Easy, Basic Shakshouka

Shakshouka

Recipe:

Shakshouka is a beautiful, colorful blend of North African and middle eastern culinary traditions that makes for a tasty and hearty breakfast or dinner. It's also versatile. You can add any number of ingredients to this basic recipe and so long as you've got that bright red, spicy sauce and some eggs, you've still got shakshouka. My only departure from the standard base is to add some onions, because, well, I like onions.

Ingredients

• Olive oil

• 2 Tbsp. harissa (or to taste)

• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste

• 1/2 cup diced white onions

• 2 large red peppers, diced small (about 2 cups)

• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 1 Tbsp. ground cumin

• 1 28 oz. canned whole tomatoes

• 4 large eggs

• Salt

Directions

Heat a large heavy skillet (cast iron is great) over medium heat and when it fully heated, add enough olive oil to just cover the bottom.

When the oil is heated, add the onions and peppers and saute until they're softened.

Add the harissa, tomato paste, garlic, cumin, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Cook for another minute or two.

Add the tomatoes, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for a further 10 minutes, using the back of a wooden spoon to crush the tomatoes. Taste and adjust seasoning.

When the sauce has reduced a little and become very thick, use a spoon to make four evenly spaced indententations in the sauce and gently break and egg into each indentation.

Reduce temperature a little, cover and simmer until the eggs are poached to your liking.

Remove from the heat, leave for a couple of minutes to settle, then spoon into individual plates and serve with fresh bread (Challah is great for this).

Full printable recipe and photo at http://ift.tt/1JkKvFM

bon appetit