There are so many different variations of Shakshuka, (also known as Menemen in Turkey); a dish consisting of eggs poached in a rich and spicy tomato sauce. With so many different recipes out there to choose from different parts of the globe, from Tunisia to Israel, I went with one sent to me from a reader all the way over in Morocco, (thank you Haytam)!
I mean, the images were enough to make me hungry at midnight! Feeling extra productive, I paired it up with a super easy homemade flatbread that was out of this world good to soak up all that sauce!
But leave out the bread and you have an epic low carb meal in less than 30 minutes. As usual though, I broke the rules of Shakshuka tradition and made this one with ground sausage. Being from Spanish decent, I merged the two and found bliss, because eggs and sausage in a fiery tomato sauce is an incredible way to wake up. Or lunch or brunch. Or dinner, like we did.
Incredibly easy to make, start off by frying onion and garlic until fragrant. Add the sausage and fry until golden.
Next, add peeled and chopped whole tomatoes plus your spices.
While my tomatoes simmered for 15 minutes into a thick and rich fiery sauce, I went off and made my flatbread, which I will post in the next few days. You’re welcome.
Once the sauce is ready, make small indents in the sauce where your eggs will sit and simmer and mix in that incredible sauce.
Cover with a lid (no need to turn on any oven), and gently simmer until the eggs are cooked to your liking. We love ours runny. Imagine: thick, runny yolk meets rich tomato sauce. Oh, this was some good food.
See what I mean? It’s calling for fresh, pan fried flatbread.
Just remember to bring some extra water to the table.
And prepare to visit North Africa and the middle east.
And if you want to experiment with more baked eggs recipes, I have a killer Huevos Rancheros Tortizza (where Tortilla meets Pizza), or Hashbrown Egg Cups that are low carb.
Eggs In Tomato Sauce (Shakshuka)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic large, crushed
- 1 red bell pepper deseeded and diced
- 250 g lean sausages of your choice, casings removed, or ground sausage meat
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- ¾-1 teaspoon chilli powder mild - adjust to your taste
- 1 pinch Cayenne pepper optional
- 24 ounces whole peeled tomatoes 14 oz tins, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 pinch salt
- 6 eggs large
- ¼ cup flat leaf parsley or cilantro/coriander leaves, chopped, to serve
- 6 flatbread bread to serve
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large non stick pan or skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and transparent. Add garlic, bell pepper, ground sausage, cumin, paprika and chilli; cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is soft and fragrant.
- Add tomatoes and their juice into the pan with the tomato paste. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly (about 10-15 minutes). Season with salt to taste.
- Evenly distribute small indents into the sauce with a spoon and crack each egg into them. Cover pan with lid and cook until yolks are just set (it takes about 5 minutes). Using a spoon, baste the whites of the eggs with the tomato sauce, being careful not to disturb the yolk. Sprinkle shakshuka with parsley (or cilantro) and serve with flatbread, for dipping.
Lenny Ntombela says
I made this today!!! Woooowsers something so simple yet stunning!!! I served this with toasted Ciabatta with chicken liver paste