Shakshuka with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Ham

How about shakshuka for breakfast? You can already find two ideas for this warming, filling dish on my blog: shakshuka with avocado and parma ham and mushroom and bacon shakshuka. Remember that the key is to obtain a slightly runny yolk – this will allow the egg to retain the most nutritional value. Simmer everything over low heat with the lid on, and wait until the egg white sets, and you are bound to obtain a great dish.

Preparation

I fried the diced onion and pressed garlic in oil. Then I cut the ham and dried tomatoes into strips. I added dried tomatoes, ham, spices, and diced tomatoes in sauce into the pan. I stirred everything and simmered for about 3 minutes. Then I carefully added the eggs. I stewed it until the egg whites were set.

Before serving, I sprinkled the shakshuka with chopped chives 🙂

Getting the eggs right

Set white, runny yolk is the whole target, and the way to hit it is to control two things: the heat and the lid. Make a shallow well in the sauce for each egg with the back of a spoon and slide it in from a cup rather than cracking it straight into the pan, so the white stays where you put it.

Then the lid goes on and the heat goes down. A lid traps steam that cooks the top of the white without cooking the yolk from below, which is exactly what you want; an open pan on high heat sets the bottom and leaves the top raw. Four to six minutes is usually enough, and the reliable test is a gentle shake: the white should no longer ripple while the yolks still wobble.

The sauce, and why three minutes matter

Those three minutes before the eggs go in are not a formality. They are what takes the raw edge off the tinned tomatoes and what gives the dried tomatoes time to soften and release their flavour into the sauce. Start the eggs too early and the dish tastes of tin.

The sauce should be thick enough to hold the wells you make in it. If it looks loose, let it reduce for another minute or two before the eggs go in, because once they are in you cannot boil the sauce down without overcooking them.

Swaps and serving

The cured ham can be bacon, chorizo or nothing at all: the dish works vegetarian, and the dried tomatoes carry enough savouriness on their own. Cayenne is what makes this version warm rather than mild, so add it gradually if you are cooking for children.

Serve it straight from the pan with bread for the sauce, and eat it at once. Shakshuka does not wait: the yolks keep setting in a hot pan even off the heat, so the difference between right and overdone is about two minutes. If you would rather have breakfasts like this one planned into the week with a shopping list, that is what the Diet & Training by Ann app does.

Anna Lewandowska

Shakshuka with sun-dried tomatoes and ham

Onion and garlic fried in coconut oil with cured ham, sun-dried tomatoes and tomatoes in sauce, with two eggs poached in the sauce under a lid.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Servings: 1 serving

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Calories: 380

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1/2 teaspoon extra virgin coconut oil
• 1/2 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 slices cured ham
• 4 dried tomatoes
• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes in sauce
• salt
• cayenne pepper
• oregano
• 2 eggs
• chives

Method

 

1. Fry the diced onion and the pressed garlic in the coconut oil.
   
2. Cut the ham and the dried tomatoes into strips.
   
3. Add the dried tomatoes, ham, spices and diced tomatoes in sauce to the pan.
   
4. Stir and simmer for about 3 minutes, until the sauce is thick enough to hold a well.
   
5. Make a well for each egg with the back of a spoon and slide the eggs in.
   
6. Cover the pan, lower the heat and cook until the whites are set and the yolks still wobble, about 4 to 6 minutes.
   
7. Sprinkle with chopped chives and serve straight from the pan.
   

Notes

Ingredient quantities are taken from the recipe box as published. Calories are approximate.

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