There is no recipe I’ve made more in my lifetime than this roasted cherry tomato pasta. It’s the lowest effort, highest reward dinner I know and a complete one-dish meal.
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SMOKY TOMATO AND CHICKPEA SHAKSHUKA
We are in the no man’s land of seasonal cooking in the northeast. I am totally over traditional winter fare and root vegetables but there is nothing green and local in sight. This leaves me with two options: fake it out and settle for supermarket asparagus and the like from California or Mexico, or turn to more flavor-forward, globally-inspired cuisine like this Smoky Tomato and Chickpea Shakshuka.
What is Shakshuka?
Apparently, the literal translation of Shakshuka is “all mixed up.” Don’t you love that? It is a popular Israeli breakfast with North African origins that traditionally consists of eggs baked in a tomato-y, peppery, oniony sauce. It’s deliciousness explains why it has spawned endless variations, including those with Mexican, Italian and Indian influences. While I would be psyched to have this for breakfast, I most often enjoy Shakshuka for dinner.
About this Recipe
The saucy base for my Smoky Tomato and Chickpea Shakshuka is actually an offshoot of these slow-roasted tomatoes from my Winter Caprese. I use my oven set low, a casserole dish and plenty of olive oil to gently stew a mixture of canned tomatoes, chickpeas, bell peppers, garlic and olives spiced up with red pepper flakes and smoked paprika. This recipe takes time (2 hours + a few minutes to bake the eggs) but almost no effort or baby sitting. It is rich, intensely flavorful and vegetable and protein-packed.
Even without the eggs, the stewed ingredients are a perfect side or entree all on their own. But this can’t be Shakshuka without them. So right before dinner, I bump up my oven temp, nestle in a few raw eggs and crumble over some feta cheese. In just a few minutes in the hot oven, the eggs gently poach in the liquid, absorbing all of the mix’s vibrant flavor. The sweet spot is when the egg whites are just set but the yolks are still runny. That way the yolks impart their own magic back into the sauce.
Make It Yours
- Serve this Shakshuka over Israeli couscous, fregola, rice or a whole grain like farro, or scoop it up into warm naan, pita or your favorite bread.
- A simple cucumber and red onion salad would be a great (but unnecessary) accompaniment.
- Sometimes I serve this with big dollops of whole milk Greek yogurt as well.
- As mentioned above, feel free to leave out the eggs if you are vegan. The vegetable-chickpea mixture is a complete meal on its own.
- Add in another good slow roasting vegetable like summer squash or zucchini at the start, or fold baby spinach into the cooked vegetable-chickpea mixture before nestling in the eggs.
- You could swap the chickpeas for a white bean like cannellini or butter beans.
- Leave out the olives if you aren’t as obsessed with them as I am!
I hope you take this dish and make it yours. If you do, report back here and post a photo on Instagram tagging me @whatweeat.nyc. I love to see your creations!
xoxo
SMOKY TOMATO AND CHICKPEA SHAKSHUKA
Ingredients
- 1 32-oz can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and torn apart (seeds discarded)
- 1 16-oz can chickpeas, drained
- 8 garlic cloves, smashed and skin removed
- 2 bell peppers (orange, yellow) cut into strips
- 1/2 c evoo
- 1.5 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- Pinch red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
- Handful castelvetrano olives, pitted and roughly chopped
- 6-8 eggs
- 2-4 oz crumbled feta
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pep
- Red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar (really any hit of acid – lemon or lime juice would also be nice)
- For serving: couscous, rice or other grain or pita and fresh cilantro/mint/basil
Method
- Preheat the your oven to 300 degrees. Place the drained and torn tomatoes, drained chickpeas, bell peppers, and smashed garlic in the bottom of a roasting dish that will fit them all very snugly. Top with 1/2 cup evoo (they should be swimming a bit), 1.5 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp kosher salt and as much red pepper flakes as you like. (I only used a small pinch in the hopes my littles would enjoy this…no luck so should have added more!).
- Roast for one hour, remove from oven, gently stir and add in the castelvetrano olives. Return to the oven for a second hour. (FYI, stop right here and enjoy this with flatbreads for scooping or over a grain if you’d prefer to keep this meal vegan.)
- Bump up the oven heat to 425.
- Make 6-8 little nests in the roasted vegetable mix using the back of a spoon and crack 6-8 eggs into the wholes. Crumble the feta here and there around them. Bake for 8-12 minutes, just until the whites are set. Check every minute or so after 8 minutes because they can go from pretty raw looking to totally cooked through quickly. You are looking for your yolks to remain jammy.
- To finish, sprinkle over a hit of acid (red wine or sherry vinegar or lemon or lime juice), top the eggs with a little Maldon salt and freshly cracked pepper. Serve over something like Israeli couscous, fregola, rice, or any whole grain or with warmed pita or naan. Offer a bunch of fresh herbs like cilantro, mint and/or basil alongside. Enjoy!
Serves 4-6
WILD MUSHROOM AND FARRO VEGGIE PATTIES
I put a good amount of thought into what to title this recipe and the best I could come up with is… Wild Mushroom and Farro Veggie Patties. Hmmm. What would be better? Veggie burgers? Too hippy-dippy / health food-y. Croquettes? Too dated. So “patties” it is, which I’m guessing still doesn’t have you running to the kitchen.
I hope you look beyond what we’re calling these here and see the potential for deliciousness in the recipe – earthy mushrooms and chewy farro bound together with satisfying cannellini beans and amped up with plenty of garlic, shallot, fresh herbs and parmesan.
Serving Suggestions
You could absolutely serve these Wild Mushroom and Farro Veggie Patties as you would a traditional burger, layered between a bun or english muffin with all the fixings. But they are also the perfect vegetarian topper to a hearty salad – something like this caesar-ish kale and roasted broccoli salad or this kale and brussels sprout number – or served simply with a roasted vegetable.
While I haven’t tried it yet, I’m also guessing you could make these vegan by trading the parm for a vegan cheese or nutritional yeast and the egg with a flax egg or aquafaba. If you do that, report back below and let us know how it went.
I hope you enjoy these as much as I do and make this recipe yours. If you do, leave a review, snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @whatweeat.nyc.
Happy cooking!
WILD MUSHROOM AND FARRO PATTIES
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil (plus more for cooking patties)
- 3 cups finely chopped mushrooms, ~1 lb (use the best you can get your hands on – I used a combination of maitake and shiitake)
- 1 medium shallot, minced (~3 tbsp)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced (~2 tsp)
- 1 14-16 oz can cannellini beans, drained
- 2 cups cooked farro (equivalent to generous cup uncooked farro)
- 1 packed cup fresh herbs, finely chopped resulting in ~1/3 cup (I used parsley and basil)
- 1/3 cup finely grated parm
- 1 egg
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste (you’ll probably need around 1 tsp salt)
Method
- Melt the butter and oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat and add the finely chopped mushrooms. Stir so the mushrooms are evenly coated with the fat then leave undisturbed until mushrooms begin to release their liquid, then begin to brown on their undersides, ~5 minutes. Give a good stir, then leave alone to continue browning on second side, ~5 minutes more. Finely, add in the minced shallot and garlic and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Saute for another ~3 minutes to take the raw edge off of the shallot and garlic. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, roughly mash the drained cannellini beans in the bottom of the mixing bowl. Most of the beans should be broken up, almost like very roughly mashed potatoes (see picture above). Add in the cooked farro, chopped herbs, parmesan, cooled mushroom mixture and 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Mix thoroughly then taste for seasoning. Adjust with more salt and black pepper if necessary.
- Once you are happy with the taste, crack in the egg and work it into the mix with your hands. The mixture should hold together relatively well when shaped into a ball.
- Shape into 8-9 patties, each with ~1/3 cup of the mixture. I used a measuring cup to help me portion these. Place on plate or sheet pan, cover snugly with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour so that the mixture has time to hydrate. This help them hold together when frying.
- To cook: Return cleaned skillet to stovetop over medium heat and coat bottom with olive oil. Cook the patties for ~4-6 minutes a side until nicely golden.
- Enjoy!
Serves 4 (each person having 2 patties)
BUTTER AND MISO SLOW-ROASTED SALMON
This Butter and Miso Slow-Roasted Salmon is a recipe you’ll have on repeat. It is rich, umami-packed, slightly sweet from the touch of honey in the glaze, and bright from a bit of grated ginger and a finish of fresh lime juice.
(ALMOST) NO EFFORT HOMEMADE TOMATO SOUP
This (Almost No Effort) Homemade Tomato Soup is perfection – bright, peak-tomato flavor accentuated by a hit of red wine vinegar, richness from a little butter and a finish of creme fraiche, and a beautiful orangey-red hue. There is no better tomato soup to serve alongside your favorite grilled cheese.