Shashouka

This is a delicious, different middle-eastern egg dish with just a touch of spicy warmth that can be served for just about any meal, from breakfast & brunch through to a meatless dinner. You can always make it hotter by adding more chiles if you prefer. I found it in Bon Appetit magazine quite a number of years ago. The original recipe noted 4 servings, but it includes 6 eggs, so I'm not sure how that would work. The vegetable portion is just right for 4. So you can put in the number of eggs you prefer. This is also known as Chackchouka (pronounced shashouka). This version, which uses potatoes, seems to be a Tunisian version.

• Ready In: 1 hr 20 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2⁄3 cup olive oil
• 1 3⁄4 lbs baking potatoes, peeled & diced into 2 pieces 1 red or 1 3⁄4 lbs yellow bell peppers, cut into 1/2 strips
• 1  green pepper, cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 1  medium onion, thinly sliced
• 3  canned Italian plum tomatoes, seeded & diced
• 1  small  dried hot red chili pepper
• 6  basil leaves, chopped (or 1 tsp. dried, crumbled)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 6  eggs, room temperature

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a heavy, large skillet over a medium-high heat.
2. Add the potatoes, peppers and onion and stir for 3 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes and stir 3 more minutes.
4. Add the chili, the basil and the salt.
5. Cover and continue cooking on a very low heat until all the vegetables are very tender, stirring several times during cooking to prevent the mixture from sticking, adding a bit of water if needed. You don't want this too watery, just a bit of free liquid. This could take up to about an hour.
6. The recipe can be prepared up to one day ahead to this point; cool the vegetable mixture completely, cover and refrigerate. Reheat before continuing with the recipe.
7. (You can remove the chili pepper at this point, or leave it inches If you leave it, it will make the dish hotter).
8. Remove the hot pepper from the vegetable mixture right before adding the eggs.
9. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
10. Break the eggs, one at a time, on top of the vegetable mixture so each egg is separate.
11. With the heat at medium-low, cover and simmer until the yolks are covered with a thin white film, about 3 to 4 minutes, longer if you like your eggs more firm.
12. Serve immediately.
13. NOTE: Instead of the 3 canned tomatoes, you can used drained canned diced (about 1 to 1 1/2 cups). If using fresh tomatoes, I'd suggest adding a couple of tablespoons of tomato juice or water long with them to make up for the moisture in the canned.