What is Shakshuka?
It is a North African baked egg dish with sauteed peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes and spices, topped with eggs and herbs.
My Little Story: I had posted this on my Instagram Account some time back and I was informed by a Shakshuka Police Officer that the way that I made it was not how it should be made. I already knew that adding meat was not how I knew the dish to be made, but I did this with the addition of the meat for my keto purposes. However, I was curious and researched it to see if there were any variations of the dish and I was willing to apologize for this grave offense. Unfortunately for the officer, this is not how it worked out. I found out that even though it is always made with just the tomatoes, peppers and spices, etc.; the "original shakshuka" was made with vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, mutton (goat meat) and lots of garlic. When I responded with the information, he explained to me my ignorance and that I was appropriating from another culture which he was not very familiar with himself. I then responded that I am a Jamaican and I guaranteed that he was smoking something that only Jamaicans are allowed to smoke..ahahhahhahaha!!!
NOT true by the way. I was having my little fun! Our relationship ended there as he then blocked my appropriating little heart.
Can people just allow people to just be?
It's food! I hear people call things "Jamaican" just because there is spiciness in the dish and they say it's a "jerk" whatever. I hear people call dishes "Hawaiian" just because there is pineapple added to the dish. I mean come on!
Note to myself, I do what I want with any food I'm about to eat!! So out of respect for the people who govern the food world and for the sake of not appropriating.....respectfully,
This is my version! Blasphemy!!
Ingredients
1 pound ground meat of your choice (I used ground beef and pancetta)
4 ounces diced pancetta
6 eggs
2 plum tomatoes diced
1 clove fresh garlic crushed
1 medium onion diced
1 green bell pepper diced
1 jalapeno diced (I kept the seeds in for the heat)
1/2 cup halved green olives
11/2 cups sugar free tomato sauce (Roa's is my favorite, besides my own which I used)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Using medium high heat, add olive oil, diced ingredients and crushed garlic to the hot oil and saute until the onions are translucent.
Add Pancetta here as well and fry in with the other ingredients.
Add your ground meat and cook accordingly.
Add your olives and all the spices and mix well.
Add the sauce and taste here to see if you need additional salt, pepper or any other spice you would like to taste.
Don't worry, this is your dish. :)
Allow this to simmer for a few minutes on a medium to medium low heat.
When the sauce gets to a soft simmer, add your eggs and cover the skillet with its lid.
Cook the eggs according to your preference. (I like my eggs to be a little runny).
That is the final product.
Garnish with some parsley, take a few pictures then dig in!!
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