Tunisian Chakchouka Recipes

EASY SHAKSHUKA RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large cast iron skillet. Add the onions, green peppers, garlic, spices, pinch salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce. Cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Uncover and cook a bit longer to allow the mixture to reduce and thicken. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
• Using a wooden spoon, make 6 indentations, or "wells," in the tomato mixture (make sure the indentations are spaced out). Gently crack an egg into each indention.
• Reduce the heat, cover the skillet, and cook on low until the egg whites are set.
• Uncover and add the fresh parsley and mint. You can add more black pepper or crushed red pepper, if you like. Serve with warm pita, challah, or crusty bread of your choice.

CHAKCHOUKA (SHAKSHOUKA)

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion, bell peppers, and garlic; cook and stir until the vegetables have softened and the onion has turned translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Combine the tomatoes, cumin, paprika, salt, and chile pepper into a bowl and mix briefly. Pour the tomato mixture into the skillet, and stir to combine.
• Simmer, uncovered, until the tomato juices have cooked off, about 10 minutes. Make four indentations in the tomato mixture for the eggs. Crack the eggs into the indentations. Cover the skillet and let the eggs cook until they're firm but not dry, about 5 minutes.

TUNISIAN CHAKCHOUKA

Steps:

• Cut the tomatoes into large pieces. Deseed and dice all the peppers.
• Heat olive oil in a medium size pot. The flavor belongs in the recipe, so use a good amount of it. Add the onion and garlic, and before it is brown, add the cumin. When the cumin is blended, add the tomatoes and peppers, the tomato concentrate, and the harissa. Add salt. Blend the ingredients with a long spoon. Add 1 - 3 bay leaves, and the thyme.
• As soon as the vegetables are cooked, and the consistency is a bit thickened, add the eggs. The eggs will be poached in the pot. Space the eggs to give them room. Put the lid of the pot on. Wait for the white to set, as much as 15 minutes, depending on how high your heat is. The yolk should be runny.
• When you serve this, dish up an amount of the vegetable part into a wide soup dish, then carefully center an egg into this. Repeat for four people. Have french bread cut and ready to dip into the chakchouka.
• Note: the amounts of tomato concentrate and harissa, which is quite hot, can be adjusted to personal taste. You could lessen the garlic amount if you like.

CABBAGE AND PEPPER CHAKCHOUKAH

Steps:

• Heat oil over medium heat in a large heavy casserole or skillet, or in an earthenware casserole set on a flame tamer. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until golden, about 10 minutes. If they begin to stick to the pan add a generous pinch of salt. Add another generous pinch of salt and the peppers and cook, stirring often, until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add the cabbage, chiles, coriander seeds, cumin and caraway and cook, stirring, until cabbage has wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in the harissa or cayenne, salt and pepper, stir together and add the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer, cover partially, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring from time to time, until tomatoes have cooked down and the mixture is thick and fragrant, about 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in all but 2 teaspoons of the parsley or cilantro, taste and adjust seasonings.
• With the back of your spoon, make 6 depressions in the vegetables. Break an egg into each depression. Cover and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until the eggs are set. Sprinkle the eggs with salt, pepper and the remaining parsley and serve.

TUNISIAN SHAKSHUKA WITH SHRIMP

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large cast-iron skillet or heavy pan over medium. Add 1 teaspoon garlic and sauté until tender, about 1 minute. Add shrimp to pan, season with salt and pepper and sauté until shrimp turns pink all over, 4 to 5 minutes, then set aside.
• In the same pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, the onion and the rest of the garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the onion and garlic, stirring frequently, until onion becomes translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bell pepper, tomato paste and harissa to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes.
• Add the ras el hanout, caraway, coriander and 1/2 cup warm water and stir to thoroughly combine. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
• Set the shrimp on top of the sauce, spacing evenly apart, and using a spoon, make shallow craters in the tomato mixture for the eggs. Crack the eggs into the craters, cover, and let simmer 6 to 8 minutes, or until eggs are cooked to your liking. Serve with warm baguette, and olives, pickled peppers and cornichons, if desired.

SHAKSHUKA WITH RED PEPPERS AND CUMIN

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and add the pilpelchuma or harissa, tomato paste, peppers, garlic, cumin, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Stir and cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes to allow the peppers to soften. Add the tomatoes, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for a further 10 minutes until you have quite a thick sauce. Taste for seasoning.
• Make 8 little dips in the sauce. Gently break the eggs and carefully pour each into its own dip. Do the same with the yolks. Use a fork to swirl the egg whites a little bit with the sauce, taking care not to break the yolks. Simmer gently for 8 to 10 minutes, until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still runny (you can cover the pan with a lid if you wish to hasten the process). Remove from the heat, leave for a couple of minutes to settle, then spoon into individual plates and serve with the labneh or yogurt.

SHAKSHUKA (BAKED EGGS WITH SPICY TOMATO SAUCE)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• To make the spicy tomato sauce, in a large saucepan over low heat, combine the olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, Maras pepper, and hawayej. Simmer until the tomatoes are soft and melted, about 15 minutes. It is important to cook the sauce slowly so the tomatoes are soft enough to puree but don't reduce too much. Set the sauce aside to cool slightly.
• Using an immersion blender and starting at low speed, puree the sauce, gradually increasing the speed as the mixture becomes smoother and resembles a silky tomato soup. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate up for up to 1 week or use immediately.
• When you are ready to make the shakshuka, gently reheat the sauce and pour it into a 9x13-inch glass baking dish or six soufflé ramekins or small cazuelas (4 to 5 inches in diameter and at least 1-inch high).
• To make in a 9x13-inch dish, first crack each egg into a small bowl or ramekin to ensure that the yolks stay intact. Using the back of a spoon, make a divot for each egg and slide it into the sauce, one at a time, so that it doesn't float on top; leave a little space between each egg.
• To make in individual baking dishes, set the ramekins onto a baking sheet. Ladle about 1/2 cup sauce into each dish and, using the back of a spoon, make a divot for the egg. To ensure that the yolks stay intact, first crack each egg into a small bowl or ramekin, then slide it into the sauce.
• Lightly season the eggs with salt and transfer to the oven. Bake until the egg whites are just barely set and the yolks are very loose, about 20 minutes.
• Remove the shakshuka from the oven. Scoop one egg on top of each pita bread and carefully spoon a generous amount of tomato sauce from the pan over the top of the egg. Place 1 teaspoon of zhoug on top of each serving and pass around additional zhoug at the table. If serving the shakshuka individually, top each shakshuka with 2 teaspoons of zhoug and serve them with a spoon and the bread on the side so that you can use the bread or spoon to scoop up the sauce. Serve immediately with additional zhoug.