Shakshuka Recipe

A Middle East and North Africa breakfast staple

You can serve this this vegetable-rich egg dish by itself or with crusty whole grain bread.

• Prep time:15 minutes
• Cook time: 40 minutes
• Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 large green or yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 small jalapeño pepper, chopped (remove seeds if you want less heat)
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp sugar (optional)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes
• 3 cups fresh spinach
• 4 large eggs

Directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and cook on medium heat until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the peppers and sauté for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, tomato paste, and spices, and cook for 3 minutes until fragrant.

Add the chopped tomatoes, optional sugar, and bay leaf. Stir and simmer, partially covered, for about 15 minutes. (If the mixture gets thick, add up to a ½ cup of water.)

During the last 5 minutes of cooking, add the spinach. Create four indentations in the mixture and crack an egg into each one. Continue cooking until the egg whites are set and yolks are still runny, about 5 minutes.

Mary Lahr Schier is the author of The Northern Gardener: From Apples to Zinnias (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2017).