Shakshuka for luscious Sunday brunch

Shakshuka probably came from Africa’s Maghreb, the regions of North Africa along the Mediterranean Sea. Plus note that the word meaning shaken comes from the Tunisian dialect. An alternative history is that shakshuka came from Yemen or Ottoman Emp­ire in the C16th when Hernan Cortés brought tomatoes to the area as part of the Columbian exchange. This makes sense since the use of tomatoes and peppers didn’t happen there until the mid-C16th. 

Shakshuka placed on the table 

Tala Soubra

Shakshuka has long been a staple of Tunisian, Libyan, Alg­er­ian and Moroccan cuisines, later adopted by Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria as national dishes. The dish incorporates a wide variety of spices, beyond what is mentioned below, due to whichever spices the various Mediterranean nations favoured.

Can shakshuka be recorded as an ultimate brunch item? Indeed.. it is colourful, healthy, quite cheap and takes only 30 mins to prepare and cook. Here is the delicious recipe from Tala’s Website, but I've made it slightly more savoury.

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1 red capsicum, diced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 large tomatoes, cut into 8 each
4 large very red tomatoes, chopped
4 eggs
feta cheese
chopped parsley
1 teaspoon paprika
salt
black pepper, grated

METHOD See the photos 
Step 1: Place a cast iron skillet on the medium stove and add the olive oil. Then add the onions, salt and black pepper and cook until lightly translucent (c3 minutes). Add the capsicum and pap­rika, and cook for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomat­oes and 1 tablespoon of tomato paste and stir for 1 minute.

Step 2: Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste to the grated tomatoes and mix. Add the tomato mixture to the base and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes while stirring occasionally. Taste check to see if you would like to add more salt and pepper.

Step 3: After 20 mins, make a small well with a spatula in the tom­ato sauce. Crack the eggs into the well, cover the sk­illet and cook eggs cook to your desired consistency. Sprinkle plenty of feta cheese on top and chopped parsley. Finally serve the sh­akshuka out of the skillet with challah bread (or French baguette, sourdough bread, bagels) to mop up the sauce, last important component. 

Give everyone warm challah slices,

with luscious interiors and melted butter (if requested)

The shakshuka in Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty uses a ton of peppers, cut into big, chunky strips. The finished dish almost resembles an Italian peperonata, with a sweetness to match. Michael Solomonov's version, from his book Zahav, uses half as many bell peppers. David Lebovitz  takes a different tack: no bell peppers at all, only hot chiles to spice the tomatoes (see Serious Eats).

I prefer shakshuka late on a Sunday morning brunch with the family, but don’t let your grandmother watch you eat with messy fingers and dripping bread. In Melbourne try the following restaurants: Cumulus Inc in the City, Buba Local Shuk, St Kilda or Nogga Café, Balaclava. In Sydney try Shuk in Bondi North, Grandma’s At McEvoy at Alexandria or Kepos Street Kitchen in Redfern