I

t may not look like the most attractive dish, but it’s the taste of shakshouka, not its appearance, that will win you over. The egg concoction has found a place on my personal list of comfort foods since my first introduction to it several years ago.

It was my first year in Italy and I was taking an Italian language course for foreigners. My classmates were mainly fellow housewives from North Africa and South America. With plenty of free time at our disposal, we also took turns to host lunches featuring the cuisine of our homelands (I guess that’s how I started to develop
my interest in world cuisine, a niche I’m currently teaching and am passionate about).

When it was my Moroccan friend Sanaa’s turn, she pulled this dish together in the blink of an eye, while making some fresh bread as well! Shakshouka is primarily eaten for breakfast in North African and Middle Eastern countries, and is served directly in the pan with pita bread to soak up the tomato sauce.

As it’s Ramadhan, you might want to put this simple and fast recipe into practice if you oversleep and have only 15 minutes to prepare your sahur meal. Although it’s more practical to use tinned tomatoes, feel free to substitute them with about 500 grams of finely diced fresh tomatoes.

Serves two to four

400 g tinned tomato pulp

1 bell pepper, deseeded and cut into strips (optional)

1 clove of garlic, minced

½ onion or 2 shallots, finely diced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground coriander

¼ teaspoon paprika or chili powder (optional)

Flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Salt

Pepper

Extra virgin olive oil