Shakshouka

Shakshouka is a traditional Middle Eastern dish of eggs cooked in a tomato and pepper sauce which is often eaten for breakfast served with pita bread for dipping. I don't often cook first thing in the morning -making toast is about as much as I can manage when I've just woken up!- so I made this as a main course instead served with salad and bread.Typically this is made in one large pan on a hob or over a fire, once the sauce is cooked the eggs are broken into it and when they are cooked it is served, I made mine slightly differently. After I'd made the sauce I poured it into individual dishes, I broke an egg over the top of each of them and then finished them in the oven. It might not be the 'proper way' to make shakshouka but it worked really well, the only tricky part was making sure the egg white was cooked but the yolk was still runny!

The recipe is adapted from this one from Riverford Organics which I originally got from a recipe card in our organic fruit and vegetable box.

Shakshouka recipe (Serves: 3-4)

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Onions, Finely chopped
• 4 Cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 Yellow pepper, chopped into small-ish chunks
• 1 Red pepper, chopped into small-ish chunks
• 1/2 tsp Black pepper
• ½ tsp Each cumin and coriander
• 1 Fresh red chilli pepper, Chopped (optional)
• 400g/1 tin Chopped tomatoes
• Sea salt
  
• 3-4 eggs (1 per person)

Method:

• First preheat your oven to gas 4/180c
• While the oven is warming up you can make your sauce. First, I a large frying pan over a medium heat fry your onions until they are softened. (about 5 minutes)
• Add your garlic and chopped peppers to the pan, give everything a good stir and fry for a couple of minutes more.
• Next add your black pepper spices and chilli (if using) to the pan and mix well.
• Pour in the tomatoes, season well with salt and leave to simmer for a couple of minutes - until everything is soft and well cooked.
• That's the sauce made, now pour the sauce into three of four oven proof dishes (if you'd prefer use one large dish)
• Make an indentation in the sauce mixture and break an egg into each one, try not to break the yolk!
• Bake for around ten minutes until the white is firm but the yolk is still soft, it may take less time depending on your oven so keep an eye on them!
• Serve with bread for dipping and enjoy!