Personal Shakshouka

Interested in trying new breakfast dishes from around the world? Start with Israel’s shakshouka – eggs poached in spicy tomato sauce and served in your own little frying pan.

Serving shakshouka in its own pan reminds me of a restaurant we used to frequent as kids. After a long bike ride on the boardwalk, Dad would take us to a little hole-in-the-wall at the Jersey shore. Everyone’s breakfast – pancakes, home fries, eggs and bacon, –  was all served in individual frying pans. Fast forward this thought process, and you end up with breakfast for one in a mini-cast iron pan, sized perfectly for your own personal egg. Too much work just for you?  Go ahead and scale the recipe upward (recipe x breakfasters). Use a large frying pan, and serve family-style.

Ingredients
1 sweet green chili (long hot) pepper
2 large tomatoes (1 ½ – 2 cups or 1 can diced tomatoes)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
¼ teaspoon cumin
1 egg
Salt and pepper, to taste
Italian flat leaf parsley, for garnish
2 slices thick, crusty bread

Preparation
Roast pepper until skin is blackened (on a metal skewer over an open gas flame, under the broiler, or on a grill). Wrap pepper in plastic wrap for 15 to 20 minutes. Hold pepper under cold running water and rub skin to remove. Cut off top of pepper, make a lengthwise slice and open flat onto a cutting board. Remove inner ribs and seeds using sharp paring knife. Chop pepper and put aside.

Fill a heavy pot with enough water to cover tomatoes and bring to a boil. Blanch tomatoes for less than one minute. Remove tomatoes from water, cool, and peel off skins. Chop tomatoes into small cubes, and allow to drain, reserving tomato juice.

Heat olive oil in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add tomato, chili pepper, paprika and cumin. Cook until lightly bubbling, then reduce heat and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, adding reserved tomato juice if sauce becomes too thick. Sauce can be prepared in advance and reheated to poach egg.

Raise heat to medium. Crack egg into a small bowl, then slide gently into tomato-chili sauce. Cover, and continue to simmer until egg is cooked to your liking, about 5 minutes for a cooked white and soft gooey yolk. Season with salt and pepper, and garnish with parsley. Serve in frying pan with thick, crusty bread, toasted if you like.

 
Makes 1 serving