I think breakfast has always been my favorite meal of the day.  What better way to start out your day than with a nice hardy meal using eggs?  I love eggs for breakfast and have cooked them just about every way possible such as scrambled, poached, sunny side, omelets and frittatas just to name a few.   I really enjoy creating new dishes to try; my husband seems to enjoy trying out my creations too.  I have been wanting to try my hand at this dish for quite some time now.  Today was finally that day!  The name of this dish is called “Shakshouka” or “Shakshuka”.  Never heard of it?  I honestly never knew the name of it so I started to read more about it.  Shakshuka is a dish of eggs poached in a sauce that is typically made of tomatoes, chili peppers, and onions and often spiced with cumin.   It is believed to have a Jewish, Tunisian and Libyan origin.

I decided to recreate this dish using ingredients to show my Italian heritage.   I incorporated fresh garlic and Fire Roasted Tomatoes in the dish.  I also used fresh Parmesan Cheese and Italian Parsley.  Everyone woke up to the smells of fresh garlic permeating throughout the house.  I think they got a little confused and thought I was making dinner first thing in the morning!

The tomato mixture got bubbly and thick which was perfect for topping our fresh slices of bread.  Scoop a little egg on top and you have one hardy and delicious breakfast to start your day.  The dish was full of flavor and had a slight kick from the jalapeño peppers.  It was so delicious that I think I am salivating just writing and thinking about it again!

I love it when a dish can be so easy and versatile.  All I needed was 1 cast iron skillet to cook the entire dish.  My husband (aka-dishwasher) really appreciated the 1 dish!! You can also change the recipe and make it your own just by changing a few ingredients in the dish.

Dee’s Shakshuka

Makes approx. 2 Servings

Ingredients

1/2, White Onion, chopped

1, Jalapeno, finely chopped

1 Clove, Fresh Garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon, Coconut Oil

1 Can (14.5 oz.), Fire Roasted Tomatoes

2 Tablespoons, Fresh Parsley

1 Tablespoon, Fresh Parmesan Cheese, grated

S&P

4 Eggs

Garnish, Parsley & Parmesan Cheese Shavings

French Baguette, sliced

Instructions

Heat a small cast iron skillet on the stove, over medium heat.  Once the pan is hot, add the coconut oil.  Chop the onion and add to the skillet.  While the onion is starting to sauté, chop the jalapeño and add to the skillet.  Sauté for about another 5-8 minutes, until onions and pepper start to get a little soft.  Finely chop and add the garlic to the pan and stir well.  Turn heat to low.  Cook for about another minute then add the can of tomatoes, stir well.  Continue cooking until the mixture gets hot and bubbly.  Add S&P to taste, 1 tablespoon of the parsley and 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan cheese and stir.

Tomato Mixture

Once the tomato mixture is nice and hot, add the eggs, 1 at a time.  To add the eggs, use a small spoon to create a little hole or pocket in the sauce (work on 1 at a time).  To do this, use the spoon and start pushing the sauce aside in a small section.  Drop the egg into the hole.  Repeat until all eggs are added to the tomato mixture.

Eggs w/Tomato Mixture

Place a lid on the skillet and continue cooking until eggs are cooked, about 5 minutes or so.   If you like the egg to be firm (no runny yolk) just cook a few minutes longer.   You can touch each egg to test how soft or firm they are.  If you like it runny, the egg should still be somewhat soft to touch.  If you do not like the egg to be runny it should be somewhat firmer to touch.

Eggs w/Tomato

Remove the skillet from the heat and garnish with the Parmesan Cheese shavings and remainder of Parsley.  Serve with some nice fresh slices of bread.  To eat, scoop some of the yummy tomato mixture onto your slice of fresh bread along with some of the egg.

Eggs w/Tomato Mixture

Mangia! Enjoy!

Notes

If you don’t have or don’t like coconut oil, you can substitute Olive Oil.  Either oil will work in this dish.

If you want to feed a bigger crowd just use a larger skillet and double the recipe.  Figure 2 eggs per person.

The Jalapeño pepper does offer some heat to this dish (just the right amount of heat for me)!  If you like it spicier you can also add a few dashes of Sriracha Sauce or hot sauce to the tomato mixture.