Shakshuka Recipe with Fresh Tomatoes | Aline Made (2024)

FAQs

How do you make shakshuka thicker? ›

Options for the latter include adding flour, cornflour mixed with cold water, a beaten egg, cream cheese, or making a beurre manié from equal parts softened butter and flour. Stir well and give your thickener of choice a few minutes to work its magic.

Shakshuka is a simple dish made of gently poached eggs in a delicious chunky tomato and bell pepper sauce. Said to have originated in Tunisia, this breakfast recipe is popular in many parts of North Africa and the Middle East. It is so satisfying, you can serve it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

While I did add onion, red bell pepper, and garlic to give the sauce a little extra texture and 'oompf,' you can totally make this shakshuka recipe without pepper! Instead of the bell pepper, I would suggest substituting carrot or even potatoes, just know the cook time will be longer if you use potatoes.

How to Substitute Fresh Tomatoes for Tomato Paste. Fresh tomatoes can also stand in for tomato paste: puree until liquified and then follow the same formula: for every 1 tablespoons of tomato paste, use 3 tablespoons of the fresh juice.

Tomato paste is made from fresh, red ripe tomatoes that have been highly concentrated. The seeds and skins have been removed. Tomato paste is cooked for a longer period of time than tomato sauce and tomato puree, giving it a sweeter flavor profile.

Liquids: If the sauce exudes a lot of liquid, cook it until most of the liquid has evaporated. By the time you add the eggs there should be no more than two tablespoons of liquid left in the pan.

Crack in the eggs and simmer

Simmer until the egg whites are just set and the yolks are still slightly runny. Remove from the heat and let stand about 2 minutes before serving.

The takeaway? It's safe to cook tomato- and wine-based sauces in cast iron, but you should save the vinegary pan sauces for stainless-steel pans—or dilute the vinegar (or citrus) with water or stock.

Bread or pita bread.

For a very western version, you'll want to make a classic no-knead bread (super easy!) for the occasion. But for a Middle Eastern version like the one I'm suggesting here, you'll swap white bread with pita bread!

Even though many people today associate shakshuka with Israel, it actually originated in North Africa and the Ottoman Empire: the only reason shakshuka is eaten in Israel is because North African Jewish immigrants brought it there.

What is the difference between shakshuka and Menemen? ›

Both Shakshuka and Menemen serve as rich, cultural embodiments of their respective cuisines. Shakshuka, with its layered flavors, mirrors the diversity of North African and Israeli culinary heritage. Menemen, by contrast, champions simplicity and freshness, epitomizing Turkish cuisine's essence.

In Jewish culture, a large batch of tomato stew is made for the Sabbath dinner and the leftovers used the following morning to make a breakfast shakshouka with eggs.

Since canned tomato paste is much thicker than crushed tomatoes, you will want to add something to it to help with the texture. If you have them available, add some fresh peeled and chopped tomatoes or even canned diced tomatoes to the paste and blend it all together.

It's generally pretty thick. It's nothing like tomato sauce or even tomato puree. Tomato sauce is a seasoned blend of tomato paste, fresh tomatoes (either crushed or pureed), and water along with some veggies like onion and garlic.

Tomato paste is basically super-concentrated tomato sauce. If you take tomatoes and cook them down, strain the skin and seeds from the mixture, and continue to cook the sauce down until it forms a thick consistency, you get tomato paste.