Shakshuka with Cumin and Feta
- Savory
- Quick
- Mediterranean
- Stovetop
- Oven
Eggs poached in a thick tomato and pepper sauce, with cumin bloomed in hot oil for a warm, toasty depth. Crumbled feta on top makes it a filling, high-protein skillet meal.
- Total
- 20 min
- Prep 5 · Cook 15
- Serves
- 2
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Sweating · Blooming spices
Instructions
-
Dice the onion into 1 cm pieces and the peppers into 1.5 cm pieces. Roughly chop the tomatoes.
~4 min
-
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and peppers and cook, stirring, until softened and lightly golden at the edges, about 5 minutes.
~5 min
Sweating the vegetables first softens them and drives off moisture, so they turn sweet and golden rather than steaming in their own liquid.
Sweating Cook over medium heat with a little oil until the vegetables glisten and soften without browning much; too-high heat browns them before they are tender.
-
Add the cumin and paprika and stir for 30 to 45 seconds, until fragrant and toasted. Do not let them burn.
~1 min
Ground spices are fat-soluble, so brief contact with hot oil releases their aromatic compounds and deepens the flavour before the wet tomatoes go in.
Toasting the cumin and paprika in the oil for just under a minute is what gives the sauce its warm depth; pull the pan off the heat the moment they smell nutty so they do not turn bitter.
Blooming spices Stir the ground spices into the hot oil for under a minute, just until they smell nutty and fragrant; burnt spices turn the whole dish bitter.
-
Add the tomatoes, salt and black pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the tomatoes break down, about 5 minutes.
~5 min
Simmering evaporates water and collapses the tomatoes into a thick sauce that will cradle the eggs instead of letting them sink and spread.
-
Make four wells in the sauce and crack one egg into each. Cover and cook until the whites are set and the yolks are still soft, 3 to 4 minutes.
~4 min
Covering traps steam that sets the egg whites from above while the gentle heat keeps the yolks runny.
Keep the heat moderate once the eggs go in. A hard boil makes the whites rubbery before the yolks are warm.
-
Crumble the feta over the top and serve straight from the skillet.
~1 min
