A smoky baked casserole of roasted eggplant, tomatoes and chile, topped with baked eggs and fresh herbs.
This casserole draws on two real pillars of Israeli home cooking: shakshuka, eggs poached in a spiced tomato sauce, and the deep Israeli tradition of roasting eggplant until smoky and collapsed, as in the classic dip. Combining them into a baked casserole rather than a stovetop skillet dish lets the eggplant roast separately until genuinely caramelized before it joins the tomato-chile sauce, giving the finished bake more depth than a quick-simmered shakshuka. Roasting the eggplant cubes at high heat until deeply browned, rather than boiling or steaming them, is the step that prevents the casserole from turning watery and bland — eggplant holds a lot of moisture, and dry-roasting drives much of it off while concentrating flavor. That roasted eggplant folds into a chile-spiked tomato sauce built the same way as a classic shakshuka base, with cumin, smoked paprika and a chopped fresh chile for real heat. Eggs are cracked directly into wells in the sauce and baked just until the whites are set but the yolks stay soft, finished with fresh herbs and a scatter of crumbled feta.
Serves 4
Toss eggplant cubes with 2 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast at 220C (425F) for 25 minutes, flipping halfway, until deeply browned and tender.
Meanwhile, heat remaining olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and bell pepper 7 minutes until soft, then add garlic and chile and cook 1 minute.
Stir in cumin and smoked paprika, cook 30 seconds, then add crushed tomatoes and salt. Simmer 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
Stir the roasted eggplant into the tomato sauce, combining well.
Make 6 wells in the sauce with a spoon and crack an egg into each. Transfer to a 190C (375F) oven and bake 10-12 minutes until the whites are set but yolks are still soft.
Scatter with crumbled feta and fresh herbs, and serve straight from the skillet with crusty bread.
Roast the eggplant separately at high heat rather than adding it raw to the sauce — this prevents the casserole from turning watery.
Remove the chile seeds if you want a milder heat; leave them in for a spicier finish.
Check the eggs at 10 minutes and pull them from the oven as soon as the whites set, since they continue cooking slightly from residual heat.
Extra vegetables: add zucchini cubes alongside the eggplant for a more substantial bake.
Dairy-free: skip the feta and finish with a drizzle of tahini sauce instead.
Spicier version: use two fresh chiles or add a pinch of cayenne to the tomato sauce for more heat.
Best eaten fresh since baked eggs don't reheat well. If needed, refrigerate the eggplant-tomato base without the eggs up to 3 days, then reheat and add fresh eggs before baking.
Shakshuka, eggs poached in a spiced tomato and pepper sauce, has become one of Israel's most iconic breakfast dishes, with roots tracing to North African Jewish communities, particularly Tunisian and Libyan immigrants, who brought the dish with them. Roasted, smoky eggplant is an equally deep-rooted staple of Israeli cooking, most famous in the dip known across the region, and combining the two reflects how Israeli home cooks freely mix established dishes.
Yes — build the sauce in any pot on the stovetop, then transfer it to a baking dish before adding the eggs and finishing in the oven.
This usually happens when eggplant is added raw to a wet sauce instead of roasted separately first. Roasting it dry at high heat drives off excess moisture and browns it properly.
The whites should look fully opaque and set while the yolks still jiggle slightly when the pan is gently shaken — they'll continue to firm up a little after coming out of the oven.
Per serving (320g / 11.3 oz) · 4 servings total
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