HARISSA CHICKPEA SHAKSHUKA

I love that Shakshuka needs no introduction nowadays!

In israel, shakshuka is the ideal brunch fare and as we enjoy breakfast for dinner more often than not, it also makes for the perfect midweek dinner.

Making shakshuka from fresh tomatoes is great, but it was important for me to give you a simple recipe you can use all year around so I used canned tomatoes for this recipe. Feel free to swap for fresh, of course. I keep my shakshuka simple as thats how we like it but below the recipe you can find all the ways you can change it up when the mood strikes.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 cup dry chickpeas or 2 chickpea cans

6 cups crushed tomatoes (2x 28oz/800g tomato tins) - I like the texture of crushed tomatoes but go ahead and replace with chopped tomatoes if thats what you have on hand.

¼ cup olive oil

6 garlic clove, thinly sliced

¼ cup New York Shuk Signature Harissa

3/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

6-8 eggs, according to how many people you are serving

 —

Step one: cook the chickpeas. Skip to step 2 if using canned chickpeas

In a big bowl, soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of water. When ready to cook, rinse the chickpeas and place In a medium size pot. Cover the chickpeas with cold water plus another inch and a half of water above the beans. Add 1 bay leaves and 1 peeled garlic cloves for flavor. Let cook until tender, approx 1 hour. Check for firmness throughout as you don't want them over cooked. When the chickpeas are tender,  season with 1/2 tablespoon of salt and let cool. 

Once the chickpeas cool down, discard the bay leaves and garlic (or save the soft garlic for the sauce if you would like) and drain.

Step two: make the sauce
In a large pan place the oil and the garlic, mix them together and let the oil heat slowely and the garlic becomes very fragrant. Let it cook for 1-2 minutes, make sure the garlic remains light in color and doesn’t brown. Add the harissa and mix. Add the tomatoes and season with the salt. Get the sauce to a boil, lower heat and let simmer with a lid on for 30 minutes until the sauce comes together. At this point, taste for salt.

*you can freeze the sauce in smaller containers  to have ready whenever you want to whip up a batch of shakshuka.

*This sauce is perfect for meatballs, pasta or anything else that red sauce is required for.

Step three: add the chickpeas & eggs
When the sauce is ready, add the chickpeas and mix well in the sauce. Get it to a slight boil and take a tablespoon to create little dimples in the sauce so you nest the eggs in there. Crack the eggs and place in the ‘dimples’ and season the eggs with salt and pepper . Slowly simmer until the eggs reach your desired level of doneness. If you like your yolks runny, pay attention not to over it cook. Serve in the pan, preferably with fresh bread on the side. Enjoy!

Add in options;

Fiery harissa- if you like heat, I recommend you add some Fiery Harissa. You can add it at any stage, even if just a sprinkle on the eggs.

Onion and/or Red bell pepper- cut into thin strips and add to the oil in before the garlic until the pepper/onion is slightly tender but stil has a bite to it. Continue with the same process.

Spinach- if you like greens in your shakshuka, add washed spinach when you add the chickpeas- cook until the spinach is wilted.

Beans- you can swap the chickpeas with beans or omit both altogether.

Topping options: crumbled feta, chopped parsley, sprinkle za’atar, or any type of our dry harissa blends on the eggs.