Inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi
In my last post, I shared Dr Shakshuka’s traditional Israeli shakshuka, which he demonstrates to Ottolenghi in the last episode of Ottolenghi’s Mediterranean Feasts. In this programme, Ottolenghi also makes his own version of shakshuka with beef and smoked aubergine.
“I have a feeling that what I am doing is slightly sacrilegious” says Ottolenghi.
You can see from his amused expression that Dr Shakshuka agrees.
“If you want to call it a shakshuka, then it’s a shakshuka” he says.
This lamb shakshuka is based on Ottolenghi’s recipe. I swapped lamb for beef because I thought the spices would go better with lamb. One of my favourite places for breakfast in Sydney is a middle eastern restaurant called Kazbah and they do an amazing lamb tagine, which uses many of the same ingredients. I have also used some different condiments and played with the measurements a bit.
My flatmate, Libby, wasn’t too keen on it: “It tastes like moussaka” she said when I first made it, which I took to be a good thing. She later admitted (after a few drinks) that it didn’t really agree with her in the morning. I agree that it tastes like moussaka, but we differ on the second point. I would happily eat leftover moussaka for breakfast.
Serves two generously.
Ingredients
For the garlic yoghurt
4 cloves garlic, toasted under the grill in their skins
6 tbsp yoghurt
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the shakshuka
2 tbsp olive oil
1 aubergine
1 onion, finely diced
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ red chilli (or to taste), finely chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
250g lamb mince
2 tsp tomato paste
400g overripe tomatoes, peeled and diced, or 400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 tsp preserved lemon (or to taste), finely chopped
4 eggs
Handful coriander, roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
To serve
Garlic yoghurt
Coriander leaves
½ tsp sumac
Crusty bread
Method
Preheat the oven to 150C.
For the garlic yoghurt
Remove the toasted garlic cloves from their skins and mush to a paste on a chopping board with a fork. Scrape into a bowl and mix together with yoghurt, olive oil, salt and pepper. Check the seasoning, adjust as you wish and put in the refrigerator till needed.
For the shakshuka
Rub the aubergine in 1 tbsp of olive oil and chargrill whole on a barbecue or directly over the flames of a gas ring, turning frequently until the skin is uniformly blackened. Leave to cool, then cut in half and scrape out the flesh with a spoon, discarding the skin. Put the flesh in a bowl and use a fork to mash to a rough paste.
Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan over a low heat. Add the onions, garlic, chilli, cinnamon and cumin and fry till the onions and garlic are soft and lightly browned, stirring frequently. Turn the heat up to medium and add the lamb. Fry until browned, stirring continuously to break up the mince.
Stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes, preserved lemon and aubergine flesh and cook for another 5 minutes. If it becomes too thick, you can add a little water.
Put the bread in the oven to warm up at this point.
Make a small well for each of the eggs before adding them to the pan. Crack each egg individually in a bowl first. When you get air bubbles coming through the whites, use a skewer to puncture them. Cook until the whites are done, but the yolks are still runny.
While the eggs are cooking, put the bread in the oven to warm through and crisp up.
To serve
Garnish the shakshuka with dollops of garlic yoghurt and coriander leaves and sprinkle with sumac. Serve with warm, crusty bread.
