Shakshuka Recipe with Fresh Tomatoes | Aline Made (2024)

FAQs

How long to cook tomatoes before blending? ›

Place the tomatoes in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until they've released some of their juices and are tender, about 10 minutes. Purée.

Shakshuka is a simple dish made of gently poached eggs in a delicious chunky tomato and bell pepper sauce. Said to have originated in Tunisia, this breakfast recipe is popular in many parts of North Africa and the Middle East. It is so satisfying, you can serve it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Then return the skillet to a gentle simmer at medium-low heat. Spoon some of the sauce over the whites. After breaking the eggs into the sauce, gently spoon some of the sauce over just the whites. This helps the whites cook faster so they set before the yolks overcook.

For a lightly cooked purée, I strongly prefer leaving the skins and seeds on during cooking and straining them out afterwards.

Shakshuka is an easy-to-make and surprisingly healthy breakfast or lunch option, bringing together the health benefits of eggs and cooked tomatoes. If you've never heard of or tried Shakshuka, you are seriously missing out!

Even though many people today associate shakshuka with Israel, it actually originated in North Africa and the Ottoman Empire: the only reason shakshuka is eaten in Israel is because North African Jewish immigrants brought it there.

Shakshuka typically has a deeper, more intricate flavor from the blend of spices used, with whole, runny eggs that mix into the sauce. Menemen, in contrast, showcases the freshness of its primary ingredients, with less emphasis on spices.

Shakshuka is a classic North African and Middle Eastern breakfast dish. This recipe is simple and satisfying, featuring eggs poached in a bell pepper and tomato sauce. Serve it with pita or crusty bread for breakfast or brunch...or dinner!

Crack in the eggs and simmer

Simmer until the egg whites are just set and the yolks are still slightly runny. Remove from the heat and let stand about 2 minutes before serving.

Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the eggs. Carefully transfer the skillet to the oven (it's heavy) and bake for 8 to 12 minutes, checking often once you reach 8 minutes. They're done when the egg whites are an opaque white and the yolks have risen a bit but are still soft.

How do you make fresh tomatoes taste good? ›

The best way to prepare your tomatoes is to dice them, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle about a teaspoon of cream of tartar. Toss the tomatoes so everything is well mixed, and serve!

Why would you peel tomatoes? The tomato skin is a different texture from the tomato flesh, and will remain so in sauces and purées—you'll get tiny chunks of skin instead of an uniformly smooth mixture. Moreover, the tomato skin is heavy in a kind of nutrient called flavonols, which impart a bitter flavor.

Roasting tomatoes is a sure way to coax out all the flavor. Oven roasted tomatoes are so much more concentrated and intense in flavor, making them useful in so many ways (like with vegan tomato basil soup and more–lots of ideas below).

Simmer for about 5-10 minutes until the tomatoes are soft. Set up your food mill over a large mixing bowl or a pot. Ladle the tomatoes into the food mill and churn away… The tomato pulp and juice will fall through to your bowl and all of the skins and seeds will be left in the food mill.

At 250 degrees, my cherry tomatoes took 2 to 3 hours to get totally shriveled and brown around the edges. The time will vary depending on the size and juiciness of your tomatoes – roasted grape tomatoes can take as little as an hour, while larger tomatoes will need longer.

Blanch:

Put your tomatoes into a pot of boiling water for 60–90 seconds. Once the tomato skins split open, transfer tomatoes into a bowl of ice water to cool. After taking them out, you'll find the skin is easy to strip away from the rest of the tomato.