Weekend Recipe: Fast traditional shakshuka from The Palomar

Serves 4

For this traditional take you are allowed to cheat a bit and use our Matbucha recipe with a little more liquid and herbs, or the Chraymeh sauce recipe.

* 1 recipe of Matbucha (see below) or Chraymeh sauce (use as is if you already have some in your fridge, but if preparing fresh, cook over a high heat in half the time — the shakshuka won’t mind!)
* 250–500ml (9–18fl oz) water
* salt, to taste
* 8 eggs (I serve 2 eggs per person, but you can go for more or fewer)
* pepper, to taste
* handful of chopped parsley, to garnish

1. Heat your chosen sauce in a large, wide, shallow pan, stirring in the water — you need to start with a loose sauce, as some of the liquid will evaporate during the cooking.

2. Season to taste with salt, then break the eggs into the sauce, one by one, making sure that you keep the yolks whole. Drag the egg whites a bit with a fork to allow them to mix slightly with the sauce. This will ensure that the flavour is spread evenly through your shakshuka.

3. Simmer over a very low heat for 10–15 minutes until the egg whites set nicely but the yolks are still runny. I always go for a runny yolk — nothing beats that buttery sensation in your mouth — but I know some people like their yolks cooked through, so if you belong to that school, simply cover the pan during the cooking process.

4. Season the yolks with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the chopped parsley, make sure the bread is not too far away and dig in! I like to eat this straight from the pan and therefore wait for everybody to take theirs so that I can be last and keep the best bits to myself. Try it and you’ll see exactly what I mean, but just keep this information to yourself or you’ll need to fight for it. Been there, done that.

Matbucha

Makes 1 litre (1 ¾ pints)

One of the biggest stars of Friday night dinner in my house is definitely the Matbucha. My mama makes this tomato and pepper mezze especially for Friday, and by 5pm (after 2–3 hours of cooking) the whole house is filled with an intoxicating peppery-garlicky smell. I wait until my mama is off -guard and sneak a preview with a piece of Challah. She uses fresh tomatoes, but in this recipe I’ve swapped them for canned. It works just as well and saves an hour of cooking.

* 5 tbsp rapeseed oil
* 3 red peppers, cored, deseeded and cut into 2cm ( ¾ -inch) square pieces
* 3 Romano peppers (the pointy red ones — if you can’t find them, you can use an additional 3 regular ones), cored, deseeded and cut into 2cm ( ¾ -inch) square pieces
* salt
* 1–2 red chillies, finely chopped (depending on how hot you like it)
* 3–4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
* ½ tsp toasted and ground cumin seeds
* 400g (14oz) can good-quality chopped tomatoes, strained
* 1 tsp sweet paprika
* Challah, to serve

1. The secret of success for this mezze is to keep it on a gentle simmer. Heat a large frying pan (the heavier the better) over a medium-low heat. Add the oil, peppers and a pinch of salt, and let them sweat until they collapse. This should take about 35–40 minutes.

2. Add the chillies and cook for 10 minutes, then add the garlic and cumin and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. At this point your kitchen should be filled with a garlicky aroma, but we’re not there yet, so don’t dip your Challah! Add the tomatoes and gently simmer for about 30 minutes. The colour should become darker and the aroma more intense.

3. This is the time to add the paprika and salt to taste. Simmer for another 10 minutes and adjust the seasoning if necessary. This is a great base for many of the recipes to follow. You can eat it hot or cold, and it will keep in the fridge, in a sterilised airtight container, for up to a week.

Recipe taken from The Palomar Cookbook, available here