A Quickie…..Shashuka

I love when I can find something new to do with eggs. Not just something new but something that taste great too. I mentioned in my previous post that I have come into being addicted to Pinterest. Well, while on one of my many visits to Pinterest I came across an Israeli dish named Shashuka. Now I know the name doesn’t do much on giving you a hint of what it’s made from ( well at least not in English) but I promise you it is full of flavor. Even better than the taste is the ease of making this dish. In less than 30 minutes you’ll have something that tastes wonderful and looks just as appealing. It’s something you can do and invite a couple of friends over for brunch. It won’t damage your pocket and everyone will be happy. Canned tomatoes, eggs, some herbs & spices ( I added onions, mushrooms and spinach to my base), feta cheese and some crusty bread. Who wouldn’t be happy with an invite to a meal like that? My version of Shashuka was adapted from Food 52.

Shashuka

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large onions caramelized
• 1 container of baby portabella mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cups rough chopped fresh spinach
• 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes
• 9-10 garlic cloves, chopped small
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Pilpelchuma, store bought or recipe below
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped (I used flat leaf parsley because I don’t like cilantro)
• 4-6 eggs
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• 4-6 warm pitas or grilled crusty bread

Pilpelchuma

• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon hot paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 pinch cumin
• 1 pinch salt

1. Pilpelchuma: Mix ingredients together to form a paste. This will keep for 3 weeks in the fridge.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet or pan with lid over low heat.
3. Add the caramelized onions, mushroom slices, chopped spinach, chopped garlic, paprika, cumin, & pilpelchuma to the pan and saute for 3-4 minutes until fragrant.
4. Mix in the canned tomatoes & salt. Cover the pan with lid and simmer for 15 minutes. At this point, you can cool the sauce and store to use another day. Just heat it back up in the same pan and continue from here.
5. Add and mix in the cilantro leaving a bit out of the pan to garnish with later.
6. Make pockets in the sauce with a wooden spoon or spatula and very carefully crack the eggs into them. Make sure to space the eggs out. There should be sauce in between each egg for them to cook properly (and prettily).
7. Immediately cover the pan, turn the heat up a bit to medium and cook without lifting the lid for 4-7 minutes depending on how you like your egg yolks. 4 for runny yolk and 7 for hard cooked yolk..
8. Eat right away while its piping hot. Sopping up all the sauce with the pita. Enjoy!

So get out your contact list, invite a few friends over and go forward & make new memories.