Midwestern Shaksuka

 

I enjoy reading about food from all over. I even read The Food Journal of Lewis and Clark: Recipes for an Expedition, by Mary Gunderson. In reading The Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis, I grew intrigued by Abigail Adams (not so much John). I just got the cookbook The Culinary Lives of John & Abigail Adams by Rosana Y. Wan from the library.

Somewhere along the line I had read about the Middle Eastern egg dish shaksuka and always wanted to try it. A basic recipe had eggs nestled in a sauce of tomatoes and spices topped with feta. I added chickpeas, zucchini and fresh spinach and dubbed it Midwestern Shaksuka.

We loved every bite and scooped it up with naan because I always have some in the freezer. Pita would work just as well.

I’ve been making this dish for several years, but now we have to change our diet to accommodate pre-diabetes diagnoses. Following is my original recipe. To cut carbs this time, I stuck to one large can of tomatoes, canned the chickpeas (pun intended), and added a second pepper and zucchini. I ended up thinning the sauce a little with about a half-cup of water.

It was still tasty, and the changes allowed for us to share a bit of naan. I missed the chickpeas, my favorite bean, but you do what you have to do. If you don’t have to worry about carbs, make the recipe as I describe below.

Pictured is the revised version; I forgot the spinach till the end and forgot the feta completely. (Don’t do that; it adds a lot of flavor.)

 

Midwestern Shaksuka

1 to 2 tbsp. olive oil (as needed/desired)

1 medium to large onion (I use sweet), diced

1 sweet bell peppers, diced

1 medium zucchini, halved lengthways and thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

Up to 1 tbsp. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1 5-oz. bag washed, fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped, or kept in whole leaves

1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes plus juice

1 6-oz. can tomato paste

1 can chickpeas, drained

6 to 8 large eggs

 

Preheat oven to 350. Heat olive oil in large oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion and pepper 5 to 10 minutes, till onion is nearly translucent. Stir in zucchini and cook 5 minutes. Add garlic and seasonings and cook, stirring, another minute.

Stir in spinach, tomatoes, tomato paste and chickpeas and simmer 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Crack a large egg into a large spoon or ladle and create a well on the surface of the sauce, sliding egg into well. Repeat for each egg, spacing as evenly apart as you can. Sprinkle feta over all.

Put lid on pan and place in oven (if you don’t have a lid that fits, don’t fret. It will just take a tad longer). Bake about 15 minutes and check eggs for desired doneness. Bake longer if needed, remembering the eggs will continue to cook a bit after you remove the pan from the oven.

Serve with the bread for scooping and/or wiping your bowl clean.