Cast Iron

Shakshouka with Harissa

January  8, 2014
4.7
12 Ratings
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

Shakshouka is a tasty alternative to your ordinary omelet. Shakshouka translates to "all mixed up" in Hebrew. The eggs are poached in a spicy sauce of tomatoes, peppers, onions, and spices. There are many versions of shakshouka, mine incorporates harissa, a North African chile-based condiment that packs a lot of flavor. Its base is an assortment of dried chiles. I used a combination of mild and moderately spicy chiles -- ancho and guajillo. Anchos are mild and provide fruity, raisiny notes, while guajillo chiles provide a bit more heat. A perfect one-pot dish for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or even dinner. —wildgreens

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Shakshouka
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 5 Anaheim peppers, seeded, and thinly sliced into ~2-inch strips (or other peppers of your choice, spicy or not)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes, chopped
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons harissa, more or less to your liking
  • 3 to 4 eggs (more if you like)
  • Chopped parsley
  • Crumbled feta (optional)
  • Harissa
  • 5 ounces assorted dried chiles (such as ancho, guajillo, and pasilla), stemmed, deveined, and seeded
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 4 sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped
  • 3 teaspoons hot smoked paprika
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons whole cumin seed
  • 1 teaspoon whole caraway seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus a little extra to cover
Directions
  1. Shakshouka
  2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the Anaheim peppers and saute 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper, turmeric, and harissa. Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes are soft and most of the liquid has cooked out, about 15 minutes.
  3. With a wooden spoon, make 3 to 4 indentations in the stew. Break one of the eggs into a small dish and slide it into one of the indentations; repeat with the remaining eggs so that each indentation contains an egg. Cover the pan and cook over low heat until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still soft and runny, about 5 minutes.
  4. Garnish with parsley (and feta). Serve immediately with a side of harissa and some crusty bread.
  1. Harissa
  2. Place the chiles in a bowl, cover with boiling water, and soak for 25 to 30 minutes to rehydrate. Drain well.
  3. Heat a small cast-iron skillet over high heat. When hot, add the whole cumin and caraway seeds and shake the pan frequently to prevent burning until the seeds release their fragrant aroma, about 1 minute. Place in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, and grind to a powder.
  4. In a food processor, puree the chiles, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, paprika, ground cumin and caraway, salt, sherry vinegar and lemon. Add the olive oil and process to a smooth paste. Transfer to a jar, cover with a thin layer of oil and store in the refrigerator, up to a month.
Contest Entries

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Superyalda
    Superyalda
  • D E Shelton
    D E Shelton
  • Clover88
    Clover88
  • brigidc
    brigidc

4 Reviews

D E. July 10, 2019
Made it. Loved it. It is now a family favorite! Now have a large supply of hame made harissa in the frig.
 
Clover88 January 3, 2015
Made it as written, with 3 T harissa (powder); was afraid to go to 4T! There was a deep heat with a tiny bit of cumin-y bitterness: delicious! I only used two eggs; will save the sauce for tomorrow, and make it again with two more eggs.
 
Superyalda January 12, 2014
Looks wonderful! I also entered a shakshuka recipe! Good luck :)
 
brigidc January 8, 2014
This looks SO fantastic! Nice photo, too :)