No one dish has revolutionised brunch quite like shakshuka. A staple in the Middle East and North Africa, it hit it’s peak popularity a half decade ago when Yotam Ottolenghi included a recipe in his cookbook, Plenty. It made it’s way onto people’s tables and onto brunch menus at cafes across the country. So, I’m only five years late in posting this recipe but better late than never.
Shakshuka is almost always better at home than at restaurants – much like paella and and risotto, it’s easier to manage when you’re cooking just one. You can put all your attention on the one pan, which you’ll need because the difference between good and great shakshuka is the runniness of the eggs. (I looked it up and yes, runniness is a word.)
I couldn’t dig up the exact origins of shakshuka, but it’s safe to say it’s middle eastern slash north african. I can’t get more specific than that as no one seems to know the exact origins of shakshuka. In Ottolenghi, the writers say that it’s originally Tunisian but has become hugely popular in Jerusalem and all over Israel. Others say that it has it’s origins in the Moroccan dish chakchouka. Whatever its origins, shakshuka meaning ‘all mixed up’ in Hebrew has captured hearts and warmed stomachs the world over, and not because it’s in that special category of anytime foods.
Summer shakshuka can be topped with rocket and winter shakshuka filled with roasted butternut. Little chunks of chorizo are another of my favourite additions. Australian cafe culture has made it a brunch staple, but it’s just as good for lunch or dinner. The possibilities are almost endless, unless of course you have a partner like mine who will not eat eggs. In which case, you leave him to cook his own breakfast.
I’ve only tweaked a couple of things from the original recipe – where it uses 4 eggs and 4 yolks, I use 6-8 eggs (as many as can fit in the pan. I also use a paella dish as I find it has a bigger surface area so can fit more eggs.
Here are my top tips for perfecting shakshuka
- If you’re having trouble getting your eggs to be perfectly runny, you can cover your pan with a baking tray or finish it in a 150C oven for a brief 2-3 minutes.
- Make sure your eggs at room temperature before you start cooking; something most people (me included) forget until they go to get the eggs from the fridge.
- Crack each egg into a small bowl before placing it into the shakshuka – it’s never happened to me but I have nightmares of one rotten egg ruining all my hard work.
- I never liked recipes that said to cook until the eggs are ‘just set’ because what the hell does that mean anyway? Cook until the whites of the eggs have lost their translucence and the outer edges of the yolks are just starting to whiten.
- If in doubt, err on the side of every so slightly undercooked as it will continue cooking as you take it to the table.
- And last pro tip, make sure your guests are seated when it’s served or you’ll have gone to all that precision cooking for firmly set yolks.
Other delicious shakshuka additions
- Diced chorizo or merguez
- Leftover roast vegetables
- Feta
- Cannellini beans
- Asparagus
- Fresh toppings like coriander, rocket or parsley
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp harissa paste or pipelchuma or substitute chilli flakes
- 2 tsp tomato purée
- 2 large (approx 300g) capsicums, cut into 0.5cm dice
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 800g-1kg very ripe tomatoes, chopped; tinned are also fine
- 6-8 medium free-range eggs, at room temperature
- 120g Labneh, or thick yoghurt
- salt
- Heat the olive oil in a large flat based pan over medium heat and add the harissa or pipelchuma, tomato paste, peppers, garlic, cumin, and ¾ teaspoon salt. Stir and cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes to allow the peppers to soften. Add the tomatoes, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for a further 10 minutes until you have quite a thick sauce. Taste for seasoning. (You can pre cook the sauce up to this point and turn it off until your guests have arrived - it will take 12-15 minutes to finish from here. When resuming cooking, make sure the sauce is properly warmed through again, or the eggs will not cook evenly).
- Make a little dip in the sauce. Gently break one egg into a bowl, then carefully pour into the dip. Repeat with the rest of the eggs, moving quickly and rotating the pan as necessary to stop the first egg from overcooking. Simmer gently until the egg whites have just lost their translucence, and the yolks have barely begun to whiten around the edges and are still runny in the centre. You can cover the pan with a lid if you wish to hasten the process. Remove from the heat, leave for a couple of minutes to settle, then spoon into individual plates and serve with the labneh/yogurt and avocado.
If you’re having trouble getting your eggs to be perfectly runny, you can cover your pan with a baking tray or finish it in a 150C oven for a brief 2-3 minutes.
Crack each egg into a small bowl before placing it into the shakshuka – it’s never happened to me but I have nightmares of one rotten egg ruining all my hard work.
I never liked recipes that said to cook until the eggs are ‘just set’ because what the hell does that mean anyway? Cook until the whites of the eggs have lost their translucence and the outer edges of the yolks are just starting to whiten.
If in doubt, err on the side of every so slightly undercooked as it will continue cooking as you take it to the table.
And last pro tip, make sure your guests are seated when it’s served or you’ll have gone to all that precision cooking for firmly set yolks.
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