Shakshuka: Eggs Poached in Spiced Tomato and Pepper Sauce

Ingredients and substitutions

Choosing your ingredients

Canned whole peeled tomatoes are the most reliable base. They are picked ripe and packed within hours, so the sauce tastes the same in January as in August. Crush them with your hands in a bowl and leave some pieces the size of a walnut; a blender makes the sauce too smooth and the eggs lose their landing place. If you prefer fresh tomatoes, use about 2 pounds (900 g) of very ripe ones, grated or chopped, and plan for 10 to 15 extra minutes of simmering to cook off their water.

Red bell peppers give the sweetest result. Green peppers are more grassy and slightly bitter, which some cooks like, so a mix of one red and one green is a fair compromise. Dice them evenly, about the size of a pea or a little bigger, so they soften at the same speed as the onion.

Spices decide how the sauce tastes, and ground spices fade. If your cumin or paprika has been open for more than a year, it will taste dusty, so buy a small jar and use it up. Cayenne is only there for background heat. For more kick, add Aleppo pepper flakes or a spoonful of harissa at the end and taste as you go.

Use a wide pan, about 12 inches (30 cm), with a lid. Cast iron, stainless steel and enameled pans all work. The pan must be wide enough that six wells in the sauce do not touch each other. If you have no lid, a flat baking sheet set on top works almost as well.

Possible substitutions

• Canned tomatoes: 2 pounds (900 g) ripe fresh tomatoes, grated or chopped. Simmer longer, until the sauce is thick.
• Cayenne pepper: Red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper. Or 1 tablespoon harissa added with the tomatoes; reduce the salt a little because harissa is salty.
• Sweet paprika: 1 teaspoon smoked paprika for a smokier, deeper flavor.
• Feta cheese: Crumbled goat cheese, or leave it out. The dish is good without cheese.
• Parsley or cilantro: Either herb, or a few chopped mint leaves. Use whichever you have.
• Sugar: Leave it out, or stir in a small grated carrot with the onion to round off the acidity.

Step-by-step method

1. Prepare the vegetables. Dice the onion and the peppers into small, even pieces, about a quarter inch (6 mm). Even pieces soften at the same speed, so nothing stays raw while something else burns. Pour the canned tomatoes into a bowl and crush them with your hands, leaving some chunks. Keep all the juice, because you need it for the sauce.
2. Soften the onion and peppers. Warm the olive oil in a deep 12-inch (30 cm) skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, the peppers and a pinch of the salt. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the vegetables are soft and shiny and just starting to color at the edges. You want sweetness, not deep browning.
3. Toast the garlic, paste and spices. Add the garlic, tomato paste, cumin, paprika and cayenne. Stir constantly for 1 to 2 minutes, until the paste darkens to a brick red and the spices smell toasted. If anything sticks to the pan, add a splash of water and scrape. Do not walk away during this step, because garlic and ground spices turn bitter if they scorch.
4. Simmer the sauce until thick. Pour in the crushed tomatoes with their juice, then add the rest of the salt, some black pepper and the sugar if the tomatoes taste sharp. Bring to a gentle simmer, lower the heat to medium-low and cook uncovered for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce is ready when a spoon dragged across the bottom leaves a trail that fills in slowly. Taste it and adjust the salt now, because you cannot season the sauce once the eggs are in.
5. Make wells and add the eggs. Use the back of a spoon to press six shallow wells into the sauce, spaced apart. Crack each egg into a small cup first, then slide it into a well. This avoids shell in the pan and keeps a broken yolk from ruining the whole dish. Sprinkle the eggs very lightly with salt and pepper.
6. Cook the eggs. Cover the pan and cook over low heat for 5 to 8 minutes. Start checking at 5 minutes. The whites should be opaque and set, and the yolks should still look glossy and wobble when you tilt the pan. For firmer yolks, give it 2 to 3 more minutes. The eggs keep cooking in the hot sauce after you take the pan off the heat, so pull it a little early.
7. Finish and serve. Remove the pan from the heat and scatter the herbs and feta over the top. Bring it to the table in the pan, with bread for scooping up the sauce and the yolks. Serve right away, while the sauce is hot and the yolks are still soft.

Storage and reheating

The sauce keeps well. Cool it quickly, within two hours of cooking, and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 or 4 days. It also freezes for around 3 months. For the best result, store the sauce without the eggs and poach fresh eggs in it when you want to eat.

Reheat the sauce in a pan over medium heat with a splash of water until it simmers, then add the eggs as in the recipe. Leftover shakshuka that already contains eggs can be reheated, but the yolks will be fully firm. Heat leftovers until they are steaming hot all the way through, to 165°F (74°C), and eat them within a day or two.

Common mistakes

• Adding the eggs to a thin sauce. A watery sauce leaves the eggs floating, cooks them unevenly and makes the dish soupy. Wait until a spoon leaves a trail in the sauce that closes slowly.
• Scorching the spices. Garlic, paste and ground spices burn in seconds. Keep the heat at medium, stir constantly and add a splash of water if the pan looks dry.
• Overcooking the eggs. Eggs go from perfect to rubbery quickly under a lid. Check at 5 minutes and remember that the hot sauce keeps cooking them after the heat is off.
• Using a pan that is too small. In a crowded pan the wells touch, the whites run together and the eggs cook unevenly. Use a 12-inch (30 cm) pan, or halve the recipe for a smaller one.
• Seasoning too late. Salt the sauce while it simmers and taste it before the eggs go in. Salt added at the end only sits on top of the eggs and never reaches the sauce.