During the work week, I like a breakfast that I can make quickly like my Acai-lishous Smooth Bowl or my Ham and Egg Cups. On these cold winter weekends, I like to take a little more time for my breakfast and make something ah-mazing, like Eggs Cooked In Spicy Tomato And Red Pepper Sauce.
How did I create this dish? As I was surfing the web for recipe ideas for my ah-mazing breakfast, Shakshuka pops up. I’ve seen Shakshuka recipes pop up many times over the years while looking for recipes. I’ve never made Shakshuka because the recipes called for red peppers.
Peppers! Ach!
I’ve had a long history of not liking the taste of green peppers in anything. To me, green peppers are so strong that they overpower any dish made with them. I’m not a fan. I avoid dishes with green peppers. Because red and yellow peppers look like green peppers just a different color, I had decided I didn’t like them either.
Silly, huh?
After being told many times that red peppers are more mild and sweet, I have been more open to eating them. I’ve been able to eat dishes with red peppers and not make the “ugly-this-is-horrible” face I do when I bite into a forkful of something mixed with a green pepper. I’m beginning to like red peppers…my years of disliking red peppers because of their association to green peppers is coming to an end.
On a cold winter morning when I was craving something warm and spicy, I made Eggs Cooked In Spicy Tomato And Red Pepper Sauce (Shakshuka) a try, peppers and all.
I prepped all my ingredients first, which made everything easier when I started cooking.
I cooked onions and peppers in a 10-inch iron skillet with olive oil until softened. I didn’t stir the onions and peppers very much. I let them sit in the pan to get a nice char on them before stirring. I think this made the dish even better. I added garlic and then the spices. Oh goodness, this made my house smell so good. I added the tomatoes and let everything simmer for 10 minutes stirring the deliciousness occasionally. After 10 minutes, I added some Italian parsley, gave the sauce a stir and turned the heat on low.
This next part was really fun to do. I made a little well in the sauce with the back of a large spoon and added one egg into the well. To add egg into the well, I cracked an egg into a small bowl and then poured it into the well. You can also crack the egg directly into the well but I’m not that good. I felt like I’d make a huge mess and there would be eggshells in my sauce and a story in my Kitchen Fails section, which is blank so far. That doesn’t mean fails haven’t happened, it just means I haven’t posted them yet. Anyhoo, I went with the bowl method. No eggshells in my sauce!
After I added all the eggs I could, I covered the pan and waited for the eggs to set to my desired doneness. Six eggs fit in nicely in my 10-inch pan. Once the eggs were done, I sprinkled feta cheese, Kalamata olives and more Italian parsley over the top. I was so excited to eat this! It looked and smelled AH-MAZING!
The first bite was so good that I quickly had a second bite… and a third… and a fourth….happy dance! It was satisfying and full of flavor. I loved this spicy dish. This dish made me realize red peppers are A-okay. It was also a bonus that this recipe could be made in one pan and serve many.
I like this recipe on a weekend morning but it can be eaten for any meal. Have it for lunch or dinner with a piece of hearty bread to soak up all the excess sauce. Enjoy!
Eggs Cooked In Spicy Tomato And Red Pepper Sauce (Shakshuka)
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion sliced
- 1 hot pepper fresno or jalepeno
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 bell red pepper chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons of cumin
- 1 28- ounce chopped tomatoes
- ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
- ¼ cup Kalamata olives chopped (Optional)
- ¼ cup Feta cheese crumbled (Optional)
- Italian Parsley for garnish Optional
- Extra virgin olive oil to drizzle about 2 tablespoons
Instructions
- Use a well-seasoned 10-inch cast iron pan or a non-stick pan.
- Heat oil in skillet over high heat. Add onions and peppers to pan and cook until softened and a bit charred, carmelized or charred. To do this, do move the onions and peppers around the pan very much. Let them char then stir a little. This should take about 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook 30 more seconds.
- Add paprika and cumin to the pan. Cook for 30 seconds. Add chopped tomatoes and mix all ingredients well. Cook for another 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Reduce heat to low. Add parsley to the pan and stir.
- Using a large spoon, make a well in the tomato mixture. Break an egg in a small bowl. Transfer the egg into the well that you made in the tomato sauce. Spoon a bit of the hot tomato sauce over the outer edges of the egg. Repeat this process adding as many eggs as you like around the pan. Six eggs fit nicely in a 10-inch skillet.
- Cover the skillet and let the eggs cook until the whites are set and the yolks are still softish. Start checking the doneness of the eggs about every 5 minutes. This should take about 10 – 12 minutes, depending on how done you want your eggs.
- Sprinkle olives, cheese and more Italian parsley over the top if you wish. Drizzle some olive oil over the top. Enjoy!