Eggs poached directly in a spiced tomato-pepper sauce. One pan, big flavor, and bread for mopping — brunch that cooks itself while you make coffee.
1
🫑 red bell pepper ›
sliced
400 g
🍅 canned crushed tomatoes ›
50 g
🧀 feta ›
crumbled (optional)
Mise en place
Before you start
Prep checklist
feta — crumbled (optional)
Soften the onion and pepper in olive oil over medium heat until sweet and collapsed, 8–10 minutes. Don't rush this — it is the sauce's backbone.
Add garlic, cumin, paprika, and chili flakes; stir for 30 seconds until fragrant.
💡
Spices bloom in fat, not in liquid — those 30 seconds unlock more flavor than an hour of simmering.
Pour in the tomatoes, season with salt, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
Make four wells with the spoon and crack an egg into each. Cover and cook gently until the whites set but the yolks still tremble, 5–7 minutes.
💡
The lid steams the tops of the whites. Check at 5 minutes — carryover heat keeps cooking them at the table.
Scatter feta and herbs over the top. Bring the whole pan to the table with bread.
Shakshuka is a formula, not a recipe: sofrito + spice + tomato + eggs. Swap the spicing (harissa, curry, 'nduja) and you have a different breakfast every weekend.
Harissa (1 tbsp) for paprika + chili for a North African lean
Firm tofu cubes for eggs — simmer 5 minutes (vegan)
Afterwards
Keep, reheat & pair
Storage
The sauce keeps 4 days refrigerated; poach fresh eggs into reheated sauce.
Freezing
Sauce freezes 3 months. Eggs, never.
Reheating
A low oven (150°C, 8–10 minutes) revives baked things; a nonstick pan over medium-low beats the microwave for anything with a crisp edge.
Make ahead
Prep components the night before — batters rest happily overnight in the fridge, and toppings can be portioned into jars.
Wine pairing
It's breakfast — but if pressed, a dry rosé or fresh orange juice with mint.
Beer pairing
It's breakfast — coffee. But a mimosa never hurt a weekend.
On the plate
Serve it with
Sides
·
Crispy bacon or breakfast sausage
Garnish
A dusting of powdered sugar
Chopped chives (for savory plates)
Where it comes from
A little history
From the Maghreb via Ottoman trade routes to Israeli café menus and then the world's brunch tables — "shakshuka" roughly means "all mixed up."
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