Shakshuka

While travelling, we tried a new middle eastern dish called Shakshuka, and I was a big fan. So Gary and I decided we should give it a try after I stumbled upon a recipe while browsing through Pinterest. Let's see how it all works out...

First, you have to start cooking all the veggies, and then add the tomatoes before finally cracking the eggs on top of the whole thing. I don't know if the original recipe calls for too many tomatoes, or if you were supposed to drain the can before slapping it on the stove, but generally, I found that there was too much liquid in the pan once all the ingredients had been mixed in. Here's a quick shot of what the meal started to look like after we cooked the veggies and added the eggs:

As you can see, the pan seems a bit too full, so Gary suggests to try using less tomatoes and/or omitting their juices when cooking this meal up.

We made sure to keep an eye on things as it continued to cook, but noticed that the eggs seemed to be taking a lot longer to cook that indicated in the original recipe. This may be due to the fact that there were too many veggies, thus making it more difficult for the eggs on top to obtain the heat needed to cook all the way through. But after an extra 10-15 minutes on the stove, things started to take shape and it was looking pretty good! 

Gary removed the pan from the stove and started making portions for everyone to eat. He made sure to top it all off with feta cheese and some green onions. 

Yum! Looks so good!

Unfortunately, the feta cheese may or may not have been passed date, so a certain someone said he couldn't stomach to finish eating it. I, on the other hand, thought it was absolutely delicious! We also had a guest over who said he had enjoyed the meal, although he may have just been trying to be polite. Oh well, maybe we'll get a chance to try this recipe again and change a few things to get a better result. You know, and check all the expiration dates before adding all the ingredients. 

In any case, we hope you can enjoy making this easy healthy vegetarian meal if it so does please you! 

Shakshuka

Makes 4-6 servings*

Cook time: 20-40 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 yellow pepper, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can chickpeas (or beans of your choice)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes and their juices
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 4 eggs*
• 2 tbsp feta cheese
• 2 tbsp green onions

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large wok or pan, and add onion, pepper, and garlic; cook for 5 minutes, until softened. 
2. Add tomatoes, chickpeas (or beans of choice), cumin and paprika; cook for 5 minutes. 
3. Crack the eggs on top of the tomato mixture and cook until the whites of the eggs have set, around 10 minutes. [Side note: it took much longer for our eggs to set so make sure they are well cooked before serving!]
4. Scatter green onions and feta cheese on top of the eggs and tomatoes; serve with pita breads to dip, if desired.  

*Note: With the amount of tomato mixture, I feel like it should make 6 servings, so I reheated part of the mixture on the stove and cook 2 more eggs over it. 

Carmen's rating: 7/10 - Our tomato mixture compared to the one we found in the online recipe was very watery. I would have preferred a thick sauce to go with the eggs. 

Richard's rating: 5/10 - I think the feta cheese might have been out of date; something tasty really nasty.