Shakshuka, the traditional Israeli dish
Shakshuka, (shaksuka or shaksouka, shakshouka) is a very popular Israeli breakfast dish that has survived the times, being part of the Israeli cuisine since its origins. We had the chance to make this dish in Tel Aviv, learning how to make it from the people at the hostel that we stayed at, Abraham Hostels. The day we arrived there they had a shakshuka workshop and we gladly joined it. Everyone that was staying at the hostel could participate after they’d pay a small fee. It was on a Thursday, so not that many people were there. It was just the two of us and two guys from the US, with two guys from the hostel staff and a volunteer who were teaching us how to make the dish. Everybody was helping and we divided our tasks. We ended up chopping tomatoes, a real pleasure for traveling sister Ramona, who absolutely hates them.
We cooked for 7 persons so we needed large amounts of ingredients. Besides tomatoes we used peppers, mushrooms, onion, parsley and any kind of spices that they had in the kitchen. We made the tahini sauce separately, prepared the eggs and also made a big salad to go with the dish. After we sauteed the tomatoes with the mushrooms and the onions and let them simmer, we each made our own shakshuka. We put the ingredients in a special pan and threw it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. We cut the bread, toasted it and waited for our food to be ready. Everything looked good, and pairing it with the tahini sauce was an excellent idea.
We found a shakshuka recipe, but you can put whatever you like and what you have in the house. The main things that you cannot replace are the tomatoes and the eggs. We really want to make it ourselves one of these days and see if we can pull it off.
Ingredients:
4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
6 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp sweet paprika
½ tsp cumin seeds
½-1 tsp cayenne pepper
800g tinned tomatoes (or ripe tomatoes in season)
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
4-8 eggs, depending on hunger
Small bunch of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
You can find the rest of the recipe HERE
