SHAKSHOUKA

If you haven’t checked out Gather Journal yet, I suggest you get around to it soon. It’s basically a Brooklyn based bi-annual recipe-driven magazine with beautiful photos, inspiring ideas and recipes, and unique ways to dine, drink, harvest, and gather.  I know that Tivoli Mercantile carries it as well as my work-place Finch in Hudson, but if you’re in the city I’m sure you’ll find it with no problem. 

Anyway, I saw a recipe for Shakshouka in this last issue; a Hebrew dish of poached eggs in tomato sauce with peppers, onions, garlic, spices, cheese, and bread to mop it all up with. It’s sort of a Middle-Eastern version of huevos rancheros which we all know how much I loooove. Not to mention, "shakshouka" is just really fun to say. Gather calls for feta cheese but by the time I realized I didn’t have any, I was half-way through cooking so I substituted with mozzarella and parmesan, adding a little sea salt to make up for the saltiness of feta. This undoubtedly turned it into a more Italian-style dish, but it was so absolutely delicious, I didn’t care and want to share it with you anyway. In a blind taste- test, you would swear there was pasta and sausage in the skillet dish. Spices and texture are amazing that way, aren’t they?

INGREDIENTS:

1 yellow onion, thinly slices

3 T extra-virgin olive oil

5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

3 Anaheim or cubanelle peppers, seeded and cut into thin strips

½ t coriander seeds, crushed

1 t paprika

¼ t cayenne 

Black pepper to taste

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

4 oz creamy feta, crumbled (OR: about 3 oz diced mozzarella, ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese, and about 1/3 tsp. sea salt)

4 large eggs

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cook onion in oil in a large cast-iron skillet or sauté pan over medium heat until translucent. Add garlic and peppers and sauté until they begin to soften. Stir in coriander, paprika, and cayenne, and cook stirring until fragrant (about 1 minute). Stir in tomatoes, ¾ cup water, and ½ of parsley. Simmer until fairly thickened- about 25 minutes.

2. Reduce heat to a very gentle simmer. Scatter feta. Using a spoon, make 4 indentations in the sauce. Crack an egg into each indentation, partially cover pan, and cook until eggs are set, about 10-12 minutes.

3. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with toasted bread.