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I had a lot of cooking failures at my time at uni but this is one of the recipes that was an instant hit and stayed with me for all these years! Shakshouka is a great recipe to clean your fridge of some leftover veg and add ramp up your daily intake of protein in a very satisfying way. Its versatility is fantastic! You don’t like spicy food? Cool, skip harissa or chilli and add whatever herbs you like. You can even add a leftover tomato sauce you made for pasta the night before. There are no real rules when it comes to making your shakshouka as delicious as you fancy it on the day so add whatever takes your fancy.

This recipe contains around 30g of protein per portion- that is 3 eggs and 50g of feta cheese per head. I absolutely understand it might feel like a lot of food for some people but I often eat it for a brunch or as a dinner myself. You can make a bigger portion to share with others. I would personally aim for at least 2 eggs per person but it will depend on your appetite of course.

Some good additions

Peppers
carrots
chilli or Jalapeño
fried halloumi slices
parsley leaves
microgreens
avocado
olives
green beans
courgette
eggplant

and any other veg you have at the back of your fridge! Just make sure to add it to your shakshouka sauce at the right time. Reserve herbs and cheeses for garnish. Courgettes, carrots, peppers etc might benefit from being immersed in the sauce and cooked for a little while to become soft and delicious. Unless you prefer them crunchy on top, then who am I to stop you, right? 🙂

Go for good eggs

This is a very simple shakshouka recipe and can be adapted in thousands of ways but one thing will not change- you simply MUST opt for good quality eggs. They are the centre of this recipe and will affect the flavour of it a lot. Not to mention that they will be simply healthier for you as well. If you only can, please opt for free range or head to a farm shop. In the UK it is quite common to spot a little box outside houses in the countryside where you can put money in and take some eggs away. The quality of those eggs will vary a lot depending on the lifestyle of chicks but are usually much better than store-bought anyway. It might as well be a good excuse to go for a hike next weekend.

Time-saving tips

Make sauce ahead of time to save some effort on the day! You can freeze it in batches and defrost over the night. In the morning, simply reheat the sauce, crack in eggs and have a beautiful, nourishing and elaborate breakfast ready in 10 minutes.

You can also use a store-bought tomato sauce if you need an ultra low-effort option.

If you are looking for some other fancy breakfast options, why not try Dutch baby pancake or Bougie rhubarb crêpes to impress?

If you are looking for a cast iron pan, I would go for something like this. Just make sure it is seasoned enough before you cook acidic food in it- use it for cooking other things for few weeks first and after that making a tomato sauce or apple sauce will not be a problem.

Did you try it? Let me know how you liked it! Post on instagram and tag me @helpmygfisvg so I can see your picture. It will make me very happy to know you’re cooking healthy food with me!

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