Tomato and Chickpea Shakshuka

I usually keep a few canned things on hand. Sardines, tuna, and tomatoes, are constants you’ll find in my cupboards. I also have oddities that I’m not sure what I’ll use them for, but keep them around anyways, like smoked sugar, butterscotch chips, coffee-flavored salt, Vietnamese coconut syrup, and a kit someone gave me for making queso blanco which does, indeed, work.

I’ve discovered the joy and deliciousness of fresh dried chickpeas, which sounds like an oxymoron. But most dried chickpeas are old and not as delicious as when you buy dried chickpeas from a local source, which are fresher and better-tasting. However canned chickpeas will certainly do in a pinch, or if you’re in a hurry, and I have a few tins in my larder for “just in case” moments, like this one, when I wanted to make a hearty version of Shakshuka.

Shakshuka is a dish that has origins in several places, and it’s become popular around the world. And why not? It’s easy to make and most of the ingredients are readily available anywhere, even if you’re in lockdown. It makes good use of canned ingredients, except for the eggs, of course.

I was able to get just about everything that I usually use in Shakshuka except fresh chile peppers (I had some fresh jalapeños, but used them in the mint zhoug I served with this), so used dried red pepper flakes and a dollop of harissa to give the tomato-chickpea sauce some zing. You can improvise and if you have a fresh chile or two, feel free to dice ’em up and saute them with the onions. Of course, all chiles are different so adjust to your taste.

One common refrain I hear from people that want to make Shakshuka is that their spouse/partner/kids like their eggs fully cooked. The good thing is that you can cook some eggs less, for those of us that like runny yolks, and others more firmly, for those that like them well-done. Just spoon the eggs out when they’re to your liking. It’s hard to give precise instructions and times for cooking the eggs (has anyone ever timed how long it takes to make a sunny side up or over-easy egg perfectly?) but the beauty of Shakshuka is that it’s a pretty relaxed meal; the only hovering you need to do is at the end, to get the eggs right. (Menemen is a similar dish where the eggs are scrambled.)

I like mine partially runny, so I can scoop up the eggs with some of the spicy, tomato-chickpea sauce, which is cooked almost to a jam-like consistency. Pita or similar bread works well, although we were fortunate to get a fresh baguette from the local bakery so kept it local and used that. You could add a handful of greens to the sauce, or some feta when you add the eggs.