30 Minute Shakshuka (Moroccan Style) | Salima's Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

What is shakshuka called in Morocco? ›

Etymology. The word shakshouka (Arabic: شكشوكة) is a Maghrebi Arabic term for "a mixture". According to Mary Fitzgerald, the word is allegedly believed to come from the Berber languages, although most sources agree on the term's Arabic origin. In Morocco, it is referred to as bīḍ w-maṭiša (بيض ومطيشة "egg and tomato").

Shakshuka is a simple dish made of gently poached eggs in a delicious chunky tomato and bell pepper sauce. Said to have originated in Tunisia, this breakfast recipe is popular in many parts of North Africa and the Middle East. It is so satisfying, you can serve it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the eggs. Carefully transfer the skillet to the oven (it's heavy) and bake for 8 to 12 minutes, checking often once you reach 8 minutes. They're done when the egg whites are an opaque white and the yolks have risen a bit but are still soft.

Then return the skillet to a gentle simmer at medium-low heat. Spoon some of the sauce over the whites. After breaking the eggs into the sauce, gently spoon some of the sauce over just the whites. This helps the whites cook faster so they set before the yolks overcook.

shakshouka, a Maghrebi (North African) dish, popular throughout the region, featuring poached eggs in a spicy tomato sauce, seasoned with peppers, onion, garlic, and various spices. The word shakshouka comes from Maghrebi Arabic dialect and means “mixed.”

Traditional Moroccan breakfast is a fried egg served in olive oil with a wedge of cream cheese and a couple of olives. Then 'jiben' – a little softer and more sour goats milk cheese – that's eaten on its own. Followed by sweet mint tea. The Moroccan way of eating is with your hands.

Even though many people today associate shakshuka with Israel, it actually originated in North Africa and the Ottoman Empire: the only reason shakshuka is eaten in Israel is because North African Jewish immigrants brought it there.

Turkish Menemen and Israeli shakshuka are very similar but differ in the method and seasoning. Both are breakfast dishes where eggs are cooked in a tomato sauce. In menemen the eggs are virtually scrambled into the sauce, whereas shakshuka eggs are placed on the sauce and only slightly mixed.

It seems that a simple version with tomato, egg and optional merguez (spicy sausage) is called ojja and that the name is shakshouka when more vegetables and potato are added. In France, the dish is most often called shakshouka no matter what the exact ingredients are, so I've used both names here.

Serve it with pita or crusty bread for breakfast or brunch...or dinner!

Can you eat leftover shakshuka? ›

Yes! Shakshuka is one of my favorite recipes to meal prep because it reheats beautifully. Honestly, it may even taste better the next day…

Also, it is perfectly acceptable to eat shakshuka straight out of the pan, using wedges of pita bread as your spoon. Of course, if you prefer a knife and fork, spoon the eggs with their sauce over lightly toasted bread. This recipe is especially tasty served on toasted Bloody Mary Bread.

Options for the latter include adding flour, cornflour mixed with cold water, a beaten egg, cream cheese, or making a beurre manié from equal parts softened butter and flour. Stir well and give your thickener of choice a few minutes to work its magic.

Eggs: Use fresh eggs. Take them out of the fridge ahead of time and add them to the dish at room temperature. A cold egg lowers the temperature of the sauce and cooks unevenly. Cooking the eggs is a stressful and problematic task because the whites take longer to cook than the yolks.

Shakshuka is traditionally prepared in a cast iron pan and is simple to make. Begin by simmering the sauce on the stovetop, then gently crack the eggs into little wells in the sauce.

It's a toss-up as to whether it's more fun to say "shakshuka" or the name of its Turkish counterpart, menemen, but both are incredibly tasty, straightforward dishes that should be in your arsenal.

Both the conical earthenware pot and the dish prepared in that cooking vessel share the name of tagine. History tells us that the nomads in North Africa used this timeless pot as a "portable oven," which allowed them to prepare food while moving from one place to another.

The main Moroccan dish people are most familiar with is couscous; lamb is the most commonly eaten meat in Morocco, usually eaten in a tagine with a wide selection of vegetables. Chicken is also very commonly used in tagines or roasted. They also use additional ingredients such as plums, boiled eggs, and lemon.

Shakshuka features a thick, saucy tomato base of peppers and onions with baked eggs. With menemen, the concept is a little different. Think of it as more of a soft egg scramble with lots of silky green peppers and fresh tomato. Both make perfect companions to sourdough toast or flatbread.