Rick Stein’s Shakshuka
Looking for the perfect shakshuka recipe? Try Rick Stein's take on this classic brunch dish for perfectly oozy eggs in a rich spiced tomato sauce.
Introduction
In my fridge I have a plastic box of cooked and reduced tomatoes, red peppers, garlic, chilli, onions – whatever is left when I’m about to set out on one of my travels. Written on it in felt-tip pen is ‘shakshuka’ and it’s basically a way of cooking any of those ingredients so they won’t spoil while I’m away. Then, when I’m back, all I do is squirt a bit of olive oil into a gratin dish, add a couple of generous serving spoonfuls of the sauce and break in an egg. In winter, just before going for an early morning swim, I turn the oven on. I only swim for a max of ten minutes, so when I get back, into the oven the dish goes. By the time I’ve had a shower to get some heat back into my system, dressed and put on a jersey, the shakshuka is ready to eat and the hot oven adds a bit of extra warmth to my still slightly chilled body. With a hot cup of coffee, this is the best way to stave off hypothermia. The recipe below is for when I’m making shakshuka from scratch.
Ingredients
| 2 tbsp | olive oil |
| 1 | onion, chopped |
| 2 | garlic cloves, chopped |
| 1 | red pepper, deseeded and chopped |
| 1 tsp | sweet paprika |
| 1 tsp | ground cumin |
| 2 x 400g tins of | chopped tomatoes |
| 1 tsp | chilli flakes |
| 4 | eggs |
| Handful of | fresh coriander, chopped |
| salt and black pepper | |
| To serve: | |
|---|---|
| crusty bread |
Method
Preheat the oven to 190°C/Fan 170°C. Heat the oil in a frying pan and gently soften the onion, garlic and red pepper.
Add the paprika and cumin and fry for a minute, then add the chopped tomatoes and chilli flakes. Cook over a high heat for 4–5 minutes to thicken. Season with salt and pepper.
Pour the mixture into an ovenproof pan. Make 4 hollows with the back of a spoon and break the eggs into them, then bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Alternatively, cover the pan with a lid and cook over a low-medium heat for 7–10 minutes until the eggs are cooked.
Serve sprinkled with coriander and with some bread on the side if you like, to mop up the tomato sauce.
