Equipment
Ingredients
Aromatics and Spices
- 30 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 4 garlic, minced
- 4 g ground cumin
- 4 g smoked paprika
- 1 g cayenne pepper
Sauce Base
- 30 g tomato paste
- 800 g canned crushed tomatoes
- 5 g salt
- 2 g black pepper
Eggs and Garnish
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 50 g feta cheese, crumbled
- 10 g fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 286 kcal
- Protein
- 13 g
- Carbohydrates
- 26 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Fiber
- 7 g
- Sugar
- 14 g
- Sodium
- 1121 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 4 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 8 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 2 g
- Cholesterol
- 197 mg
- Potassium
- 1009 mg
- Calcium
- 196 mg
- Iron
- 5.4 mg
- Magnesium
- 68 mg
- Phosphorus
- 245 mg
- Zinc
- 1.9 mg
- Vitamin A
- 243 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 74 mg
- Vitamin D
- 1.1 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 2.7 mg
- Vitamin K
- 17 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.4 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.7 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.10 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.41 mg
- Niacin
- 0.8 mg
- Folate
- 54 mcg
- Water
- 123 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Heat the olive oil in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add the diced yellow onion and red bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and the onion becomes translucent, about 8 minutes.
Stir in the minced garlic, ground cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and tomato paste. Cook continuously until the spices are highly fragrant and the tomato paste deepens in color, about 2 minutes.
Pour in the crushed tomatoes. Season with salt and black pepper. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil at approximately 100°C/212°F, then reduce the heat to low. Maintain a gentle simmer at around 90°C/195°F until the sauce thickens and the flavors meld together.
Use the back of a spoon to make 4 distinct indentations or wells in the thickened sauce. Carefully crack one egg into each well. Cover the skillet with a lid and cook until the egg whites are fully set but the yolks remain soft and runny. For vulnerable populations, ensure the internal temperature of the eggs reaches 74°C/165°F.
Remove the skillet from the heat. Scatter the crumbled feta cheese and freshly chopped cilantro over the top of the dish. Serve immediately from the pan.
Chef's Notes
- Ensure your spices are fresh. Blooming the cumin and paprika in the oil releases their essential oils and builds a profound depth of flavor that carries the entire dish.
- Do not rush the onion and bell pepper reduction. Cooking them down until they are jammy and sweet forms the necessary backbone to balance the sharp acidity of the tomatoes.
- The residual heat of the cast iron pan will continue to cook the eggs even after it is removed from the stove. Pull the pan off the heat just before the eggs look completely done to achieve perfect runny yolks at the table.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store the tomato sauce base only. Poached eggs do not keep well and should be made fresh.
Freezer: 2 months — Freeze the cooked tomato sauce base only without eggs or cheese garnish.
Reheating: Reheat the sauce in a skillet over medium heat until gently simmering, then crack in fresh eggs to poach.
Troubleshooting
Egg whites are runny while the yolks overcook and become hard
Cause: The skillet was left uncovered or the eggs were cold straight from the refrigerator
Fix: Cannot be fixed once yolks are hard, but the dish will still be deeply flavorful.
Prevention: Always use room-temperature eggs and cover the pan with a lid to trap steam, which cooks the whites from the top down without overcooking the yolks deep in the hot sauce.
The tomato sauce tastes overly acidic or sour
Cause: The canned tomatoes used were highly acidic or the onion and pepper base was not cooked down enough to release its natural sugars.
Fix: Stir in a very small pinch of granulated sugar or baking soda into the sauce before adding the eggs to balance the pH and mellow the acidity.
Prevention: Sauté the vegetables slowly to caramelize their natural sugars before adding tomatoes.
Cultural Context
Shakshuka is a cornerstone dish across the Maghreb and the Middle East, with historical roots often traced back to Tunisian and Yemeni Jewish communities. The word roughly translates to shaken or mixed up in Arabic and Amazigh dialects. Over generations, it has evolved into countless regional variations, traditionally served family-style in the pan it was cooked in alongside fresh, crusty bread designed for scooping up the rich sauce and egg yolk.
