SMOKY TOMATO AND CHICKPEA SHAKSHUKA

Posted on by Laura Geraty – By

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
  1. 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!). 
  2. 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.)
  3. Bump up the oven heat to 425.
  4. 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.
  5. 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