Lebanese Shakshouka: Eggs Poached in Spiced Tomato Sauce

What makes it shakshouka

Shakshouka is a one-skillet dish that works just as well at dinner as it does at breakfast. Onion and bell pepper cook down slowly with Aleppo pepper, crushed tomatoes go in, and the eggs poach in little craters right in the sauce. The whole pan goes straight to the table with bread for scooping.

The Aleppo pepper is what carries the dish: it reads fruity and mild rather than sharp, which is why the recipe calls for a generous two tablespoons rather than a shy pinch.

Quick facts

• Serves: 2 (the recipe card's upper serving number was not legible to pull cleanly, so check your source if you're scaling up)
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Cook: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• Olive oil or cooking oil, enough to coat the pan
• Red onion, finely diced (the fraction of an onion was not legible on the recipe; a half onion is typical for this size of pan)
• 1 bell pepper, finely diced
• A pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp Aleppo pepper
• 1 can crushed tomatoes, or ripe fresh tomatoes, chopped
• Garlic cloves, crushed (count not legible on the recipe)
• Eggs, depending on how many are eating (count not legible on the recipe)

To serve

• Chopped parsley, to garnish
• Pita or toasted country bread

Method

1. Heat the pan. Set a deep-edged skillet over medium-high heat and add enough oil to coat the bottom.
2. Soften the onion. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and a pinch of salt. Let it melt a little.
3. Add the pepper. Add the bell pepper and the Aleppo pepper. Cover and cook for 10 minutes on medium-high, so the vegetables cook down.
4. Add the tomatoes. Add the crushed tomatoes and garlic and cook for another 7 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
5. Crack in the eggs. Dig a small crater in the sauce and crack an egg into it. Repeat for each egg.
6. Cover and cook. Put the lid back on. Cook a few minutes for runny yolks, or 5 to 7 minutes for set eggs.
7. Serve. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and bring the pan to the table with pita or toasted bread.

Tips from the recipe

• The lid does the poaching. Without it, the whites take too long and the yolks overcook. Keep it on and check periodically.
• Fresh tomatoes need a few extra minutes to break down. If the sauce looks watery, cook it uncovered for a bit before the eggs go in.
• Finish with a pinch of flaky salt over the eggs, and a little extra Aleppo pepper if you want more heat.
• Bread with za'atar on the side turns this into a proper Lebanese breakfast.

The spice behind the sauce

The recipe leans on Aleppo pepper for its heat: a fruity, mild to medium spice sourced from the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, good for eggs, grilled meats and finishing dishes. It is one of several pantry staples from the same source, alongside za'atar, sumac and baharat seven spices.