Shakshuka with Feta

Shakshuka consists of poached eggs cooked in a rich spiced tomato sauce. It has become really popular due to its simplicity and flavour. This one-pot breakfast meal is flavoured with spices such as smoked paprika, cumin and harissa and combined with Feta Cheese and Spinach to add more texture, umami and yumminess.

What is Shakshuka?

This breakfast food is a North-African dish that was brought later to Israel and is now popularized all around the world.

To make Shakshuka, poached eggs are cooked in a tomato sauce made with fresh, tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion, garlic and spices such as harissa, cumin or smoked paprika. Shakshuka eggs must be served with a runny yolk. This tomato-rich dish is served with bread to get all that delicious sauce off your plate.

Our Shakshuka with Feta has become a regular family brunch at home. Lazy Sundays are the perfect day to prepare this delicious one-pan dish. We add feta and spinach to our delicious Shakshuka to make it just right for our tastebuds. Feta adds saltiness and richness while spinach boosts the nutritional content of the dish.

Our Shakshuka with Feta is:

• Vegetarian
• Gluten-free
• A breakfast or brunch dish
• Served with Feta and Spinach
• Easy to make
• Mildly spicy

How to make the best Shakshuka

Ingredients

Shakshuka with Feta is a dish that can be made using simple ingredients and spices. We normally have everything needed for this recipe so we make it quite often.

Canned Plum Tomatoes. We use plum tomatoes to cook our tomato sauce. Simply mash them with a fork or use your hands to break them into smaller pieces before adding them to the pan. Choose a good quality can of tomatoes, as this is the most important ingredient of the Shakshuka and will define its taste. You can as well use fresh tomatoes, canned chopped tomatoes or tomato passata. Optionally, you can as well add some tomato paste to give your Shakshuka a richer umami taste.

Red pepper. Choose long Italian red peppers when possible as they are less acidic. Red bell peppers will still work.

Onion and garlic. These are basic ingredients to flavour your tomato sauce and Shakshuka dish. We use yellow onion but red or white can be used as well.

Eggs. The star of Shakshuka. We always use free-range eggs. You can cook the eggs to your taste, but Shakshuka calls for eggs cooked with a runny yolk so you can dip in your bread. We like cooking one egg per person. Just make sure you are using a large skillet pan if you are serving this dish for more than two people.

Feta Cheese. Salty and tasty. Greek creamy feta cheese gives our Shakshuka recipe that last touch of saltiness and creaminess. You could alternatively use goat cheese or even mozzarella.

Fresh Spinach. Add some green leaves to your dish by incorporating fresh spinach into the sauce at the end. Spinach cook really fast, it won't take longer than 2-3 minutes.

Spice mix. Our favourite spice blend for Shakshuka contains paprika, cumin, harissa or red pepper flakes. Simply using three spices you will have a deliciously spiced rich tomato sauce. Depending on your spice tolerance, add more or less harissa or chilli flakes.

Fresh Herbs. Add some chopped fresh cilantro or parsley before serving. You can as well add other herbs such as oregano, basil or dill.

Step-by-Step Method

1. Heat some oil in a pan and add chopped onion. Stir fry for a couple of minutes and then add minced garlic and chopped red pepper. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
2. Add the spice mix and cook for one more minute or until fragrant.
3. Add the canned plum tomatoes and a pinch of salt. With a fork or a cooking spoon, break down the tomatoes making sure there are no big chunks. Leave cooking at medium heat until the red peppers are cooked and the tomato sauce has reduced and is a richer and thicker sauce.
4. When the peppers and the rest of the ingredients are cooked, add the spinach and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
5. With the back of a wooden spoon, make small holes to place the eggs. Crack the eggs into the hole and cover them with a lid.
6. Cook with the lid on for 5 minutes. Uncover and turn the heat off. Sprinkle the feta cheese, add chopped fresh cilantro or fresh parsley, and some crushed black pepper, and your Shakshuka will be ready to serve!

Tips for cooking the eggs when making Shakshuka

We love cooking our eggs so the yolks stay runny while the egg whites are fully cooked. To get the perfectly runny egg yolk, make sure you have a timer at hand as time is the key when cooking eggs.

When the shakshuka is cooked, keep the heat on medium and with the cooking spoon, make small holes to place the eggs. Crack one egg into each hole and immediately cover the pan with a lid. Cook for 5 minutes and then uncover the pan, turn the heat off, add the toppings such as Feta Cheese, chopped cilantro or parsley, some black pepper and serve.

Variations for our Shakshuka with Feta Recipe

• Make it vegan. To prepare this delicious breakfast while keeping it vegan, simply substitute the eggs and feta cheese for plant-based ingredients.
  Eggs. A great plant-based substitute for eggs when making Shakshuka is chickpeas, white beans, or tofu. They can be added at the end if they are canned chickpeas to add more texture and protein.
  Feta Cheese. When we use a vegan alternative to feta cheese, we always get Violife Feta Cheese. This brand is really nice and it makes for a great substitute. Maybe where you live you can find other brands. Check out this lovely Vegan Shakshuka from Jessica in the Kitchen.

• Add more protein. You can add chickpeas, white beans or lentils to your Shakshuka to add more protein and heartiness.

• Make it kid-friendly. Our Shakshuka recipe is mildly spicy but you can make it mild by just adding cumin and sweet paprika. Leave the Harissa out and add it before serving your own plate, once the kid's plates have been served.

Serving Suggestions

Even though Shakshuka is normally served for breakfast, at home, we serve it any time of the day depending on the occasion.

Sometimes, we have Shakshuka for breakfast or brunch during the weekend. A lazy winter morning calls for a hearty and delicious recipe like this one. The best way to serve Shakshuka is with plenty of crusty bread or Pita Bread to get all that spicy tomato sauce off your plate

Another lovely way to serve this Shakshuka with Feta is with Hummus. We learnt that from Green Kitchen Stories, and it was such a great discovery. We have tried many times this combination and is hearty and delicious.

Shakshuka can be in the same skillet pan and placed on the dining table. Each person can serve their own plate and have seconds! If you are using a cast-iron pan, the dish will stay warm for longer.

If you have any leftovers, transfer them to an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for 1-2 days. Our favourite way to use leftovers is by adding the rest of the Shakshuka sauce inside an omelette. So good! To reheat the leftovers you can use a pan or the microwave.

FAQ and Tips

• What type of pan should I for Shakshuka? Shakshuka is a one-pan dish. You won't need to dirty different pots and pans. When we make Shakshuka, we use our cast-iron skillet pan. Our pan is for 2-3 people, which works perfectly for our little family. Adjust the size of the pan to the people you will be serving the dish to. Make sure you have a lid to cover the pan as when cooking the eggs, you will need to briefly put the lid on.
• Is Shakshuka healthy? Yes, this is a really great way to start your day. Shakshuka contains many nutrients from the veggies and protein from the eggs and cheese.
• Is Shakshuka spicy? Our recipe is mildly spicy, but we cook it mild for our three-year-old kid and toddler as well. If you want to make a mild Shakshuka, simply add cumin and sweet smoked paprika for spices.
• What can I use instead of Harissa? Harissa is one of the spices used for Shakshuka. You can buy grounded Harissa or Harissa paste. If you want to substitute this ingredient, you can use red chili powder or flakes instead.

If you tried our recipe, please leave a comment or tag us on Instagram. We are always happy to see your creations!

More Breakfast and Brunch Recipes:

• Vegetarian Nasi Goreng
• Turkish Eggs (Cilbir)
• Vegan Quesadillas