Shakshouka شكشوكة

Shakshouka as known in North Africa is a summer dish made from sautéed onions and peppers in a rich tomato sauce. It is very common to add few eggs on the top. The eggs could be fried, poached or scrambled with the sauce. It is also common to have it quite spicy by the addition of chillies or the famous Harrissa paste.

Shakshouka is a popular fast food dish at bus stations in Tunisia and Morocco. But for me, it is synonymous of trips to the beach when my mum used to fill half baguettes with this moist filling and some potatoes wedges for a delicious and filling lunch. Just bring on the lemonade and the watermelon!!!… Yum

I don’t always add eggs to my Shakshouka if there is another source of protein on the table. You can see that the one on the picture is surrounded by fried potatoes. It is actually a healthier version where I start by boiling the potatoes chunks before frying them. I find that they absorb less oil and the result is tastier.

Ingredients:
3 sweets peppers (I like mixing the 3 colours: green, red, and yellow)
2 onions
1 tin of chopped tomatoes or 4 big fresh tomatoes
5 cloves of garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp
1 tbsp salt
4 eggs
Steps:

1.      Chop the vegetables into fine strips

2.      heat olive oil in a heavy bottom pan and fry the vegetables over low heat for about 15 to 20 min (lid on)

3.      When vegetables have softened, add tomatoes, garlic, salt and spices

4.      Cook for another 15 min and checking that mixture is not sticking to the bottom of the pan (lid on)

5.      It is ready when the sauce has reduced and the taste is concentrated. Check seasoning, then it is your choice to enjoy it as it is or to crack the eggs and let it cook for another 5 to 10 minutes (mix the eggs in if you want the scrambeled)