Shakshuka With Feta

Shakshuka may be at the apex of eggs-for-dinner recipes, though in Israel it is breakfast food, a bright, spicy start to the day with a pile of pita or challah served on the side. (It also makes excellent brunch or lunch food.) It’s a one-skillet recipe of eggs baked in a tomato-red pepper sauce spiced with cumin, paprika and cayenne. First you make that sauce, which comes together fairly quickly on top of the stove, then you gently crack each of the eggs into the pan, nestling them into the sauce. The pan is moved into the oven to finish. Shakshuka originated in North Africa, and like many great dishes there are as many versions as there are cooks who have embraced it. This one strays from more traditional renditions by adding crumbled feta cheese, which softens into creamy nuggets in the oven’s heat.

Ingredients

• extra-virgin olive oil - 3 tablespoons
• onion - 1 (large, halved and thinly sliced)
• green bell pepper - 1 (large, seeded and thinly sliced)
• garlic - 3 cloves (thinly sliced)
• ground cumin - 1 teaspoon
• sweet paprika - 1 teaspoon
• ground cayenne - 0.125 teaspoon (or to taste)
• whole plum tomatoes - 1 can ((28-ounce) with their juices, coarsely chopped)
• kosher salt - 0.75 teaspoon (plus more as needed)
• black pepper - 0.25 teaspoon (plus more as needed)
• feta - 125 gs (crumbled (about 1 1/4 cups))
• egg - 6 (large)
• cilantro - (Chopped, for serving)
• Hot sauce - (for serving)

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 190 °C. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook gently until very soft, about 20 minutes. Add garlic and cook until tender, 1 to 2 minutes; stir in cumin, paprika and cayenne, and cook 1 minute. Pour in tomatoes and season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; simmer until tomatoes have thickened, about 10 minutes. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Stir in crumbled feta.
2. Gently crack eggs into skillet over tomatoes. Season eggs with salt and pepper. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until eggs are just set, 7 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with hot sauce.