Shakshuka recipe made
4.9 from 10 votes

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day. At weekends we often head in out in search of adventurous brunch offerings, and I’ll usually end up with something that tickles my love of spicy food that I can dip some crunchy sourdough toast into. 

My go-to dish when I’m cooking breakfast at home is Shakshuka eggs, a simple middle-eastern/North African dish of slowly poached eggs in a spicy tomato sauce.

Shakshuka ready to serve

The key to the dish is the harissa paste that brings the heat and the flavour of Marrakech. You can find harissa everywhere nowadays and supermarkets will usually stock a well priced own-brand version which will do the job, but if you can then I would recommend finding some rose harissa then that will bring more subtle floral flavours.

rose harissa

The recipe below is pretty simple but has bags of flavour. The recipe serves two people but you can easily double it up with a bigger frying pan.

My record is a 12 egg shakshuka but I needed a huge pan and to continually move it around the heat to evenly cook the eggs. 

If you have a frying pan with a lid then that is useful for helping to cook the top of the eggs more quickly, but it’s not essential.

If you don’t have a red pepper in the fridge then you can substitute for a red onion and cumin powder can be substituted for the seeds.

For a vegan alternative you can use chunks of roasted sweet potato instead of the eggs. You can add other elements like chopped coriander leaves as a garnish, or a good dollop of natural yoghurt to serve.

And don’t forget some good crunchy toast to go with it too for a super tasty breakfast. Tuck into your shakshuka eggs and mop up the spicy sauce with some crunchy sourdough bread.

Shakshuka served with sourdough toast
Shakshuka Recipe

Shakshuka Recipe

Recipe by Paul Taylor
4.9 from 10 votes

My go-to dish when I’m cooking breakfast at home is Shakshuka eggs, a simple middle-eastern/North African dish of slowly poached eggs in a spicy tomato sauce

Course: BreakfastCuisine: North Africa, Middle eastDifficulty: Easy
Servings

2

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

25

minutes
Calories

250

kcal

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs (or chunks of roasted sweet potato for a vegan alternative)

  • 1 red pepper

  • 1 tbsp olive oil

  • 1 1/2 tsp crushed cumin seeds

  • 1 tbsp tomato paste

  • 2 heaped teaspoons of harissa paste

  • 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes (or any salt will do)

  • 1 tinned tomatoes

  • A few good cracks of black pepper

  • Optional
  • Chopped coriander leaves

  • A dollop of natural yoghurt

Directions

  • Chop the red pepper, removing the core and discarding the seeds, before slicing the pepper into strips and chopping into small pieces of around a centimetre or two.
  • Lightly crush the cumin seeds with a mortar and pestle.crush cumin seeds
  • Heat the oil in a medium sized frying pan then add the peppers and cook over a medium to high heat for 4 minutes, continually stirring so the peppers do not burn.frying the peppers
  • Turn the heat up a little higher and add the crushed cumin and salt and cook for a further 2 minutes and then add the tomato paste and the harissa and still for a further minute.
  • Add the tinned tomatoes and allow to cook for a minute on a high heat before turning the heat to medium and allowing the sauce to simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce has reduced slightly. If the sauce is bubbling too much then turn the heat down.
  • Whilst the sauce is simmering, crack each egg into a small glass or ramekin. This will help you tip the eggs into the sauce when the time comes, and avoids the risk of any unwelcome eggshell making its way into the shakshuka.eggs ready for Shakshuka
  • With a spoon or spatula make a pocket of space in the sauce and tip in each egg. If you have a lid for your pan then you can pop this on to help cook the tops, but you need to keep you eyes on the eggs. If you have a kitchen helper to be on toast and coffee duty then this is their time to shine. You want your eggs to be runny which you should achieve by keeping them on a medium heat for 5-7 minutes, maybe moving the pan around the heat to evenly cook them.
    eggs in the Shakshuka
  • As soon as the top of the last egg white is cooked remove from the heat. Your eggs yolks should still have some wobble meaning that they will be runny.
  • Gently scoop each egg out with large spoon or spatula – you may have to employ both to transfer them to the waiting bowl without breaking the egg yolk – along with the shakshuka sauce. Add a few good cracks or black pepper, and if you want to add some flourishes then now is the time to sprinkle over some chopped coriander leaves and a dollop of natural yoghurt.
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