Shakshuka, my style (Baked Eggs)

harvest // blog issue 10.

Napoli & Mushroom Shakshuka

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Shakshuka is a simple, rich warming favorite that shines with quality ingredients. The best shak starts with slow simmered tomato sauce made from scratch and I should add, attention to each component pays delicious dividends. I make a universal Napoli (or Marinara Sauce) that I use for everything from pizza and eggplant parmesan to spaghetti squash and classic bolognaise. Slow sweating your onions is a game changer for a candy sweet sauce. You can create a wonderfully seasoned Shakshuka, without once touching the salt shaker. Use the best quality tomato paste you can find and chop in some boquerones (Spanish anchovies), capers, olives and a drizzle of Calabrian chilies pickling oil, all contributing an extra hint of salt. As well as a low-sodium solution, this is the kind of recipe where you can sneak in some hidden vegetables to create goodness in disguise. My last and most important tip of wisdom is separating your eggs before baking. Add the white when you simmer the sauce in the oven and the yolk just 30 seconds before finishing for oozy unctuous charm. Heavenly!

I’ve noted two cooking times. You could easily replicate this dish with a store bought jar of marinara sauce saving you hours. However, creating and simmering your own from scratch will more than triple the volume and boost the flavor five-fold.

🍽 Serves 6 | 🕒 15 - 120 min | 🔪 Skill Level: Moderate

Ingredients

Marinara Tomato Sauce

3 tins San Marzano plum tomatoes (2 x 28oz./ 800g)

1 tins tomato paste (6oz.)

2 cups sweet onions, diced

6-8 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup carrot, finely grated, firmly packed

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 cup fresh basil, torn

1/2 cup kalamata olives, fine sliced

2-4 boquerones (optional)

1 sprig rosemary, fresh, fine chopped

2 Tbsp oregano, dried or fresh, fine chopped

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

Garlic Mushrooms

1/2 lb. assorted mushrooms (450g)

4 fresh garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp shallots, finely chopped

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. dry white wine (optional)

1 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped

1/4 tsp kosher salt

Method

Marinara Sauce

In a heavy bottom sauce pot, sauté diced onion in olive oil on a medium-high heat initially for 2 minutes, then reduce to low and cook slowly for 18 minutes. The aim is to not brown the onion but rather ‘sweat’ until they turn translucent. If onions begin to color, add 1/4 cup water to allow the onion to steam (or ‘sweat’) and cook for longer. Slow cooked onions add a wonderful sweet flavor to the sauce. When onions are soft and see-through, add chopped rosemary.
Add tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes to caramelize and coat the onion. Add ALL other ingredients, except fresh basil. Note: If you have 2 tins of plum tomatoes, this recipe will still work perfectly. Instead, add any fresh tomatoes or other veg such as chopped eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper, grated squash etc. This is a chance to supercharge your sauce and help get the family their Five-a -Day #Five2Thrive
Reduce heat to the lowest setting and simmer for 2 hours, stirring regularly to ensure sauce is not burning. After 2 hours, add fine shredded basil.
The option is yours whether you leave the sauce chunky or purée for other purposes if you have the luxury of owning an immersion blender.

Garlic Mushrooms

Cut mushrooms into chunks or slices. In a large frying pan, heat olive oil. Distribute mushrooms in a single layer in the frying pan and sprinkle with salt. Salt helps to extract water which while cooking will evaporate and concentrate the flavor of the mushrooms. Don’t overcrowd the pan as this won’t allow water to escape and you will likely steam the mushrooms rather than develop color and crunch.
When the mushrooms have developed a light brown exterior, they are likely half to three quarters cooked. Add butter, shallots and garlic. Adding these at the beginning will cook them to long and they’ll likely burn. Adding them with the butter, cools the pan allowing the garlic and shallots to lightly cook, rather than blacken.
Once the desired color is achieved, add wine to deglaze the pan, turn off the heat and finish with fresh ground black pepper and thyme. Allow to cool.

Cooking Shakshuka

Heat oven to 400ºF/ 200ºC. Prepare a small cast iron coquette, oven-safe ramekin or a larger cast-iron frying pan for serving shakshuka family style. Spray vessel or pan with spray on oil and spoon in 1 cup of marinara tomato sauce per person layering with garlic mushrooms.
Create pitted wells in the surface of the tomato sauce with the back of a spoon or ladle. Crack each egg and separate the white from the yolk. Nest the egg white into the well, reserving the yolk. Place pan into the oven uncovered for 8-10 minutes. When the white has mostly cooked (still giving way to a slight jiggle) add egg yolk and continue cooking for 30 seconds - 1 minute to semi-cook the yolk. Look for simmering of sauce around the edges of the pan or vessel.
Remove hot pan carefully from the oven placing in the middle of a hungry crowd. Serve with crunchy grilled sourdough and a light arugula salad or micro herbs dressed with a bright lemon vinaigrette.

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What to Sip with Shakshuka

To pair with Shakshuka you must appreciate it’s taste profile. At the heart of Shakshuka is an acidic tomato base with an oomph of onion and good hum of garlic. Shak is an all day kind of dish, so also account for which meal of the day. If enjoying before noon, I might suggest a Crémant d’Alsace. Our preference is Pierre Sparr Brut Reserve. Mouthwatering, exuding fruit with a pop of racy acidity. A delightful contrast to the rich savory sauce.

Should you be serving your shak in the evening, spice up the night with a bold, yet bright, Italian red like Cannonau di Sardinia (Sardinia’s rendition of Grenache). Acidic tomatoes demand an even higher acid accompaniment. Cannonau is a medium bodied red with high toned acid. Cannonau is Sardinia’s most widely planted variety, taking up 30% of all plantings on the remote and tropical island an hour off the Italian mainland. When grown in this climate, the variety can take on lovely aromas of dried herbs such as oregano and cinnamon that will add just the perfect punch of excitement to this pairing.