Like many magical and delicious things, the origins of shakshouka are shrouded in mystery. Some believe the middle-eastern staple was created in the former Ottoman Empire and spread as far as Spain, acquiring new ingredients and seasonings everywhere along the way. There does seem to be a "local" version of the dish in every nation between Israel and Portugal. In Arabic slang, in fact, shakshouka is used to mean "a mixture" and it is fitting that the recipe for this savory, spiced breakfast is so easy to tinker with. The basic starting point of the dish is eggs poached in a mixture of tomatoes, onions, and chilis and usually spiced with cumin, from there however you can add just about any veggies, meats or spices that your heart (or stomach) desires. We made a version with lamb meat, which is commonly used throughout the middle-east and Divina Organic Green olives, with yellow curry powder in place of cumin. Keeping the egg yolks soft is the real trick here as the runny yolk itself makes an almost too perfect sauce for the dish.
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp Divina Renieris Estates olive oil
- 1 lb. ground lamb
- 1 medium yellow onion, minced
- 1/2 cup Divina Organic Green Olives, Pitted, coarsely chopped
- ⅓ cup minced parsley
- 1 tsp. yellow curry powder
- 2 small vine-ripe tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 eggs
- Crushed red chile flakes, for garnish
Directions:
- Heat oven to 400°.
- Heat oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.
- Cook lamb, stirring and breaking up meat into small pieces, until browned
- Add onion; cook until translucent
- Stir in ½ of the parsley, the curry powder, tomatoes, olives, salt, and pepper; cook until tomatoes begin to break down
- Make 4 wells in the mixture; crack 1 egg into each.
- Bake until egg whites are set and yolks are still runny
- Garnish with remaining parsley and the chile flakes
