(Sort Of) Shakshouka

Happy Friday! Are you as excited as I am for a three-day weekend? I have a few fun items on my weekend agenda, but I'm excited to ring in the unofficial start of summer by sleeping late tomorrow and having a sleepy brunch at home. Daydreams of brunch over the last few days led me to today's post!

Shaskshouka is, at it's most basic, eggs poached in some sort of spiced tomato sauce. It's a fancy breakfast or brunch dish, a hearty Meatless Monday option, or in my case, the perfect way to repurpose leftovers. I'd made tomato sauce for dinner a few days before this breakfast and used what I had on hand. I had Jerusalem open for timing and egg cooking instructions but I simplified to basically spice up the leftover sauce and swap an onion in for the bell pepper.

I cooked a sliced onion until it turned golden around the edges.

Then, I added about a tablespoon of tomato paste and two tablespoons of harissa to my leftover tomato sauce, plus a few hefty shakes of ground cumin.

Once the sauce was heated through, I added the eggs.

I used a butter knife to gently swirl the whites around a bit and then covered the pan for a few minutes.

I served two eggs each with the sauce and onions in a bowl with fresh buttery toast on the side.

I loved the creamy eggs with the tang and heat of the tomato sauce and bite of the onions. In many ways, you can dress up your shakshouka any way you like by adjusting the heat and spices in the sauce. You could take it an Italian route and serve over polenta, or take it down an Indian path with curries and serve with naan. As with most egg-focused recipes, the possibilities go on and on.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!