Cookin' & Cussin'

Chorizo Shakshuka

I imagine myself saying “mmm tomatoes for breakfast” – no better way to start the day. *cringe emoji*

In all seriousness, the very idea of Shakshuka originally grossed me out. I love tomatoes in all forms – hello, summer is on its way & I can’t wait for Mayo & ‘Mater Sandwiches. But for BREAKFAST?! Basically, eggs floating around in tomato sauce??

However, I’ve also always been very intrigued. Of course, my obsession with Shakshuka came from seeing reels on Instagram. At least this obsession was an attainable one rather than being obsessed with “Instagram Models”…..I digress.

what even is Shakshuka?

Here in Virginia Beach, I’ve literally never seen Shakshuka on a brunch menu…..I’ve always wondered why. It is believed to be a North African dish & a delicacy, however not all that difficult to make….BUT WHY do I never see it as an option hardly anywhere I go? However, this particular jar of Shakshuka states on the label that it is Moroccan. So the mystery still alludes me….but either way, I LOVE the idea of many cultures using this dish to put their own personal spin on it – which makes it ALL the more interesting & probably ALL the more tasty! Which is exactly what led me to wanting to add even more cultural diversity to this dish – Mexican & Italian!

Real Gourmet

Having the privilege to be a Brand Ambassador with the Woman-Owned business Real Gourmet allowed me to sample ALL SORTS of different gourmet foods from around the world!– making my obsession a reality! Real Gourmet offers a jarred Shakshuka –complete with tomato sauce, peppers, onions & spices – all in a convenient jar! PERFECT.

All the reels & recipes I had been seeing for Shakshuka were plain-jane. No hate, just not living up to the expectation that I had for Shakshuka and what I really wanted it to be. I figured I could Southern-ism the hell out of some Shakshuka and put my own personal stamp on it *wink*

I’ve also seen NO accompaniments other than warm, crusty bread to be served with Shakshuka. That’s a big hell to the no. I need something else to carry over that threshold of deliciousness. Boy I tell you what, I made that a home run for sure!

When I made this recipe, it was my first attempt, so I told myself this shit had to be good– because I only had 1 jar & no do-overs. It was also on a day that Chris was recovering from some tummy issues from the day before, but he was a trooper and said he wanted this for brunch! I was excited to oblige.

My original plan was to add some White Cannellini Beans to really punch this dish up & deliver a hearty brunch! Unfortunately that got Veto’ed – due to aforementioned tummy issue recovery. But still, I’ll add them next time & I’ll bet it will be the most delicious! But I definitely couldn’t pass up adding some slightly spicy Chorizo to the jarred Shakshuka to really transform the dish too – oh boy, that changed the game. Finally, adding a dollop of Sour Cream for a cool element, half of an Everything Bagel in lieu of plain crusty bread, and a few slices of buttery, ripe avocado for a fresh factor….all of those additions were cherries on top. Now that I’ve sufficiently made you drool ((& maybe piqued your interest if you’ve never had Shakshuka??))

Let’s get to it!

Ingredients

· 1 Jar Mina brand Shakshuka

· ¼ LB Chorizo

· ½ cup White Cannellini Beans ((optional, not pictured))

· 1 shallot, finely diced

· 4-6 stalks of chives, finely diced

· 4 large eggs

· ½ ripe avocado, sliced

· 1 Everything bagel, split & toasted

· 2 Dollops Reduced Fat Daisy Sour Cream

Instructions

Have a medium-size saute pan with a lid at the ready.

Dice the shallot & add to the pan with the chorizo – cook on medium-low heat until the shallots are translucent & the chorizo is cooked through,

Read the directions on the jar of Shakshuka just so you have an idea of how the process will go – pour the Shakshuka into the pan with the chorizo & shallots.

Stirring frequently, allow the shakshuka to come to an easy bubble.

DON’T MAKE MY MISTAKE – I cracked the eggs one-by-one right over the pan & I was just an anxious mess. I recommend cracking the eggs into a small bowl ((so you can see if any shell bits are present)) plus it just takes the guess work out of trying to perfectly crack an egg.

Gently shake your pan to evenly disperse the Shakshuka

Using a spoon, make shallow “holes” for your eggs to sit on – not through to the bottom of the pan, just so they don’t seep all over the pan – you want your eggs to be as neat as possible.

Once you have cracked all of your eggs & dropped them into your shakshuka mixture, place a lid on top. Keep the heat on medium-low.

The residual heat & steam will gently poach the eggs – HOW ABOUT THAT?!

They will be near-runny perfection. You may also choose to cook your eggs longer & the effect will still be delicious. There is no wrong way to make this dish what you want!

The jar states 4 minutes – we did 5-6 because I enjoy a runny, poached egg but I wanted my whites to be completely set.

I’d use this time to get bowls out, toast your bagel, & chop your chives.

((You can gently shake your pan to see the movement & allow a little more heat to esc apewhen you are checking on your eggs as well. Easy does it.))

To plate your Shakshuka, use a large spoon to scoop the mixture into the bottom of a bowl.

Place your egg (or eggs) on top.

Sprinkle with Chives, set your Everything Bagel *just so* on the side of the bowl, fan out your slices of avocado, drop in your dollop of Sour Cream….

VIOLA! Beautifully plated Shakshuka – all of this should have taken less than 20 minutes!

The Shakshuka & eggs will be beautifully warm, and the toasted bagel will be the perfect vessel to scoop the delicious Shakshuka mixture.

The addition of fresh chopped chives & sliced avocado will push this dish over the edge.
OH SHIT LET’S NOT FORGET ABOUT THE CHORIZO!!!

That spicy bit of meat – only ¼ LB so not too much to overwhelm the original taste of the Shakshuka, but it will give it a subtle heat & bite that will be welcome with all the other cool elements of this dish!

Look at you! You just made a delicious dish from many ethnicities & it should be impressive! ((shit it impressed me))

Chakchuka

“Maghrebi dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion, and garlic, commonly spiced with cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper.”

Lucky for you, this jarred Shakshuka already has the tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic & spices all mixed in! The silkiness of this mixture is beyond compare – y’all know I love to try & make anything homemade, but with how delicious this jarred Shakshuka is, there’s no need!

Seriously ,I don’t think I could even come close to replicating HOW TASTY this jar of Shakshuka really is. Not to mention all the extra ingredients I would need for it to *maybe* turn out and taste *just ok* compared to how delicious Mina Shakshuka is!

Again, I loved reading and doing research on the background of Shakshuka. Middle Eastern, African, Jewish, Moroccan – all of these areas & ethnicities have touched on this dish in one way or another. I felt SO tickled that I thought to add Chorizo ((& the Beans at a later date!))

Learning about this dish and all the origins was so interesting to me for many reasons –it also proves HOW MUCH we can all learn from each other. I love different cultures, especially their food! Because how else could we be introduced to such amazing differences – we are all human obviously, but all of our different food comforts are so amazing to me and we should appreciate what all we can offer to each other!

How would you eat your Shakshuka? What delicious spins could you add? What cultural differences do you see in Shakshuka?

Peace Be With YOU!