I’m often asked, by clients and friends alike, what I eat in normal day to day life. We eat a lot of different things over here, mostly veggie based, but hands down the dish I eat the most is a loose variation of Shakshuka or a Turkish Şakşuka. Sounds like a sneeze or a word in a spell to curse someone if you ask me! I can picture Bette Midler in Hocus Pocus spitting “Shakshuka” at someone and turning them into a toad. She truly is the epitome of Halloween fun in my book! “Double, double, toil and trouble….Shakshuka!” Ha!
Anyway, I’ve been making this recipe in large batches and eating the leftovers in a bunch of different ways for about a year and never knew that it had a legitimate name (though this recipe is a very non-traditional version!). Usually I make a giant dutch oven sized batch of the vegetable ragout and put it over polenta cakes and top it with fresh mozzarella and fresh basil for dinner. It is so delicious and full bodied that I don’t even miss the pasta. Then for a nice hot breakfast I heat up some of my leftovers in a skillet and then crack a couple eggs in and poach until softly cooked. This is a lot less work overall for the number of delicious, healthy meals it yields. That said, you could also make a small batch in a skillet the traditional way with the eggs the first time around which is what this recipe does. Whatever floats your boat!
This non-traditional version borders on a pot ratatouille and is really adaptable to whatever delightful veggie you may have in your fridge. As a food photographer, I loved shooting this dish because of the incredible richness of color and texture. It is earthy and divinely delicious! It’s a whole different kind of soul food;)
- olive oil, enough to saute
- 1 Tablespoon smashed garlic
- ½ cup onion, chopped
- ½ pound mixed mushrooms (I used king oyster and king trumpet), chopped
- ¼ cup baby japanese eggplant, chopped
- 1 pound zucchini, chopped
- ¼ cup red bell pepper, chopped
- ¼ cup sweet cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup prepared tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 eggs
- few squirts hot sauce, optional
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet, add garlic and onions and saute for a few minutes until fragrant.
- Add mushrooms and eggplant and saute for 5 minutes.
- Add zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, tomato sauce, thyme, cumin, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
- Using the back of a spoon, make 2 indentations in the mixture for the eggs. Crack two eggs into your indentations, reduce heat to low and cover skillet. Cook until white are opaque but yolks are still tender and jiggly.
- Plate mixture and top with a few squirts of your favorite hot sauce if desired.
[…] love Shashuka of all kinds! Long ago I posted a tomato-based non-traditional vegetable based shakshuka and I still love that recipe to this day! This green shakshuka is fantastic in a totally different […]