PK’s Shakshuka For One

After recently being introduced to this amazing dish by ShakShukaMoroccan (these guys are super friendly and they bring skill and passion to their work) at the Palmyra Markets (Western Australia), I have dreamt about it ever since. I present my first attempt in the hope you get addicted too :).

There is something captivating about this ‘eat any time of the day’ dish because the list of ingredients is so simple but the end result makes your draw drop and your senses swim. I intend to chop and change some of the ingredients depending on what I have in the back of the fridge but the core is lots of tomatoes, onion, capsicum, cumin, leafy greens and poached eggs.

You will be:

1. Preparing your ingredients.
2. Stewing the tomato base.
3. Poaching the eggs.
4. Serving.

You will need:

• Ingredients:
  • a punnet of cherry tomatoes, sliced
  • half a brown onion, thinly sliced
  • half a capsicum (bell pepper), sliced
  • 1 -2 garlic cloves, finely diced
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, ground
  • 1/2 tsp coriander seeds, ground
  • a generous dash of dried paprika, ground
  • a handful of spinach
  • a good slug of olive oil
  • a really good slug of tomato paste
  • black peppercorns to taste, cracked
  • table salt to taste
  • chili powder to taste
  • coriander leaves to garnish (mint leaves are also good)
•  Equipment:
  • a long sharp knife
  • a chopping board
  • a dry mixer or a mortar and pestle
  • a cast iron skillet (mine was 21cm wide) or heavy pan
  • a wooden spoon

Preparing your ingredients

1. Roughly slice the punnet of cherry tomatoes.
2. Finely slice or chop the half a brown onion.
3. Slice the half a capsicum (use more if you prefer).
4. Finely dice the 1 -2 garlic cloves.
5. Roast and the grind the:
   • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
   • 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
6. Wash the handful of spinach.
7. Wash the coriander leaves and rip them up some.

Freshly dry roasted spices make all the difference

Stewing the tomato base

1. Bring your skillet to medium to low heat and add a good slug of olive oil.
2. Add the sliced onion, the ground cumin seeds, ground coriander seeds and a generous dash of ground paprika.
3. Cook until the onions have started to soften and add the sliced half a capsicum.
4. When the capsicum slices are starting to soften add the punnet of sliced cherry tomatoes and the handful of spinach leaves.

Now let everything simmer and stew away

 Poaching the eggs

1. Once you are happy with the tomato stew turn the heat right down.
2. Make a couple of indentations in the stew with your wooden spoon.
3. Crack an egg into each indent and keep cooking until the eggs are how you like them. You can put a plate over the skillet if you like the top of your eggs cooked.

Serving