As a part of my 25 for 25 I decided I would learn to cook 5 new dishes. I am not a bad cook, but I would say that my repertoire is quite limited. This is why I decided to learn to cook some extra dishes. Many of my friends take online cooking classes from places like CocuSocial and they have all got some amazing new recipes, so I decided I wanted to find some new recipes myself. I decided to use this opportunity to learn some of the best dishes I have discovered abroad. It’s a way to revisit the places I’ve traveled from the comfort of my kitchen. Since I kicked off the year in Israel it only felt appropriate to tackle an Israeli dish first.

Shakshuka is a breakfast dish that can be served anytime. In its simplest form, it consists of poached eggs in a tomato stew but I’ve heard Israelis throw in everything but the kitchen sink. Start with this recipe and once you get the hang of it (it’s really easy, I promise) throw in whatever you like, or have in the pantry. Spinach, mushrooms and yogurt are all add-ins I’ve tried successfully. This dish is so easy and delicious it sits in my weekly rotation of dinners.

 

 

INGREDIENTS
About 1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 onion chopped
1 small clove of garlic minced
1/2 red pepper chopped
1 large tomato diced
2 tsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 eggs
Handful of goat cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp parsley (optional garnish)

DIRECTIONS
Heat olive oil in a medium sized skillet over medium high heat. Add onions for a minute and then toss in the minced garlic. After another minutes or so toss in all the chopped pepper and give it a stir as it sautées for about 5 minutes.

Next add the diced tomatoes and stir in the tomato paste. I didn’t have paste so I tossed in two spoonfuls of spaghetti sauce. Stir frequently as the tomatoes simmer for about 5 minutes over medium low heat. At this point, add the spices and continue stirring.

When the veggie mixture becomes stew-y, spread it out to make a nice level area for you to crack the eggs on. Toss on any other ingredients your little heart desires – this is when I add the cheese but you could also try spinach, cream, feta, anything!

Place a lid on top, make sure your heat is on a low setting and set your timer for 10 minutes. The eggs will poach in the tomato stew and look like they’re done over easy. You can adjust cooking time for this last step to be shorter if you like your eggs runny.

Garnish with fresh parsley and then serve piping hot from the skillet with warm bread for soaking up the tomato stew.

 

What’s the best dish you’ve discovered during your travels?

Recipe adapted from toriavey.com