This delicious shakshuka recipe is adapted from Ottolenghi’s book Jerusalem. Comfort breakfast eating at its best.

I’ve had a bee in my bonnet to make Shakshuka since eating it a The Kirstenbosch Tearoom a few months ago. Their version is utterly delicious. Soft unctuous eggs wallowing in a very thick and slightly spicy tomato sauce is all kinds of heaven for me.

I turned to my favourite Middle Eastern cookbook author for inspiration, aka Ottolenghi, and based my recipe on his from the book ‘Jerusalem’. I added onion, mushroom, and spinach to my version, which I don’t think is at all traditional but it worked well. All of those blended happily with the sauce and are a perfect partner to an egg.

This recipe is easy to adapt to your own taste by adding whatever you like and have on hand. Aubergines, zucchini, and potatoes would be fabulous.

Shakshuka originates in Tunisia but is a popular dish served all over Israel. I guess it was designed to be eaten for breakfast or lunch but it was wonderful for supper too.

I used the delicious Terra Madre Harissa paste which is slightly sweet and not that hot, so I added double the quantity (4 Tablespoons vs 2) and, because I felt it needed a slight kick, I added half a teaspoon of dried smoked chilli flakes. Ottolenghi recommends serving Shakshuka with Labneh, or thick yoghurt, but I just loved it with toasted white bread. I also scattered over roughly chopped cilantro/coriander to the finished dish. It gives it a lovely herby freshness.

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Prep Time:10

Cook Time:20

Total Time:30

Ingredients

1 small red onion finely chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 large red or yellow peppers cut into 0.5cm dice
2 cups mushrooms finely sliced
4 cloves garlic crushed
2 – 4 Tbsp harissa paste depending on how hot
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes optional
5 large ripe tomatoes 800g – or 2 x 400g tins of chopped peeled tomatoes
3 cups baby spinach leaves
salt and pepper
4 – 6 free range eggs
small handful of cilantro / coriander roughly chopped

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the onion until softened, about 4 – 5 minutes.
Add the peppers and cook for a further few minutes until they are soft. Add the mushrooms and cook for a minute or two.
Add the tomato paste, harissa, cumin, chilli, salt, pepper and garlic and cook for about 5 more minutes. Add a splash of water if it dries out and becomes too thick.
Add the tomatoes (I used tin) and the spinach and cook for 10 minutes and until the sauce is thick.
Make little wells in the sauce and break the eggs into these, and simmer for 8 – 10 minutes until cooked. Swirls the egg whites a bit with the sauce and try not to break the yolks. If you cover the pan it will speed up the process.
The eggs are ready when the whites are firm and cooked and the egg yolks are soft.
Spoon out the eggs with the sauce and serve.

Notes

This dish is best eaten on the day it is made. Any leftover sauce can be stored in the fridge and used again.

Servings: 4

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21 Comments

this really looks delicious! I will try this Shukshuka for supper with some joghurt!

Wow, so rustic. I bet those pans cook the best dishes! Great images here!!!
Thanks for sharing!

I love shakshuka and I will try your addition of spinach and mushrooms next time I make it. I also love it with merguez sausage when in the mood for something heartier. Your photos are inspiring!!

I love all those vibrant colors and rustic dishes, perfectly styled!

Thanks so much aunt Suzy 🙂

I am always looking for a new way to serve breakfast for the hubby over weekends. This looks perfect! Love it!!

Evening Sam,
I meant to mail you when I saw your article on Shashuka – but forgot until I saw your mail today 🙂 Thought that you might like to know that Pan Shippel-Granoth will be launching her new cook book containing recipes from Kirstenbosch on 28 November. I too cannot wait because Shashuka is my best. In the absence of time and no recipe I make it the lazy way – put one tin All Gold Mexican tomatoes in the base of a greased ovenproof dish, make four holes for eggs, break eggs into the holes and bake ucovered until cooked. To tart this up I sometimes put a tortilla in the dish before I put in the tomatoes. Tastes really good ….

HI Anna, thanks – Pam has invited me to her launch on the 28th and Im looking forward to seeing her book. Maybe see you there too 🙂

Divine! I could totally have this for breakfast lunch and dinner 😀

Turkish version uses lots of different vegies: eggplant, zucchini, squash, etc etc.

Stunning Michelle

i think i missed when to add the spinach to this recipe…
help!

Hello – oops – let me go and check the recipe. Thanks for the note.

Hi again. I just updated the recipe and you add the baby spinach with the tomatoes.
Thanks again for pointing that out.
Best
Sam

This is Eggs In Hell with a couple extra items! I will try this next time.
When I make Eggs in Hell I prepare seasoned croutons in olive oil using the same pan I will make the tomato sauce in
I then throw the croutons on top just before serving. Makes a lovely holiday brunch!! Thanx!raf
Happy Holidays!!!

Try it with chorizo cooked in and feta crumbled on top. It’s the next level. 😉

This looks absolutely delicious!

Hey I just made this recipe, tweeking it a bit. It came out very well. I will mention your name and blog in my blog post as well to give you the credit. Thank you once again.