Shakshuka

Ingredients

• 5 Medium - Large Tomatoes, roughly diced

• 1 White Onion, roughly diced

• 4 Garlic Cloves, crushed

• 1 Red Pepper, roughly diced

• 1-2 heaping tbsp Hungarian Paprika (I used a mix of sweet and hot paprika)

• 4-5 tbsp Olive Oil

• 1-2 tbsp Harissa

• Eggs (as many as you want)

• Cilantro, to taste

• Parsley, to taste

• Feta, to taste

• Pita, for serving

Recipe

S&P AS U GO

1. Heat a cast-iron skillet (I used a 10-inch) over medium to high heat. When hot, add plenty of olive oil. Don't be stingy if you're making this for the first time!

2. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Do not cook it until brown.

3. Add the garlic and saute for an additional 30 seconds to a minute, or until the raw garlic smell is gone.

4. Add the paprika and cook for another 30-45 seconds.

5. Add the red pepper and tomatoes.

6. Cook for about 5 min until the tomato breaks down. Turn the heat to low-medium and cover.

7. Cook for about 40-45 min until you get a thick stew.

8. Add the harissa and cook for another minute or so. Salt and pepper to taste.

9. Using a spoon, create a little pocket for each egg to be added to the dish. Carefully crack your eggs into each pocket. If you don't want to crack them directly into the pan, crack them into a bowl first and one-by-one, add them to each pocket.

10. Cover immediately and remove from the heat.

11. Let sit for 6-9 minutes until the egg is fully cooked.

12. Top each egg with S&P and then top your shakshuka with chopped cilantro, parsley, and feta.

13. Serve with pita bread for a max dose of carbs.

Q/A

Q: What is Shakshuka?

A: Something I love about food and some of my favorite dishes is that their origin is in maximizing time, nourishment, and tastiness. Shakshuka is no different. It takes place in one pot, consists of cheaper and more readily available ingredients, and if you try this and tell me it's not delicious, then there's a GIF from Ross in Friends that I'd love to show you.

To be truthful, I can't figure out the exact origins of shakshuka. It's possible that it originated from the Ottoman Empire, or perhaps Yemen, maybe those were completely different dishes with the same concept. I mean, what are Mexican huevos rancheros? It's fried eggs served on tortillas with a tomato-chili sauce, beans, rice, and some guacamole. That sounds like a shakshuka to me. What about the Italian dish Uova in Purgatorio (Eggs in Purgatory)? That's even closer to this dish than the huevos rancheros. This is the coolest thing about food. Wherever you look, vastly different cultures have basically created their own flavors (no pun intended) of the same concept dishes. Tangent over. Anyway, what I do know is that it was popularized by North African Jewish immigrants that came to Israel between 1948 and 1951.

Shakshuka literally translates to "all mixed up." You take these ingredients and you mix them all up into a stew. What that really means is that you can't mess this up! Whatever you do (unless you add way too much salt) is probably going to end up tasting pretty darn good.

Q: What is 'Hungarian Paprika'?

A: Paprika varies based on what pepper is dried and then ground into a powder. In the case of Hungarian paprika, the word paprika actually means pepper so it's a bit like "chai tea latte." *vomit* There are actually 8 different varieties of Hungarian paprika, but the most common one (and the one we use in this recipe) is Edesnemes, or sweet paprika. The real difference in this dish is the sweet Hungarian paprika.

Q: What does "roughly diced" mean?

A: To answer this, you have to look back at what the origins of this dish were. Again, it's rooted in the efficiency of time, nourishment, and deliciousness. In answering this question, we'll focus on time. Whoever made this dish knew that it wouldn't matter if every single dice of onion or tomato was the same size. This whole thing is getting stewed for a long effing time, it really doesn't matter. Work fast, and don't think too much about your dicing here. I read a recipe where someone squeezed the tomato between their hands instead of dicing it. If you're about that life, then I urge you to SQUEEEEEEEEEZE IT.

If you made it this far, your easter egg is to go listen to the season of Dissect on DAMN.