Shakshuka

Shakshuka is, as far as I know, an Israeli dish consisting of eggs poached in tomato sauce. You can make it spicy to taste and throw in other things like legumes or greens, and cheese if you wish. I got this recipe from Bon Appétit. It calls for chickpeas, which I love, and feta cheese, which I also love even though it isn’t lactose-free. If you have access to lactose-free goat cheese, I’d go with that instead, or you can omit it if you don’t want to take Lactaid. I didn’t use the hot sauce, though I put the bottle of sriracha on the table for the Engineer. I also forgot the pita bread in the freezer (turns out Trader Joe’s has pita!), but I don’t think it was necessary. This dish was a hit for both of us! I’d definitely make it again.

¼ cup olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 jalapeños, seeded, finely chopped (I didn’t use them)
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained
2 tsp. Hungarian sweet paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand, juices reserved
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup coarsely crumbled feta (see above)
8 large eggs
1 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
warm pita bread (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 °F.

Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and jalapeños; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Add chickpeas, paprika, and cumin and cook for 2 minutes longer.

Add crushed tomatoes and their juices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens slightly, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle feta evenly over sauce. Crack eggs one at a time and place over sauce, spacing evenly apart. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until whites are just set but yolks are still runny, 5–8 minutes.

Garnish with parsley and cilantro. Serve with pita for dipping.