Quick Spinach and Olive Shakshouka

Shakshouka is a wonderful North African dish and today we will make a far lesser imitation that uses common ingredients that we have at home. I encourage you to learn more about the authentic dish and the amazing food cultures of Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria!

This version requires very little prep work and time, and is a perfect go to for a nice weekend breakfast or quick workday lunch. It's also easy to modify to make meaty, cheesy or vegan version based on the same sauce and preparation.

A frying pan

We want to use a frying pan as small as possible to give some depth to the sauce, allowing the eggs to form thick discs inside it as they cook. You would likely want a cover as well, so a small sauce pan would work for this list of ingredients as well.

Ingredients

(serves 1, around 400 calories)

1. 2x large eggs
2. 1x can diced fire roasted tomatoes
3. 1x tbsp olive oil
4. 1x small shallot or a handful of chopped onion
5. handfuls of olives and baby spinach
6. smoked paprika, black pepper, salt
7. dry or fresh herbs: oregano, thyme and savory depicted here

Chop the onions into strips - they can be thick and chunky or thinner. Fry them on a low heat until they turn golden and transparent.

Add a can of diced tomatoes, bring it to a boil and then lower the heat to bring it to a slow bubble. Add olives and herbs and cook for about 5-6 minutes. Add the spinach and cook for one more minute. Keep the cover partially on to prevent a huge red mess in your kitchen!

Add the eggs on top of the mix and cover. With the cover fully on it'll bubble and increase the temperature inside the skillet or pot, cooking the eggs on all sides. You can gently tap a fork on top to see how cooked they are, and stop at the desired level.

You did it, it's lunch time!

Bread, pita, tortilla chips, you're going to need something to wipe that sauce from your plate.

The most common variation I know uses thick strips of yellow onion and green bell pepper, and fresh tomatoes diced in medium cubes, with cilantro and sometimes harissa.

A few more ideas that might fit your palette:

1. Substitute egg with marinated tofu or veggie sausage for a vegan version.
2. Add goat cheese or cheddar cheese on top.
3. Use chard or kale.
4. Use a less chunky tomato sauce to make it more appealing to the young.

That's it, hope you make it and let me know how it went!