Chakchouka
 

No, no, I don't need a tissue - chakchouka isn't a sneeze, it's a delicious, easy, and healthy vegetarian (not vegan) middle-eastern dish. I made one for dinner tonight and I thought I'd share it with all of you. I'd make it more often if my partner liked it as much as I do.

Heat 2 cloves of garlic (thinly sliced) and 1 onion (sliced) in some olive oil - I used 2 tbsp, you can use less or more as your calories and preferences allow. I also add a couple of thinly sliced small hot chili peppers - you can leave these out if you prefer. Saute until the onions and garlic just start to brown.

Add in 2 sliced bell peppers - I usually use one red and one green, but whatever you prefer or have on hand is fine. Cook until they are just starting to soften.

Add 1 large can of diced tomatoes. In the summer I use 3-4 fresh tomatoes instead, thinly sliced. Also add: 1 tsp of ground cumin, 1/2 tsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp sweet paprika, 1/2 tsp cayenne (leave this out if you don't like the heat), and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Simmer for a few minutes to get the tomatoes soft.

Crack 4 eggs on top of the mixture, around the edge of the pan. Cover the pan and simmer until the eggs are cooked through - you can leave the yolks soft if you like, that's delicious.

That's it - just spoon it out into plates or shallow bowls. Delicious! It makes 2 HUGE servings or 4 more modest servings, depending upon how much you like to eat and what your calorie allowance is.

If you Google "chakchouka" you will find dozens of recipes with lots of variations - and pictures showing how lovely this is. It's a traditional simple dish eaten all over the middle east, often for breakfast - but it's also a staple dinner for bachelors who have to cook for themselves. (Poor b*st*rds :p)

Enjoy!

Sounds delish! It's rare when I have all the ingredients for a recipes. Thanks for sharing

This is pretty hilarious. I had a ton of veggies in my fridge (spring onion, carrot, bell pepper, cucumber) so I just diced them all and put them in a tiny bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. I figured I"d toss this mix over some cabbage or lettuce, then thought how good a slightly undercooked egg would taste over them. Happen to be on 3FC and see this, which is pretty darn close to what I was imagining. Thanks for sharing :)

my mom used to make something similar with leftover tomato sauce and veggies for a weekend breakfast. we're not middle eastern, but our part of the world has had a bit of middle eastern influence :)

its soooo comforting. i think i'll make some tomorrow!

I am going to try this tonight.
Thanks for the post!

Glad you folks liked the post!

One of the things I love about this dish is that I can make it from pantry staples. I always have onions, canned tomatoes and all the spices on hand, and I often have eggs. Peppers keep pretty well so even if I don't buy them every week it's pretty common for me to have a couple on hand.

Indiblue, you're making me think about trying it with vegetables other than peppers! I'll remember you this summer when my CSA leaves me up to my ears with veggies I have no idea what to do with ...

This sounds delicious and awfully useful. I always have eggs and various vegetables and sometimes not much else (hate the grocery store, left to own devices would eat toast and Splenda packets for two days to avoid shopping more than once a week. Apparently this is not a healthy diet for children). I'll be trying this out tonight.

I'm glad I saw this. I had a fresh orange pepper and an open jar of roasted red peppers so I used both of those. I almost used Ro-tel tomatoes (spicy diced tomatoes & green chiles) but decided to just try the recipe first before I started messing with it. SOOOOOOO GOOD!! I took half the veggies out and poached 2 eggs since it was just me eating. Today I added more tomatoes to the other half and served it with pasta.

:thanks: for posting this!

I was looking for ideas, thanks for this recipe...will try it soon!