Shakshuka with Peppers and Feta
Eggs poached in a thick, smoky pepper sauce, eaten straight from the pan with bread.
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Written
Method
-
Warm the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat and add the onion and peppers, cooking until they’ve gone soft and started to catch color at the edges, about 10 minutes.
-
Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, cumin, smoked paprika, and cayenne, and cook until the paste has darkened and smells toasted, about 1 minute.
-
Pour in the crushed tomatoes, season with salt, and simmer uncovered until the sauce has thickened enough to hold a spoon’s trail, about 10 minutes.
-
Make six wells in the sauce with the back of a spoon and crack an egg into each.
-
Cover and cook until the whites are set but the yolks still wobble, 6 to 8 minutes.
-
Scatter with the feta and cilantro and bring the pan to the table.
Notes
The sauce has to actually thicken before the eggs go in — rushed and runny, and they poach in soup instead of sitting on top where they belong. Give it the full ten minutes and it’ll hold its shape around each egg.
No feta on hand, use goat cheese, or skip it and add a bit more salt. It’s built as breakfast but holds up just as well as a lazy dinner, especially with the bread doing the work of a fork.