Friday, June 12, 2020

Shakshuka

I’ve seen this recipe on a couple websites like Yum Yum for Dum Dum and Cooks Illustrated. Cooks Illustrated states “ The North African dish shakshuka (eggs poached in tomato sauce flavored with peppers, spices, and garlic) makes a great meal any time—if you can get the eggs to cook properly.

For the sauce, we blended whole peeled tomatoes and jarred roasted red peppers for a mix of sweetness, smokiness, and acidity. Adding pita bread helped prevent the silky-smooth sauce from weeping. A combination of garlic, tomato paste, and ground spices created the distinct flavor profile we were after. To ensure that the eggs cooked just right, we added them to the skillet off the heat, cooked them in a smooth rather than chunky sauce for more even heat transfer, and covered the whites with sauce just after adding them to the pan to help speed their cooking. Covering the eggs created a steamy environment that quickly cooked them from both above and below. Chopped fresh cilantro, crumbled feta, and sliced kalamata olives on top provided brightness, texture, and contrasting flavor.” Serves 4 Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

4 (8-inch) pita breads, divided 
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained 
3 cups jarred roasted red peppers, divided 
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
4 garlic cloves, sliced thin 
1 tablespoon tomato paste 
2 teaspoons ground coriander 
2 teaspoons smoked paprika 
1 teaspoon ground cumin 
Salt and pepper, to taste 
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
8 large eggs 
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and stems 
1 ounce feta cheese, crumbled (1/4 cup) 
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced 

Directions:

Cut enough pita bread into 1/2” pieces to equal 1/2 cup (about one-third of 1 pita bread). Cut remaining pita breads into wedges for serving. Process pita pieces, tomatoes, and half of red peppers in blender until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Cut remaining red peppers into 1/4” pieces and set aside.

 Heat oil in 12” skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add tomato paste, coriander, paprika, cumin, salt, pepper, and cayenne and cook, stirring constantly, until rust-colored and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomato–red pepper puree and reserved red peppers (mixture may sputter) and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to maintain simmer; cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. Using back of spoon, make 8 shallow dime-size indentations in sauce (7 around perimeter and 1 in center). 

Crack 1 egg into small bowl and pour into 1 indentation (it will hold yolk in place but not fully contain egg). Repeat with remaining 7 eggs. Spoon sauce over edges of egg whites so that whites are partially covered and yolks are exposed. Bring to simmer over medium heat (there should be small bubbles across entire surface). Reduce heat to maintain simmer. Cover and cook until yolks film over, 4 to 5 minutes. Continue to cook, covered, until whites are softly but uniformly set (if skillet is shaken lightly, each egg should jiggle as a single unit), 1 to 2 minutes longer. Off heat, sprinkle with cilantro, feta, and olives. Serve immediately, passing pita wedges separately.


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