Shakshuka is the one-pan brunch that turned up in every Australian cafe in the mid-2010s and never left.
Why you are cooking this tonight
Shakshuka is the one-pan brunch that turned up in every Australian cafe in the mid-2010s and never left. Eggs poached in a chilli-spiked capsicum and tomato sauce, served in the pan it was cooked in, with fat slices of sourdough for mopping. It is thirty minutes, one skillet, and it feeds four people for less than fifteen dollars.
The dish is Tunisian originally and travelled through Israel and Palestine on its way to Sydney. The version that matters to us is the hot, smoky, cumin-heavy version with a generous crumble of Meredith feta on top. Yoghurt on the side, fresh coriander, maybe a glass of something cold.
Notes on method
Get the sauce thick before the eggs go in. Make four wells with the back of a spoon, crack the eggs straight in, cover the pan. Runny yolks are the point.
What to pour with it
Coffee with it. If it is the weekend, a cold Bloody Mary. A chilled Clare Valley riesling also works for a long Sunday brunch.
The recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Heat olive oil in a large heavy frypan over medium heat. Cook onion and capsicum 8-10 minutes until soft and lightly caramelised.
- Add garlic, cumin, paprika, chilli. Cook 60 seconds until fragrant.
- Stir in tomato paste, cook 1 minute. Add tinned tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer 10-12 minutes, stirring, until thick.
- Make 4 wells in the sauce with the back of a spoon. Crack an egg into each.
- Cover the pan and cook 5-7 minutes, until whites are set but yolks still runny.
- Scatter feta across the top and fresh coriander. Serve from the pan with dollops of yoghurt and warm sourdough for dipping.
Nutrition
Two things that go wrong
Your sauce wasn’t thick enough before the eggs went in.
If you crack eggs into a watery sauce, the whites spread thin and never set properly. Reduce the tomato base for at least 12 minutes until it’s spoonable, not pourable. The eggs need a bed they can sit on.
You overcooked the eggs.
Hard-yolked shakshuka eggs are a tragedy. The whole drama is the runny yolk meeting the spiced sauce on torn sourdough. Five minutes covered, then check, yolks should still wobble when you nudge the pan.
Variations worth knowing
Green shakshuka
Wilted spinach, kale, leeks and parsley in place of tomato. Topped with feta, dill, and a splash of cream. Same eggs, completely different mood.
North African with merguez
Brown a few merguez sausages in the pan first, then build the sauce around them. Adds smoke and richness.
Yemenite
Add a tablespoon of zhug (Yemeni green chilli sauce) to the finished sauce. Brings serious heat and herbal lift.
Leftovers and make ahead
The sauce keeps three days in the fridge and improves overnight. Reheat in a pan, crack fresh eggs in, you’ve got dinner. Or use leftover sauce as a pasta sauce, a pizza base, or stirred through chickpeas. The eggs themselves don’t keep well, make them fresh each time.
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