THE SHAKSHUKA-VOCADO
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RVES
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Shakshuka is a North African dish of eggs poached in a spicy, garlicky, tomato broth. Delicious at any time of day, I make a dinner out this recipe by adding soft, cubed eggplant and crumbled feta cheese. With the eggs nestled in avocado roses, this is a stunning, colorful dish you can serve straight from the skillet. INGREDIENTS 2 eggplants, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 avocado
2 red onions, finely diced
2 small free-range eggs
4 garlic cloves, grated
3.5 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp. ras el hanout, or more to taste
1 tsp. grated ginger
1/2 tsp. chili flakes (1 tsp. if you like it spicy) – leave this out if you’re cooking this for children
Zest of ½ lemon
1 bunch of fresh cilantro, leaves and stalks, roughly chopped 1 15-oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes (+ ½ can’s worth of water)
Olive oil for frying Optional: 1 jalapeño pepper sliced, sriracha sauce, omit if cooking for kids To serve (optional): pita bread or homemade naan (see p.41)
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
METHOD 1 Heat a medium sized pan or skillet and add a generous glug of olive oil. 2 Add the cubed eggplants and cook over medium heat for 5–10 minutes, until soft and golden brown. Remove from pan. 3 Add some more oil to the pan and sauté the red onion until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the ras el hanout and chili flakes and stir to combine everything together. 4 Add the eggplant back to the pan along with the cilantro stalks (reserve the leaves for later) and fry it for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, ½ tin of water and balsamic vinegar. Bring it to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat and let it simmer for ±30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the shakshuka sauce has the consistency of a pasta sauce.
5 Meanwhile, cut the avocado in half, remove the pit and the skin. Turn them into 2 roses (see p.11), leaving a big hole in the middle in which you can fit the eggs. 6 Carefully place the avocado roses in the shakshuka sauce, making sure they touch or nearly touch the bottom of the pan. Crack an egg into each one and cook to your desired firmness (up to 10 minutes for hard yolk, 6 for a softer-set one). 7 While the eggs cook, combine the crumbled feta, grated ginger and lemon zest. Scatter the mixture over the shakshuka along with the chopped cilantro leaves, the slices of jalapeño and sriracha sauce if you like it spicy and serve with sriracha sauce, warm pita or naan.
DINNER
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