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Tunisian-Inspired Shakshuka

Shakshuka is an amazing recipe that includes a rich tomato sauce with slow-poached eggs that are cooked in the sauce. This vegetarian entrée can easily be scaled up or down, depending on the number of people that you are serving.
The recipe below is intended to feed four people. Feel free to make some extra sauce, if you want to have some leftovers on hand in your fridge for later in the week.

Ingredients

  • 2 large red onions, sliced 1/8” thick
  • 2 cups sunflower seed oil
  • 2 tsp Kosher salt
  • 2 large white onions, medium dice
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 red bell pepper, medium diced
  • 2 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
  • 6-8 whole eggs
  • ½ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped, as garnish
  • Warm crusty bread or warmed pita, for serving

Instructions

  • Heat sunflower seed oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.
  • When the oil is around 350F, add the sliced red onion, and deep fry until the onions are golden brown.
  • *If you want more even browning, fry the onions in batches. It will just take more time.
  • When the sliced red onions are golden brown, remove them from the oil using a slotted spoon, and drain them on paper towels.
  • Season the deep-fried onions with Kosher salt.
  • Very carefully strain the remaining sunflower seed oil into a heat-proof container and save for future use.
  • *See Notes section below for an amazing recipe for a mayonnaise made from this leftover onion-flavored oil.
  • To prepare your Shakshuka, heat some olive oil in a large saute pan.
  • Add the diced onion and red bell pepper, and cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, or until softened.
  • Reduce the heat to medium-low.
  • Add the tomato paste, and cook on medium-low heat while stirring for 3-4 minutes.
  • Add the minced garlic, and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
  • Stir in the diced tomatoes, cumin, paprika, turmeric, and cayenne pepper.
  • Taste, and season with Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper.
  • Bring the mixture to a simmer, and let it cook for an additional 15-20 minutes.
  • Using the back of a spoon, create small indentations on the surface of the tomato sauce.
  • Crack a whole egg into each indentation that you have made in the sauce.
  • Season the eggs gently with a pinch of Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper.
  • Cover the saute pan with a lid, and let the Shakshuka simmer for about 6 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked to your desired level of doneness.
  • Once the eggs are cooked, remove the skillet or pan from heat.
  • Garnish the Shakshuka with the crispy fried onions that you cooked earlier, and top with a handful of the freshly chopped cilantro.
  • Serve the Tunisian-inspired Shakshuka hot, directly from the pan, with crusty bread or pita used as utensils to scoop up the sauce and egg mixture.

Notes

The sauce tastes wonderful when re-heated.  You can add a few whole eggs to make a leftover meal that tastes better than the day when it was first made. 
Fried onions aren’t a traditional part of this dish, but I love the crunch and flavor and sweetness that they add. 
The leftover sunflower seed oil that you used to fry the sliced red onions is amazing when used for cooking, or when used as the oil component in a homemade mayonnaise. 
To make a quick homemade mayonnaise using the leftover onion-flavored sunflower seed oil, simply combine 1 whole egg in a container with 1 cup of onion oil, 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard, ¼ clove of raw garlic, the zest and juice of 1 lemon, and a pinch of Kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper.  Blend with an immersion blender in a tall and narrow container until the ingredients are emulsified.