From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shakshouka (also shakshuka, shaqshuqa, chakchouka; Arabic: شكشوكة‎; Hebrew: שקשוקה‎) is Middle Eastern dish consisting of poached or fried eggs cooked in a sauce of tomatoes, peppers, onions, and spices (often including cumin, turmeric, and chillies), and usually served with white bread. It probably originated in Tunisia.^[1]

Shakshouka dish is now a staple of Tunisian, Algerian, Somali, Moroccan, and Yemeni cuisines, and is also popular in Israel, where it was introduced largely by Tunisian Jews after the Jewish exodus from Arab lands.^[2]

It is similar to the Turkish dish menemen, and the Latin American breakfast dish huevos rancheros.

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A couple weeks ago I ran the Shakshuka Special at Kingfield Farmers Market.  Shakshuka is a creation that stems from staff meals at the restaurant I worked at in New York and also my travels to Nepal and Thailand.   It was awesome when I happened upon a small little back alley open restaurant in trekking town of Pokhara, Nepal.  They served up hot shakshuka, which is composed of two eggs and spicy red sauce with two hunks of toasted garlic bread.   I was so excited to eat the lovely “comfort” dish that I burnt the roof of my mouth, but didn’t care because it tasted so, so good!   With a hankering for a good hearty breakfast I ran the special shakshuka topped with garlic chives and feta cheese not only to share with the farmers market, but also because I wanted to eat it too.  I used fresh tomatoes to make the sauce and eggs from Sushine Harvest, and bread from Sun St. Breads, which are also at Kingfield Farmers Market.    Keep your eyes peeled.  I may run this tasty breakfast treat once again this summer.  Maybe when it gets a little colder…wait…did I just say that!?

Photo: Conner McCall