Shakshouka For Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner

There are as many ways to spell this dish as there are countries that take credit for its origin. I am sticking with the Irish spelling. It is one country that does not claim to have invented it!

Historically, Shakshouka has roots to North Africa, which covers a large piece of geography. The word Shakshouka translates to, "all mixed up" and it is! A perfect recipe for using ingredients you likely have on hand - or - can easily substitute.

There are three ingredients that are the stars: eggs, tomatoes, and spices! I offer a general recipe below, as well as possible substitutes. Be creative, courageous, and glow in the kudos from your grateful consumers.

Despite the ideal of serving this dish with soft eggs, if you have left overs just reheat on the stove (not the microwave) and the eggs will be transformed to hard and just as delicious.


Irish Shakshouka

Ingredients: Serving of 2 people @ 2 eggs each for a total of 4 eggs, takes 20 minutes only.

In a skillet, non-stick shown here, heat up the spices. Just until warm to wake them up. If they smoke that's too much. Just remove pan from stove to reduce the heat quickly.

1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika

Add:

1 Tablespoon cannola or a clear oil
1 Tablespoon dried onion or 1/2 small chopped onion
1/2 chopped green pepper
1/2 chopped red pepper (if you have or double green)
Bring to rolling bubble until peppers soften about 3 minutes

Add:
1 clove chopped garlic (adding it too soon causes overcooking and bitterness)

Cook until you smell the garlic 1 minute or less.

Add:
One 14 ounce can tomato sauce, or chopped tomatoes, or tomato with chiles. This is whatever you have on hand. I used the Hunts below, but use only 1/2 can. Bring ingredients to bubble and cook 5 minutes.

Add:

4 eggs one at a time by breaking into a bowl 1 by 1 and place in a dent in the sauce you will make with a spatula. Lower the heat slightly and cover the frying pan with a lid. Let the eggs steam for 6 minutes you want them to be soft with juice ideally. Remove from heat.

To Serve top with:
Pieces of feta, or goat cheese, or pieces of cream cheese. Add fresh herbs if you have them parsley,
basil, or anything green. Serve with toasted garlic bread or crusty Italian bread. I buy mine at Dollar Tree - 6 for $1 for Texas Toast in the frozen section.

Can you tell the cream cheese blobs from the goat cheese? Me Neither!

Tomatoes 14 oz. whatever you have on hand. Spice up if needed. I used the Hunts. 

Toast spices in dry pan to wake them up!

Add oil and dried onion.

Chopped peppers red and green or whatever you have.

Goat cheese may not be in your fridge - cream cheese chunks worked fine!

Make hole in sauce for each egg you drop in from a bowl to avoid shells.

Where did the eggs go?! Leftover sauce for squirrelly.

There's Nothing Like Gnocchi. . . Swimming in Sauce

While we join our world neighbors in hunkering down in our homes, let's look at how we can make a delicious meal using only a few ingredients on hand. This recipe uses a few potatoes, a little flour, one egg, and a jar of tomato sauce.

In Tuscany, the word gnocchi translates to knuckle. I am told the word translates in southern Italy to something more derogatory (perhaps knuckle head?). Either way, these little knuckles of pasta will elevate a traditional pasta meal to a magical event. And. . . your kids can help shape them if they are Play Doh masters!

On the other "hand," the same recipe below for gnocchi can be prepared and added to a skillet of smoked sausage, onion, and sweetened sauerkraut to become a perfect Bavarian comfort food feast. This is a versatile potato pasta that is very easy to make, and it can be used in any recipe that calls for dumplings by providing a mouthful of comfort that we all can appreciate.

As usual, please read the entire recipe first. I bought my family and friends a digital scale for Christmas, so I am providing approximate weights of potatoes and flour. Weighing is useful in cooking!!

Ingredients: (makes 2 meal servings or 4 side dish servings)

3 white potatoes cooked unpeeled about 3-4 inches in size ~14 ounces by weight (peel after cooking)
1 cup all purpose flour ~ 4 ounces
1 egg mixed in bowl before adding to mixture
1 tsp salt
small pot with lid for boiling potatoes
pot of boiling salted water for cooking gnocchi


Method:

Place 3 whole potates in a small pot with lid covered in water. Boil them about 40 minutes until soft. Remove from water and while holding each one in a dish towel, peel off the skin. You want the potatoes to remain as dry as possible so do not run under water to peel.

Chop the potatoes using the bench scraper. Add flour to potatoes to cool off and then add the egg and salt. This will create a nice mound to knead. Divide into 2 mounds. Take pieces of each mound and roll into snakes either in your hands or on work surface. Remember play doh? Same idea.

Once you have a nice width of a snake as shown, take the bench scraper again and cut into one inch "knuckles" to form a row of gnocchi. That's it! Let them sit before boiling at least 10 minutes. Just like making pancakes, the flour needs some time to absorb the liquid in the dough. Sitting is important it incorporates the tastes of the ingredients.

Place the rested gnocchi in a pot of boiling water - about 20 at a time - don't crowd. This will take 2-3 minutes only. Once they begin to float, remove with a slotted spoon. Repeat in the same boiling water until done. You can store these in the refridgerator for future use once they are boiled. You can freeze once cooled in fridge, just separate them so they don't stick together like a blob!

Shown swimming below in a jar of Bertolli Vodka Sauce. YUM!

Use 3 medium potatoes about 3-4 inches in size as shown. With peels my 3 weighed 14 ounces.

One cup flour weighs 4 ounces.

A few ingredients: salt, flour, egg, boiled potatoes.

Knead into a ball and cut in half.

Roll into a snake and cut into 1 inch knuckles. Let sit 10 minutes.

Place raw gnocchi in pot of boiling salted water. Remove when they float in pot .