Eggplant Shakshuka
vegetarian / prep time 15 minutes / cook time 6-10 minutes
The traditional shakshuka is usually made from tomato and peppers sauce topped with poached eggs, but it can actually be any kind of base topped with eggs. I love inventing and experiencing with different types. I’ve cooked green shakahukas with spinach and green veggies, tahini-based ones, white cream ones, anything goes. Just be creative and top it with eggs.
Then eat it with warm pita bread (or any other) dipped into the sauce, yum. It’s a perfect full meal in one pan.
Story time
Personally, I hate throwing away food. So, whenever I find myself with veggies that are almost expired, I try to come up with a way to use them. Shakshuka just happens to be one of my go to dishes, since it’s a very forgiving dish and you can just throw in anything.
The other day I was extremely hungry, the kids were away with the Hubbs, and I needed a quick lunch fix for myself. I opened the fridge to look at what I could come up with. I found a very ripe eggplant and some leftover zoodels (zucchini noodles). I decided to make an eggplant based shakshuka out of it. I sautéed the veggies with some chopped onion and garlic, added some cherry tomatoes and tomato puree to the mix, seasoned, poached in the eggs and topped it all with feta cheese. That’s all, a perfect lunch, rich in fibers, with all macro-nutrients protein, carbs and fats, just waiting to dig in with a warm pita bread.
Ingredients for 1 serve
1 tsp olive oil or butter
1 egg L
2 egg whites
*(you can also choose 2 or 3 whole eggs instead, personally I like to keep it less calorie dense but still high in protein, so I use egg whites)
1 eggplant diced in 1 cm cubes
½ onion chopped
1 garlic clove chopped
12 cherry tomatoes halved
100 gr / 4 oz zoodels (zucchini noodles)
1 tbs tomato puree
¼ cup water
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried basil
¼ tsp red pepper powder
Salt & pepper to taste
15 gr / 0.5 oz Feta cheese crumbled (optional)
watch the video
Method
Heat up a small non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Add the oil. Add the onion, fry for 1-2 min until see through. Add the eggplant, fry for 5 min, stir regularly. Add the garlic and cherry tomatoes, cook for another 5 min. Add the zoodels, tomato paste, water, oregano, basil, red pepper powder, salt and pepper. Stir regularly and cook for 2 minutes.
Make a small well in the middle and pour in the egg whites and egg. Season the egg with salt and add the feta on top.
Cover the frying pan with a lid. Cook on low heat until the eggs are to your liking (about 6-8 minutes). Season with black pepper.
I love it served with a warm pita bread and tahini on the side.
