Breakfast for Breakfast or Brunch or Lunch or Dinner: There’s a Reason Everyone Loves Shashuka

I just thought this was a really cool wine label

A couple of years ago, my social media feeds were blowing up with recipes for shashuka. I dutifully flagged them (I am the Brunch Princess, after all) but it wasn’t until recently that I started to appreciate the possibilities inherent in a recipe that (1) can be made from ingredients we pretty much always have on hand; (2) can be breakfast, lunch, or dinner; (3) scales up infinitely, based on entirely in the size of your pan and your willingness to keep poaching eggs; and (4) accommodates whatever your whimsy and spice cabinet thrown your way. Also: cool name.

I’m too undercaffeinated to leap into the fray about where exactly this dish originates. Start in Tunisia and work your way east – you’ll find dozens of countries that claim this as their own. It’s basically a spicy tomato sauce with eggs poached in it, and all the bickering and arguing and regional tweaks are just a testament to how flexible and delicious this is. Don’t have peppers on hand? OK, use other veggies. Need more greens? Stir ‘em in. Have an inexplicable desire to set your digestive tract on fire? Punch up the spices. If you have a can of tomatoes, an egg, and a sense of adventure, you’re good.

I suspect my particular version started as something on Smitten Kitchen, as do so many of the things I cook regularly. I’ve made enough variations on this that I ditched recipes completely, and now I just go with what I have on hand. Most recently, this meant an enormous cache of mini peppers and onions plus a big dash of a spice blend that Anna makes, from her lovely new Syrian cookbook (it’s so fantastic it’s going to get it’s own blog entry). I used the last of the homemade feta on top, which inspired me to make another batch. Anna made some rosemary focaccia to serve with it, and it made for a really lovely dinner. 

In other but completely unrelated food-related news: we just got a baking steel, a pizza peel, and a new cookbook. Look for some great GF pizzas from us in the near future! 

 

Shashuka

1 medium onion, chopped (about ¾ cup)
1 ½ cups (more of less) peppers, chopped; I use bell peppers because I have them on hand, but Anaheim and poblano peppers are also nice. Throw in a jalapeno if you want.
2-6 cloves of garlic, chopped; this is another area where your personal preference rules. I wish to deter the vampire population of Oakland County.
1 28-oz can of tomatoes. If you have tomato puree on hand, great; diced tomatoes, great; whole tomatoes, great. Fresh tomatoes? Great! (They’ll take longer to cook down).
Salt and pepper
Spices of your choice: I usually start with 2 tsp cumin, a handful of paprika, a few pinches of cayenne (depending on the peppers I used), and a teaspoon of z’atar or 7 spices or other Middle Eastern/Mediterranean spice mix. You could also go with some herbes de Provence and thyme, or oregano and fresh basil.
Spinach, a drained can of chickpeas, leftover fresh peas, or anything else you think sound delicious in here, optional. It’s okay to be a purist, too.
4-6 eggs, depending on the size of your pan
Optional garnishes: parsley, cilantro, feta, plain yogurt.

Using a frying pan, cook the onions and peppers in a splash of oil over medium-high heat until they begin to soften. Add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes, then add the tomatoes and spices. If you’re using whole canned tomatoes, break them up before adding them; if you’re using fresh tomatoes, chop them up and add some water and a pinch of sugar (you might want to add a little tomato paste diluted in some water, a small can of V-8, or some other liquidy tomatoey thing to help the tomatoes along. Or not).

Turn the heat down and let the sauce simmer until it’s thickened up a bit, enough that you can make a dent in it with the back of a spoon and have enough time to break an egg into it. If you’re adding chickpeas or spinach or anything else that needs to be heated but not really cooked, stir it in and let it heat through.

Using the back of a spoon, make a dent in the sauce for each egg. Leave enough room so that the eggs can spread out a little bit; if I’m using my largest frying pan I can fit 5 eggs comfortably, with enough sauce left after serving that I can get some breakfast out of it as well. Your mileage may vary.

Cover the pan and cook until the eggs are as done as you would like them to be, usually about 10 minutes for me. I like the whites to be set and the yolks still runny enough to stir into the sauce.

Scoop two eggs and a generous serving of the sauce into a shallow bowl. Garnish with feta (my personal favorite) or a handful of your favorite shredded cheese, chopped parsley or cilantro, a dollop of plain yogurt, or whatever your heart desires.