Shakshuka

• 3 tbspolive oil
• 1onion · sliced
• 2red bell peppers · chopped
• 3 clovesgarlic · minced
• 1 1/2 tspground cumin
• 1 tspsweet paprika
• 1/4 tspchili flakes · or 1 tsp harissa
• 1 canchopped tomatoes · 28 oz
• 8large eggs
• 4 ozfeta · crumbled
• 2 tbspfresh parsley or coriander · chopped, to finish
• salt and black pepper · to taste

Method

1. 1

   Cook the onion and peppers down slowly until soft and sweet

   This is the base everything sits on, so do not rush it. Soften a sliced onion and a couple of chopped red peppers in olive oil over medium-low heat for a full ten minutes, until they collapse and sweeten. Peppers that are still crunchy leave the sauce tasting raw and thin. This slow start is the difference between a shakshuka with depth and one that tastes like eggs in pasta sauce.

2. 2

   Bloom the spices in the oil before the tomatoes go in

   Cumin, sweet paprika, and a pinch of chilli or a spoon of harissa need thirty seconds in the hot oil with the softened vegetables and garlic. Toasting the spices in fat wakes up their oils and stops them tasting dusty. Add the tomatoes too early and the spices stay muted and one-dimensional. You should smell the cumin bloom before the tin goes in.

3. 3

   Simmer the tomato sauce until it is jammy, not soupy

   Pour in the chopped tomatoes and let the sauce reduce over medium heat for ten to fifteen minutes until it thickens and a spoon dragged through leaves a brief trail. A watery sauce cannot hold the eggs, and they slide around and overcook. Reducing it properly concentrates the flavour and gives you defined wells to crack the eggs into. Season it fully now, before the eggs, because you cannot stir once they are in.

4. 4

   Make wells and crack the eggs in gently

   Use the back of a spoon to make a shallow well in the sauce for each egg, then crack the eggs one at a time into a small cup and slide each into its well. Cracking straight into the pan risks shell and broken yolks. Spacing the eggs out means the whites set separately rather than fusing into one sheet, so everyone gets a clean portion with an intact yolk.

5. 5

   Cover and cook on low so the whites set before the yolks

   Put a lid on and drop to low heat. The trapped steam sets the tops of the whites while the yolks stay runny, which is the whole point of shakshuka. Uncovered, the bottoms of the whites overcook while the tops are still raw and slimy. Check at five minutes: the whites should be opaque and just firm, the yolks still wobbling. Pull the pan the moment they hit that stage, since carryover heat keeps cooking them.

6. 6

   Crumble feta in during the last two minutes

   Scatter a good handful of feta over the sauce around the eggs for the final couple of minutes so it warms and softens without fully melting. Feta adds salt, tang, and a chunk of the protein that makes this a real meal rather than a light one. Add it too early and it dissolves into the sauce and you lose the pockets of creamy cheese that make each bite.

7. 7

   Finish with fresh herbs and good olive oil off the heat

   A generous shower of chopped parsley or coriander and a drizzle of your best olive oil right at the end lifts the whole pan and adds freshness against the rich sauce. Do this off the heat so the herbs stay bright green rather than wilting to khaki. This is not optional garnish; the raw herbs and grassy oil are what balance the deep cooked tomato.

8. 8

   Serve straight from the pan with bread to mop the sauce

   Shakshuka is a communal, eat-from-the-skillet dish, and it waits for no one once the yolks are set. Bring the pan to the table with warm crusty bread, pita, or challah for scooping. For a lower-carb or gluten-free plate, serve it over a bed of wilted spinach or with a side salad instead. Eat it promptly, because the residual heat of the sauce keeps firming the yolks the longer it sits.