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Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 25 Minutes |
Ready In: 35 Minutes Servings: 4 |
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This is such an easy recipe, nevertheless it is complex with rich flavor. I ate this dish often in Tunisia, where, incidentally, I first began to eat tomatoes when I was nearly 30 years old!!! The sunny mediterranean produces tomatoes that are intense with deep aroma and flavor. Chakchouka is a summer dish in Tunisia. Ingredients:
4 big ripe tomatoes |
4 eggs |
2 sweet peppers |
2 medium onions, chopped |
1 -2 hot green pepper |
1 head garlic, all cloves crushed and cut |
1 tablespoon tomato concentrate |
1 tablespoon harissa |
1 tablespoon cumin |
bay leaf |
thyme, to taste |
1 teaspoon salt (to taste) |
1 -4 tablespoon olive oil |
Directions:
1. Cut the tomatoes into large pieces. Deseed and dice all the peppers.
2. Heat olive oil in a medium size pot. The flavor belongs in the recipe, so use a good amount of it. Add the onion and garlic, and before it is brown, add the cumin. When the cumin is blended, add the tomatoes and peppers, the tomato concentrate, and the harissa. Add salt. Blend the ingredients with a long spoon. Add 1 - 3 bay leaves, and the thyme.
3. As soon as the vegetables are cooked, and the consistency is a bit thickened, add the eggs. The eggs will be poached in the pot. Space the eggs to give them room. Put the lid of the pot on. Wait for the white to set, as much as 15 minutes, depending on how high your heat is. The yolk should be runny.
4. When you serve this, dish up an amount of the vegetable part into a wide soup dish, then carefully center an egg into this. Repeat for four people. Have french bread cut and ready to dip into the chakchouka.
5. Note: the amounts of tomato concentrate and harissa, which is quite hot, can be adjusted to personal taste. You could lessen the garlic amount if you like.
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