Shakshuka

I made this close to a week ago, but life has conspired to prevent me from getting this posted. Apologies! Also, I have a job interview on Thursday, which is a very good thing. I am hopeful it results in work, as that would simplify my life an amazing amount.

So... Shakshuka... Yotam says that this dish is North African in origin, and that there are many variations, which can include preserved lemon, feta, and a variety of herbs and spices. So if you like it but feel like tweaking it, you aren't likely to be breaking any firm culinary traditions. As usual, the ingredients are as listed in the book and the written description includes my observations and any adaptations.

Shakshuka
(p. 87, Plenty)

Serves 4 generously (<--- definitely not kidding about that)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3/4 cup light olive oil, or vegetable oil
2 large onions, sliced
2 red bell peppers, cut into 3/4-inch strips
2 yellow bell peppers, cut into 3/4-inch strips
4 tsp muscovado sugar
2 bay leaves
6 thyme sprigs, leaves picked and chopped
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp chopped cilantro, plus extra to garnish
6 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp saffron threads
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and black pepper
up to 1 1/8 cups water
8 eggs

Assemble ingredients!

As you can probably tell from the picture, I halved the recipe as I was just feeding myself. I also substituted light brown sugar for the muscovado, as I didn't have any - the best substitute is as dark a brown sugar as you can find if you can't get the real thing. Muscovado sugar has a definite molasses presence. And I can see how that would contribute another nuance to the dish. But plain brown sugar worked well enough. ^_^ Do not substitute dried parsley for fresh, it will be stale and gross. You could probably get away with dried thyme (probably 1/4 tsp?) if you had to, but the fresh is preferable. If you don't have cumin seeds, you can get away with substituting the same amount ground cumin.

To start, in a *very* large pan dry-roast the cumin seeds on high heat for two minutes. Add the oil and the onions and saute for 5 minutes. Add the peppers, the sugar and herbs, and continue to cook on high heat for another 5-10 minutes or until everything starts to take on some colour.

Add the tomatoes, saffron, cayenne and some salt and pepper.

Reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. If the pan starts to dry out, add some water. You are attempting to create something that had a pasta sauce consistency. I found I did not need any water.

Taste and adjust the seasoning (I did find a little salt to be a good thing here, to balance the sweetness a bit). Everything should be potent and flavourful.

I got to this stage in the recipe and realized I'd forgotten the eggs that were called for in the recipe, and what was more, I didn't have any in the fridge. So I decided to enjoy it as it was - and enjoy it I did!

To finish the recipe properly, remove the bay leaves from the pan, and divide the saucy vegetables among four smaller pans or individual baking dishes, if you want to go with an individual serving. Create two gaps in each serving of vegetables, and carefully break an egg into each of the gaps. Cook on very gentle heat for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the egg whites are cooked and the yolks are just set. Remove from the oven, garnish with cilantro, and serve.

That said, it's pretty fantastic without the eggs... and I think it would be fine if I scrambled them in another pan and added them to the dish at the end (My personal avoidance of the soft egg yolks shows itself again...). I found that there was a lot of oil in this dish, and that the total amount could probably be reduced safely to 1/2 cup estimating by the amount of oil that remained behind in the pan and the storage container as I had it for subsequent meals.

...I also think it would be really good on a pizza. Not even kidding. Perhaps that isn't so surprising though, as Yotam says it is best served with a lot of chunky white bread as a side dish.