Shakshuka with Chickpeas
The restaurant secret is reducing the tomato sauce until it is thick enough to hold each egg, a simple technique that works beautifully in a home skillet. I fold in chickpeas for a sturdy, low-cost…
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoons harissa paste
- 2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 6 large large eggs
Instructions
- Set a 12-inch, deep-sided skillet or shallow Dutch oven beside the stove. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, finely dice the onion and bell pepper, chop the garlic, and crack the eggs into separate small cups so they can be added quickly later. Have a lid or a large baking sheet ready; organized mise en place matters here because the eggs finish in the residual heat of the sauce.
- Pour the olive oil into the skillet and warm it over medium heat for about 1 minute. Add the onion and bell pepper with a small pinch of salt, then cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring every minute or two, until the onion turns translucent and the pepper softens completely. The vegetables should look glossy and collapsed rather than browned; lower the heat to medium-low if the edges begin to scorch.
- Stir in the garlic, cumin, and paprika and cook over medium-low heat for 45 to 60 seconds, just until the garlic smells sweet and the spices become fragrant. Do not let the garlic brown, since burnt garlic will make the tomato base taste harsh. Add the harissa and stir it through the oil and vegetables until the mixture turns brick red.
- Pour in both cans of crushed tomatoes carefully, scraping the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon to release the spice-coated vegetables. Bring the mixture to a steady simmer over medium heat, then reduce to medium-low and cook uncovered for 12 to 15 minutes. Stir every few minutes so the sauce reduces evenly; it is ready for the next stage when a spoon dragged across the pan leaves a trail that closes slowly instead of immediately filling with liquid.
- Fold the drained chickpeas into the reduced tomato sauce and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt or harissa now, before adding the eggs. The chickpeas should be hot throughout, and the sauce should be thick enough that the chickpeas remain suspended instead of sinking into a watery layer.
- Use the back of a spoon to make six evenly spaced wells in the sauce, pressing down until you can see the skillet but not scraping through to the metal. Slide one egg into each well. Keeping the eggs in separate cups before this moment prevents broken yolks and gives you control over their spacing.
- Cover the skillet and cook over medium-low heat for 6 to 8 minutes. Check at 6 minutes: the whites should be opaque and set around the edges while the yolks still wobble when the pan is gently nudged. For fully set yolks, continue 2 to 3 minutes; if the whites are slow to set, spoon a little hot sauce over the thin film of white near each yolk without covering the yolks themselves.
- Turn off the heat and leave the covered skillet to rest for 2 minutes. This gentle carryover cooking finishes any translucent patches of egg white without turning the yolks chalky. Remove the lid when the whites are firm and the yolks give slightly under a light fingertip touch; if a yolk feels completely hard, it has gone too far, though the dish will still eat well.
- Taste a spoonful of sauce from the edge and correct the final seasoning with salt if needed. If the sauce tastes too sharp, stir in 1 teaspoon of olive oil; if it is too thick to scoop, loosen it with 1 to 2 tablespoons of hot water around the edges of the pan, never poured directly over the eggs.
- Bring the skillet to the table and serve immediately, spooning one egg and plenty of chickpea-studded tomato sauce onto each plate. Toasted pita, crusty bread, or warm flatbread is the proper utensil for wiping up the sauce. For a family meal, let everyone serve from the pan, but keep the skillet handle covered because it will remain hot for several minutes.
Watch the Shakshuka with Chickpeas cooking video
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