Tunisian Shakshuka

About This Recipe

Shakshuka was born in North Africa long before it became Tel Aviv's brunch icon — and the Tunisian version is the spiciest, most pepper-forward original. Sweet roasted red peppers and ripe tomatoes simmer down with onion, garlic, cumin, caraway, and a generous spoon of harissa until thick and brick-red, then six eggs are cracked into wells and gently poached so the whites set and the yolks stay liquid. Served straight from the pan with hunks of crusty bread, it's communal, fast, infinitely adjustable, and equally good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The Tunisian touch — caraway, the bite of harissa, and finishing with preserved lemon or tuna — is what sets it apart from its many regional siblings.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 3 tbspolive oil
• 1 largeyellow onion, finely diced
• 2red bell peppers, diced
• 1long green chili, finely chopped (optional)
• 4 clovesgarlic, minced
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 1.5 tbspharissa paste (more to taste)
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspcaraway seeds, lightly crushed
• 1 tspsweet paprika
• 1 can (400 g)good-quality whole peeled tomatoes, hand-crushed
• 200 mlwater
• 1 tspfine salt
• 1 tspsugar (if tomatoes are sharp)
• 6 largeeggs
• 1/2 wedgepreserved lemon, rind only, finely chopped (optional)
• 100 gtinned tuna in oil, drained (optional, very Tunisian)
• 1 small bunchfresh cilantro and parsley, chopped
• crusty bread to serve

Instructions

1. 1

   Bloom the base

   Heat olive oil in a wide, oven-safe skillet (cast-iron or heavy steel) over medium. Add onion and a pinch of salt. Cook 8 minutes, stirring, until soft and translucent.

2. 2

   Add peppers

   Stir in red peppers and green chili. Cook 10 minutes until peppers have softened and started to lightly caramelize at the edges.

3. 3

   Spices and pastes

   Add garlic, tomato paste, harissa, cumin, caraway, and paprika. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until everything smells deeply fragrant and the tomato paste has darkened a shade.

4. 4

   Build the sauce

   Pour in the crushed tomatoes and water. Stir in salt and sugar. Bring to a brisk simmer.

5. 5

   Reduce

   Simmer briskly for 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick enough that a spoon dragged through the pan leaves a clean trail for a couple of seconds.

6. 6

   Taste and finish base

   Taste — adjust salt, sugar, and harissa. Stir in preserved lemon and tuna if using; this is the very Tunisian move.

7. 7

   Make wells and crack eggs

   Use the back of a spoon to make six small wells in the sauce. Crack an egg into each. Season the yolks with a pinch of salt.

8. 8

   Cover and poach

   Lower the heat to medium-low and cover the pan loosely with a lid or foil. Cook 6–9 minutes, peeking once, until the whites are set but the yolks are still bright and liquid. (Alternatively, slide the uncovered pan into a 220°C oven for 5–7 minutes.)

9. 9

   Garnish and serve

   Scatter cilantro and parsley over the top. Bring the pan to the center of the table. Eat scooping eggs and sauce together with torn warm bread.

Variations

• •

  Add merguez sausage browned in the pan before the onion for a meaty version.

• •

  Top with crumbled feta or salty fresh cheese just before serving.

• •

  Israeli-style: skip the tuna and preserved lemon, double the eggs, add fresh chopped tomato at the end.

Storage

Make the sauce ahead and refrigerate up to 4 days. Reheat and crack fresh eggs in just before serving. Cooked shakshuka with eggs doesn't reheat well — the yolks overcook.

Frequently Asked Questions