Algerian Chekchouka

About This Recipe

Chekchouka is Algeria's version of the pan-Mediterranean egg and pepper stew, with a distinctly Algerian character: fleshy red and green peppers slow-cooked with tomatoes, garlic, and merguez sausage until the sauce is thick and almost jammy, then eggs are poached on top. It's eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and is one of Algeria's most comforting everyday dishes.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4 largered bell peppers, sliced
• 2 largegreen bell peppers, sliced
• 4 mediumtomatoes, chopped
• 4 piecesmerguez sausage, sliced
• 1 largeonion, sliced
• 4 clovesgarlic, minced
• 4 tbspolive oil
• 1 tspcumin
• 1/2 tsppaprika
• 1/2 tspharissa
• 1 tspsalt
• 4 largeeggs

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the peppers

   Heat olive oil in a wide pan. Add onion and cook until soft. Add all peppers and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes until very soft and starting to caramelize.

2. 2

   Add tomatoes and merguez

   Add tomatoes, garlic, merguez, cumin, paprika, harissa, and salt. Cook for 15 minutes until tomatoes break down and the sauce is thick.

3. 3

   Add eggs

   Make 4 wells in the sauce. Crack an egg into each well.

4. 4

   Cook the eggs

   Cover and cook on low heat for 5–8 minutes until whites are set and yolks are to your liking.

5. 5

   Serve

   Serve from the pan with crusty bread.

Variations

• •

  Make vegetarian without merguez

• •

  Add chickpeas for protein

• •

  Serve with flatbread for scooping

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days. Add eggs fresh each time.

Frequently Asked Questions