Shakshuka

Recently a delightful young Israeli guy called Tomer stayed at our place for a few weeks while doing an internship in Canberra. He very kindly introduced us to this yummy recipe! Shakshuka (or shakshouka, or שקשוקה‎) is a dish consisting of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce. It's sure to become a favourite in our house …

1 onion

4 to 6 cloves of garlic

1 red capsicum
splash of olive oil

about 800g tinned or fresh tomatoes, diced

1 red chilli, preferably fresh

parsley, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika (to taste)

4 to 6 eggs (2 per person)

Chop the onion, garlic and capsicum into 1cm cubes. Fry the capsicum and chilli in the olive oil until soft. Add the onion and garlic and fry until yellowish. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, cumin and paprika, and stir well. Cook for a few minutes over low to medium heat, till some of the liquid evaporates. Break the eggs in on top of everything, trying to keep the yolks intact. Spread chopped parsley over the top. Cover pan and let cook for a few minutes until the egg white is actually white and the tomato sauce has evaporated some more. Ideally the whites will be soft, the yolks will still be a bit runny, the tomatoes not too runny and the bottom of the pan not too burned. Serve with bread (or serve without, if you need it gluten free.)

Serves two to three. Some other options are to spread small pieces of feta cheese on top just before serving, or (for the carnivores) you could add spicy sausage pieces right before adding the onions and garlic.

Mine wasn't as aesthetically pleasing as Tomer's. But it tasted OK!