a little bit if touched by spoon.⠀
Step 3
With a tablespoon, make dips in the sauce (according to the number of eggs). Break an egg into each “well”, sprinkle with coriander leaves. “Poach” the eggs in a slightly boiling sauce until eggs are done to your liking, for about 8-10 minutes. Serve immediately with the bread for the sauce.
My tips and tricks:
When shakshuka gets on the list of your favourite breakfasts, I advise you to play with its “nationality”. For the Greek shakshuka, add a little bit of feta in the sauce before cooking the eggs. In an Israeli version, place a generous spoonful of hummus next to the egg before serving. In the Basque country, hummus would be replaced with crème fraiche (or you can replace it with sour cream, this will be sensational). And in Odessa, in a city where you can dine with just one tomato in July, tomato paste, chili, spices (except for black pepper, salt, and a clove of garlic), bell pepper, and aubergine will not be add to shakshuka. Tomatoes here are fragrant, sweet, and plump when in season, they will be good in shakshuka by themselves or in a duet with onions.
- 4 eggs
- 400 g tomatoes
- 1 aubergine
- 1 bell pepper
- ½ onion
- 1 chili
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 300 ml water
- ½ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp coriander seeds
- ½ bunch of coriander
- sugar or honey to taste
- salt
- Dice onion, bell pepper, aubergine, tomatoes. Chop finely coriander leaves and chilli.
- Heat olive oil in a large frying pan on high heat. Add onion and fry until tender. Add spices and chili. Fry lightly, stirring constantly, to open the flavour of spices. Add bell pepper, aubergine, and tomatoes to the pan. Fry for a few minutes. Add tomato paste, honey, and water. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan with the lid, and cook for about 10 minutes, so that the sauce thickens slightly, but flows a little bit if touched by spoon.⠀
- With a tablespoon, make dips in the sauce (according to the number of eggs). Break an egg into each “well”, sprinkle with coriander leaves. "Poach" the eggs in a slightly boiling sauce until eggs are done to your liking, for about 8-10 minutes. Serve immediately with the bread for the sauce.