Shaksuka with Potatoes

Shaksuka with potatoes is a North African egg dish poached in spicy sauce with feta and a sidecar of spiced potatoes.

Shaksuka with Potatoes

By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime

This north African egg concoction, which makes a perfect breakfast, probably stemmed at first from being a ragout of tomatoes, spices, and various vegetables. But as food trends go,sooner or later an egg gets piled on top of a burger, a plate of rice, or in this case, a veg ragout. A similar Italian version from across the Mediterranean is called Eggs in Purgatory.

In my version I have added some feta and peppers with onions, not that all versions of this have that. Some can be as simple as eggs in sauce. I also made some spiced potatoes to go with this so why not share that recipe with you too? And there was some warm griddled flat bread on the side as well. I like working this out to be a full plate. I don’t show it, but if you wanted and had some, you could also add some grilled/panfried merguez (lamb) sausage links for a meatier meal. I would also not be adverse to serving this with a small heavily-herbed salad on the side with a simple vinaigrette, or maybe some sectioned oranges. And Turkish coffee would make an excellent beverage.

Thanks for joining me today! Tomorrow I am set to share my recipe for a healthy bread for the new year: Sprouted Wheat Bread with the Bread Bakers group. I hope you will join me then! Not 100% certain what my midweek schedule is, but I will be joining Wine Weekend this coming Saturday with an online Twitter chat as well as sharing my recipe for Duck Ragout with Creamy Polenta and it’s wine pairing. So until tomorrow-

~Sue

Shaksuka with Potatoes

Servings: 2-3
Time: 30mins
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients for Potatoes:

2 cups diced potatoes
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
salt and black pepper
juice of one lemon

Ingredients for Eggs:

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups sliced red bell peppers
1 cup sliced onion
2 teaspoons garlic
16 ounces tomato sauce
16 ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
1 tablespoon harissa paste
2 teaspoons ground cumin
6 ounces cubed feta cheese
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Method:

Start by preparing the potatoes.
Heat all of the ingredients for potatoes in a skillet except the lemon juice and fry over low heat, turning frequently, until they begin to soften.
Add lemon juice to help season them and to steam, and continue cooking a few minutes more until they are tender and browned.
To prepare the eggs, saute the peppers, onion and garlic in a nonstick skillet with the olive oil until tender.
Stir in the tomato sauce, tomatoes, harissa and cumin and simmer for ten minutes.
Use a spoon to make some cavities into the sauce and crack an egg into each of the cavities, allowing a little space between each.
Press feta cubes into the spaces.
Cover the pan and heat over low heat for about 8-12 minutes or until eggs are as set (more or less, depending how you like them, soft to hard and how high your heat was, and if you lifted the lid to peek.) I like mine set but soft. They will firm up a little more after cooking so keep that in mind. Just like poached eggs, get them out when you think they aren’t quite done.
Serve spooned out with some of the tomato sauce and cheese cubes, and a side of potatoes (as I show in the photo). I also served mine with lavash flat bread (pita is similar).