Shakshuka
I like breakfast but don’t usually get the opportunity to eat the kind I would like (unless I am on vacation). I mean not only delicious food that takes more than 40 seconds to put together but also more time to sit and enjoy the meal, the surroundings and hopefully good company. Or maybe read a newspaper, enjoy the scenery.
Stuff like that.
So what I do is make breakfast for dinner, when there’s more time to relax and actually enjoy what I’m eating. When I can sit down at the table and use real dishes, not stand at the sink scooping yogurt from a plastic container.
And when I say breakfast for dinner I don’t mean cheerios and milk or a doughnut and coffee or frozen waffles.
I mean something like shakshuka. Peppers and eggs. An Israeli specialty made with sauteed tomatoes, onions and lots of red hot chili pepper. After this “salsa” cooks and softens you break eggs on top, cover the pan a little longer until the eggs are steamed done. I like this dish sprinkled with salt and zatar (a Middle Eastern spice blend). I love when the egg yolks are still runny and the rich, dark yellow liquid oozes into those hot vegetables.
Perfection. Rich and hot. Feisty. Filling.
Perfection. For breakfast, lunch, brunch or dinner.
Shakshuka
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, deseeded and chopped
2 small habanero or other chili peppers, deseeded and minced
1 large garlic clove, minced
6–8 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
8 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon zatar
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and habanero peppers. Cook for 4–5 minutes or until softened slightly. Add the garlic and cook briefly. Add the tomatoes, basil, and lemon juice, stir, cover the pan, turn the heat to low and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until vegetables are very soft and saucelike. Crack the eggs into a small bowl one at a time then transfer each one next to the other over the vegetables. Cover the pan and cook for 4–5 minutes or until the eggs are set but yolks are still slightly runny. Sprinkle with zatar. Serve each person 2 eggs and some of the vegetables.
Makes 4 servings.