Smoky Shakshuka with Feta
Inspired by techniques from Yotam Ottolenghi and NYT Cooking.
Peppers and onion melt into a smoky paprika-spiced tomato sauce, topped with eggs poached right in the pan and finished with crumbled feta.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Soften onion and pepper. Heat the oil in the 28 cm deep pan over medium heat, then add the onion and peppers with a pinch of the salt. Cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring often, until very soft and starting to turn sweet and faintly golden at the edges — that slow cooking is what turns the pepper's raw sharpness into sweetness.
- 2
Bloom the spices. Stir in the garlic, cumin, paprika and chilli flakes and cook for 1 minute. The gentle heat releases the spices' fat-soluble aromas straight into the oil, but watch the paprika closely, as it turns bitter if it catches and burns.
- 3
Simmer the sauce. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 1 minute, then add the chopped tomatoes with the remaining salt and the pepper. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick enough that a spoon dragged through leaves a clear trail for a second or two — too thin a sauce and the eggs will sink and spread into watery whites.
- 4
Add the eggs. Use the back of a spoon to make 6 hollows in the sauce. Crack each egg into a ramekin or small bowl first to check for shell or a broken yolk, then slide it gently into a well, seasoning the eggs with a little pepper.
- 5
Cook covered. Cover the pan and cook over low heat for 6-9 minutes, until the whites are fully set and opaque with no clear jelly left around the yolks, while the yolks still jiggle softly. The lid traps steam that cooks the tops of the whites evenly. For firmer yolks — recommended for pregnant people, young children, older people or anyone more vulnerable to foodborne illness — cook for a further 3-4 minutes until the yolks are fully set and reach 71°C.
- 6
Top and serve. Scatter the crumbled feta and chopped herbs over the top and bring the pan straight to the table with warm bread for scooping.
Storage
The tomato sauce keeps well on its own for up to 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. Once the eggs are cooked in, shakshuka doesn't reheat well, so it's best eaten freshly made. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
Why this label?
19.9 g protein for 387 kcal = 5.1 g per 100 kcal, so protein gives about 21% of the energy. High Protein needs at least 20% (5 g per 100 kcal), the condition in the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
EU nutrition claims
- Low sugars: 4.1 g sugars per 100 g (limit ≤ 5 g)
- Source of fibre: 2.4 g fibre per 100 kcal (needs ≥ 1.5 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 361 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
0 g per serving
0 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 0 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- deep frying pan or sauté pan with a lid (28 cm)
- wooden spoon
- ramekin or small bowl
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 387 kcal |
| Protein | 19.9 g |
| Carbohydrate | 25.1 g |
| of which sugars | 14.7 g |
| of which free sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 24.2 g |
| of which saturates | 7.6 g |
| Fibre | 9.2 g |
| Salt | 2.58 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
5.1 g meets High Protein (≥ 5 g, 20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
