Shakshuka
Eggs poached in a spicy tomato and bell pepper sauce, eaten straight from the pan with bread.
- Preparation
- 15 min
- Cook/bake time
- 30 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 372 kcal
- Servings
- 4
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cooking & baking
- 30 min
Eggs poached in a spicy tomato and bell pepper sauce, eaten straight from the pan with bread. The sauce must be properly reduced before adding the eggs, otherwise the dish becomes watery and the eggs cook unevenly. Breakfast, lunch or a quick dinner, all in a single pan.
Why this works
Egg whites coagulate at around 62 °C, while yolks only set at 65 to 70 °C, making the window for a runny yolk quite narrow. In a watery sauce, it is even narrower because the eggs sink in and cook from all sides simultaneously. In a reduced, thicker sauce, however, they rest in small wells, cooking from below while the tops are gently set by the steam. Therefore, the consistency of the sauce determines the consistency of the eggs.
Step-by-step instructions
- 1
Sauté the vegetables
Heat the olive oil in a wide pan and sauté the onion and bell pepper strips over medium heat for ten minutes until they are really soft and lightly browned around the edges. Truly take your time with this step, because soft, sweet bell peppers form the foundation of the sauce and cannot be fixed later.
- 2
Toast the spices
Add the garlic and fry it for one minute until fragrant but not browned. Sprinkle the cumin, paprika and chili flakes over the top and toast them in the oil for thirty seconds. Ground spices only release their full aroma in fat, whereas they remain dull if just added to the tomato sauce.
- 3
Reduce the sauce
Pour in the chopped tomatoes, stir in the sugar and season generously with salt and pepper. Let the sauce simmer uncovered for fifteen minutes until it has thickened significantly and a spoon leaves a brief trail when dragged through it. A sauce that is too thin will cause the eggs to spread out later instead of holding them.
- 4
Add the eggs
Use the back of a spoon to press six small wells into the sauce and crack an egg into each one. Lightly salt the eggs and cover the pan. Let them cook over low heat for six to eight minutes until the egg whites are set and the yolks are still runny. Check them starting at minute six, because they cook very quickly after that.
- 5
Serve
Sprinkle Feta and chopped parsley over the finished Shakshuka and drizzle with a little olive oil. Place the pan directly on the table and serve with plenty of flatbread to mop up the sauce. This is an essential part of the dish and not just a side.
Our best tips
- The sauce must be properly reduced before adding the eggs. A watery sauce is the most common mistake.
- Keep the lid on while cooking the eggs, so the egg whites set from above while the yolks remain runny.
- Check starting at minute six. There are less than two minutes between a perfect and an overcooked yolk.
Tasty variations
Green Shakshuka
Use spinach, Swiss chard, zucchini and herbs instead of tomatoes, and serve with yogurt instead of Feta.
With Merguez
Fry 200 g of spicy lamb sausage at the beginning and let it simmer in the sauce.
Nutrition facts
| Calories | 372 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 19 g |
| Carbohydrates | 18 g |
| – of which sugar | 14 g |
| Fat | 24 g |
| Fiber | 5 g |
Where the 372 kcal come from
per serving
Calculated from the ingredients – how we do it
We add up reference values for every ingredient and divide by the number of servings. These assumptions are baked in:
- Reference values per 100 g – for the raw ingredient, exactly as listed.
- Tinned goods count at drained weight, bone-in meat at purchase weight: you eat about 70 per cent of a chicken thigh and leave the rest.
- Water evaporates as you cook. The energy stays in the pot, the weight does not – so the figure is per serving, not per 100 g of finished dish.
- Anything listed without a quantity – “salt and pepper” – is not counted.
A guide value, not a lab measurement: no two onions weigh the same, and fat content varies from pack to pack.
Frequently asked questions
Where does Shakshuka come from?
It originally comes from North Africa, especially Tunisia, and was brought to Israel by Jewish immigrants, where it now holds the status of a national dish.
Can I prepare the sauce in advance?
Yes, very easily. The sauce keeps for four days in the refrigerator. To serve, simply heat it up and cook the eggs fresh in the sauce.
How do I get all the eggs to cook evenly?
Place them in similarly sized wells at an equal distance from the edge, and rotate the pan 180 degrees halfway through if your stove heats unevenly.
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