Shakshuka
By the Tapas kitchen · Updated
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Yield
- Serves 3
When this comes to the table the yolks should still shake, so take the pan off the heat a minute before the eggs look done. Before they go in, cook the sauce down until a spoon dragged through it leaves a trail that closes slowly, or the whites spread and the pan turns watery.
Ingredients
Serves 3
The salt amounts here are for Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If you have Morton kosher salt, use a little over half as much, because its grains are denser and saltier by the spoon.
Steps
- Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet with a lid over medium heat. Add the onion, peppers and a pinch of the salt and cook, stirring now and then, until the peppers have slumped and the onion is golden at the edges, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Add the garlic, tomato paste, harissa, cumin and paprika and stir until the paste darkens and starts to stick to the pan, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Pour in the tomatoes and their juice and add all but a pinch of the remaining salt. Simmer uncovered, stirring and scraping the bottom every few minutes, until a spoon dragged through the sauce leaves a trail that fills in slowly, 12 to 15 minutes. Taste now: this is the last chance to season the sauce itself.
- Turn the heat to low. Make six wells in the sauce with the back of a spoon and crack an egg into each, breaking them into a cup first if your aim is unreliable. Run a fork gently through the thick white around each yolk so it spreads into the sauce, keeping the yolks whole. Sprinkle the last pinch of salt over the eggs.
- Cover and cook until the whites are opaque right up to the yolks and the yolks still wobble when you nudge the pan, 6 to 9 minutes. Start checking at 5; the eggs keep cooking after the heat is off.
- Scatter the feta and herbs over the top and bring the skillet to the table with the bread.
Notes
The sauce keeps 4 days in the fridge or 3 months frozen; reheat it to a simmer in the skillet before adding the eggs. In summer, use about 2 lb of ripe fresh tomatoes, chopped, and simmer a few minutes longer. If you don't have feta, spoon a little thick yogurt or labneh over the top instead. For anyone who should avoid runny eggs, such as during pregnancy, keep the lid on a few minutes longer, until the yolks are firm.
To make more or less of it, paste the ingredients into our recipe scaler and it works out every amount.
