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Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Shakshuka

December 22, 2019 by Mary 4 Comments

Shakshuka in a white serving bowl.
Shakshuka!

Shakshuka. The name is a bit of a tongue twister, but do learn to say it and make it! This shakshuka recipe is so good, you’ll find yourself making it again and again. It is relatively easy and a perfect brunch dish – or even dinner on a busy weeknight. Paired with a good piece of toasted bread, preferably sourdough, along with some good country sausage, and you’re all set!

Shakshuka hails from North Africa, and traveled all along the middle East, now has become ever so hip and popular here.

Perfect for holiday brunches

With the holidays upon us, I thought you would enjoy this recipe especially for those of us welcoming houseguests and relatives. I’ve made this several times for “sleepovers” and here’s just a few of the comments – “thank you Mary for a most memorable brunch” – from a hard-to-please big brother, and then there was, “Gee I feel like I’m at an expensive Bed and Breakfast!” from new friends, and “delicious brunch spread” from a sister-in-law.

So please enjoy and feel free to alter ingredients – the kinds of peppers and cheeses – for example. Do use only the real San Marzano tomatoes, making sure your can says “D.O.P.” to insure they are genuine. You can use regular paprika but I prefer the sweet smoked kind from Spain. My husband never like smoky things, except for salmon and whitefish, so now at least I can use it with abandon, although I’d rather have him around. 🙁

Shakshuka in skillet with raw eggs.
Shakshuka in skillet with raw eggs
Shakshuka in skillet with cooked eggs.
Shakshuka in skillet with cooked eggs.

SHAKSHUKA – serves 3 – 4

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 medium onion, thinly sliced (use a hand mandoline)
1 large green pepper, stems, seeds, and ribs removed, thinly sliced
2/3 of one fresh small jalapeño chili including seeds and ribs, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons sweet smoked Spanish paprika
2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
1 28-ounce can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by squeezing with your hands
3 – 4 oz. feta cheese, cubed in ¼” pieces or crumbled
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Large handful of chopped cilantro or parsley, or a mix
6 – 8 eggs
Crusty bread, for serving, preferably sourdough, toasted
Country sausage for serving – optional

The process

Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet or straight-sided sauté pan over medium high heat until shimmering.

Add onion, green pepper, and jalapeño chili and spread into an even layer. Cook, without moving, until vegetables on the bottom are deeply browned and beginning to char in spots, about 6 minutes. Flip vegetables and continue to cook until vegetables are fully softened and spottily charred, about another 4 minutes.

Add garlic and cook, stirring, until softened and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add paprika and cumin seeds and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Immediately add tomatoes and stir to combine. Reduce heat to a bare simmer and simmer for 10 minutes, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Remember the feta is salty, so do not add too much salt.

Add the feta now and some of the parsley and/or cilantro, saving enough to garnish finished servings. Stir all to combine nicely.

Using a large spoon, make a well near the perimeter of the pan and break an egg directly into it. Spoon a little sauce over edges of egg white to partially submerge and contain it, leaving yolk exposed. Repeat with remaining 5 – 7 eggs, working around pan and into the middle as you go.

Cover, and reduce heat to lowest setting, and cook until egg whites are barely set and yolks are still runny, 6 to 8 minutes.

Serve 2 eggs with sauce in large shallow bowls as shown.

Shakshuka serving with sausage and bread.
Shakshuka serving with sausage and bread

Garnish with cilantro or parsley. Serve immediately with crusty bread and LOVE. A side of sausage is lovely to go along with this. And have your serving bottle of EVOO on the table for those who want a little more oil. Be prepared for silence and ummm’s.

Enjoy!! And Happy Holidays!

Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Dinner, Vegetables Tagged With: brunch, eggs, feta cheese, Mediterranean Food, Shakshuka, tomatoes, weeknight dinner

Super Quick Sausage, Potato & Arugula Recipe

February 21, 2017 by Mary 20 Comments

Super Quick Sausage, Potato & Arugula Recipe-close up shot on a blue French platter.We are on total overload moving our offices to be virtual. That translates into getting rid of 38 years worth of sample work, documents, furniture, books and everything, by the end of February. So time is of the essence to me these days and this Super Quick Sausage, Potato & Arugula Recipe has been a real lifesaver for us. It’s speedy to make, beautiful to serve and delicious!

Why this is great! It’s always great to use sausage in a dish as a real time saver because if you can buy really good homemade, all natural Italian sausage, it is already full of herbs, spices and flavor. You could even mix hot and sweet sausage, but in this recipe, I do prefer all sweet. The three different kinds of potatoes add interest in flavor and texture and of course I always love arugula. But try to get the real thing here – the bunches of big leaf arugula – as opposed to the clamshell packages of baby arugula that, to me, really don’t have any flavor any more. I want the real thing, with the spicy bite!

I first made this in January, on the day we had to take Zach to the airport for his flight back to Warsaw. Of course, in my usual bad style, I arrived home late and had planned to make this dish. But it came together so quickly, it didn’t matter that I was late. We still ate in plenty of time and got him to the airport early.

The original recipe was in Food and Wine magazine, but I have changed it, adding a bit more meat and less potatoes. I have also made it exactly like the magazine recipe but I prefer it my way.

SUPER QUICK SAUSAGE, POTATO & ARUGULA RECIPE – serves 4

1 large red potato, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch wedges
1 large baking potato, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
10 medium unpeeled shallots, halved
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
French Grey or Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 3/4 pounds sweet Italian sausage, cut into 3-inch lengths
One 8-ounce bunch of arugula, stemmed and chopped
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 425°. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss all of the potatoes with the shallots and the 1/3 cup of olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are lightly browned.

Brush the sausage with olive oil and add to the baking sheet. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes longer, until the potatoes are tender and the sausage is cooked through.

Line a large platter with the arugula. Transfer everything on the baking sheet on top of the arugula. Sprinkle lemon juice over all evenly. Serve with LOVE.Super Quick Sausage, Potato & Arugula Recipe on a French blue platter.

Filed Under: Dinner, Meat Tagged With: easy weeknight dinner, one pan meals, quick meals, Super Quick Sausage Potato & Arugula Recipe, weeknight dinner

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Mary Frances

Mary Frances

Spread love through cooking.

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