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If you are not familiar with shakshuka, I am thrilled to introduce the concept to you! Shakshuka is a North African dish that is now popular throughout the Middle East. This easy and healthy egg dish is vegetarian, gluten free, and incredibly delicious. Shakshuka is one of the first recipes I ever blogged about, and has become one of the most popular posts on my site—a simple vegetarian meal that works as a breakfast, lunch, dinner or “brinner.”

The shakshuka concept is very simple. Eggs are soft cooked atop a bed of thick reduced tomato sauce with peppers. In the maghreb, this chunky sauce is known as matbucha. Similar preparations are made throughout the world, including a popular Italian dish known as “eggs in purgatory.” Shakshuka is somewhat different than the Italian dish; it’s generally spicier, and has the addition of peppers.

Shakshuka is very popular in Israel, where it is often eaten for breakfast. I usually find myself serving it with a side salad as a light evening meal. It’s a versatile vegetarian one-skillet meal that is easy to make, healthy, and addicting.

In Israel, the most famous place to eat shakshuka is a restaurant known as Dr. Shakshuka.

The charm of Dr. Shakshuka is evident from the moment you enter. The restaurant is housed in an aging building in the old port city of Jaffa. It’s buzzing all day long with local patrons as well as tourists, everybody eager to taste the “Tripolitanian”-style cooking. The owner Bino Gabso was born to a Libyan family that immigrated to Israel in 1949. He’s been serving shakshuka and other north-African favorites to enthusiastic restaurant patrons in Jaffa for the past 18 years.

Old kerosene stoves hang from the rafters of the place, just like the moms and bubbes cooked with when Israel first became a country.

Dr. Shakshuka is known for its Libyan-style home cooking. It’s a kosher meat restaurant with many traditional tripolitanian-style dishes including couscous, chraime fish, and kosher merguez sausage.

Of course, they are best known for– what else?– shakshuka. I couldn’t very well visit Dr. Shakshuka without ordering their signature dish. For a twist, I ordered it with mushrooms.

The waitress served my shakshuka in a small, sizzling skillet, as is the custom with most of the local Israeli restaurants. Delicious! After you’ve eaten the eggs, it’s customary to scoop up the remaining sauce with a piece of fluffy white bread. The bread at Dr. Shakshuka has a light, spongy consistency making it ideal for this purpose.

Of course, if you’re watching your waistline, gluten intolerant, or serving for Passover, you can leave out the bread; the dish is also wonderful on its own.

I can’t very well write a blog about shakshuka without sharing my own recipe! This is a basic, simple shakshuka spiced just the way I like it. For variety, different ingredients can be added to the tomato base—jalapeños, green chilies, parsley, red pepper flakes, or anything else that sounds tasty to you. I’ve even made it with a spinach/tomato base that turned out great. Use your imagination!

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Video by Entice Films