Vegan Shakshuka Recipe

One of the things I always look forward to when I travel is to taste new things and learn more new recipes. Last week, one of my dreams came true, I visited Israel and was overwhelmed about all the tasty hummus I was able to try everywhere and by eating Shakshuka for the first time for breakfast. Can’t wait to share some travel tales, but let’s talk food first! I created my own little adapted version, I hope it raises some middle eastern vibes for you!

Shakshuka is a common dish spread all over the middle east. Each country has its own adapted version, but the key ingredients remain the same, in Israel included. During my visit in Tel Aviv, I was even happier to find a plantbased version of this dish at a café called Jeremiah, a place that seemed to be very popular amongst locals and perfect to spend our Saturday morning, called Shabbat, a day where almost everything is shut down since it’s considered like a Sunday.

When I came back home I had to try my own adapted version, and it turned out to be delicious actually! Shakshuka is originally a tomato based dish with poached eggs. I veganized my pot by just using tofu instead. I am a fan of savoury, spicy recipes, breakfasts included, and I surely will add this recipe to my bruch medley when I’ll have people over.

Recipe

Serves 1 to 2 people – I would suggest a side salad if cooking for 2

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

200g of firm Tofu (2 to 4 eggs for the vegetarian version)
1 red bell pepper
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1/4 to 1/2 cup of water
1 medium yellow onion
1 tsp of olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of cayenne pepper (adjust to your own spice level)
1 heaping teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of sugar (I used cane sugar)
fresh coriander (switch to parsley if you hate coriander)
salt to taste
dash of balsamic vinegar (optional)

Pop your red bell pepper in the oven in order to chard the skin. This will take you around 20 minutes and can be done while prepping the rest the recipe. I am not the biggest bell pepper fan, and I found that removing the skin gives it a much more sweet and soft flavour. When the skin starts to get black and cracked up, you can simply half the pepper, remove the seeds and the skin while keeping the flesh aside for the shakshuka. If you’re less complicated than me in this matter, you can simply skip this step, dice up the pepper and cook it in the pot with the rest of the ingredients.

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil into your pan. This dish can be cooked oil free by simply switching to water for sauteeing. I grew up on a mediterranean diet, and I was never afraid of oil. In fact, I believe firmly that olive oil can make your food better digestible when used wisely. I don’t use it in every dish, nor I let my food swim in it, but I believe a few drops won’t kill you, let alone make you gain weight. Just trust your intuition, ok?

Dice onion and garlic cloves finely. Garlic is known to be as one of the best anti inflammatory foods, especially when eaten raw. Since only a few people do that, I simply let it sit for 10 minutes after cutting it up in order to activate the allicin benefits to the fullest before cooking. Fry them until fragrant (if you’re adding raw cubed bell pepper now it’s the time!) on a medium high heat, about 3 to 5 minutes. In the meantime, dice pepper finely (the oven version). Do the same with the coriander.

Add the canned tomatoes, oven roasted pepper, tomato paste, water (this depends on how runny you want it to be), paprika, cayenne, sugar and cumin. Stri to combine and let it simmer by lowering the heat a bit for 5 to 10 minutes, until your desired consistency is reached.

Cube your tofu and add to the sauce along with the coriander, let cook for five more minutes. If you’re making the vegetarian version, now would be the time to poach your eggs in the sauce. Add salt to taste and a few drops of balsamic vinegar to round up the flavour.

Shakshuka is known to be best when eaten hot and directly out of the pot. This dish can be accompained by traditional pita bread or toast. It’s a simple dish packed with taste and perfect as an add on to your Sunday brunch. Add some more coriander to garnish and you’re good to go!

I hope you’ll try it out ❤