This shakshuka for one is for those days when you need a break from breakfast cereal, and crave something that will sustain you for most of the day, while making you feel very happy and satisfied. By all means, serve this with bread so that you can mop up every bit of the tomato, pepper, and mushroom sauce, along with the delicious, hopefully somewhat runny, yolk.
Ingredients
- olive oil: 2 Tbsp (divided)
- button mushrooms: 2 piece (sliced)
- red onion: 0.25 cup (sliced)
- hot peppers and/or sweet peppers: 0.5 cup (sliced)
- kosher salt: 0.25 tsp (to taste)
- ground cumin: 0.5 tsp
- smoked paprika: 0.5 tsp
- ground turmeric: 0.125 tsp
- oregano: 0.125 tsp (dried)
- ground black pepper, plus more: 0.125 tsp (to taste)
- pinch cayenne pepper: 1 piece
- tomato puree or sauce: 0.5 cup
- water: 0.25 cup (or more if needed)
- fresh cilantro: 2 Tbsp (divided, chopped)
- crumbled feta cheese: 2 Tbsp (divided)
- egg: 1 piece
- pinch Aleppo chili flakes: 1 piece (optional)
- bread to serve alongside: (sliced)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a small pan or skillet.
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Place mushrooms in a single layer in the skillet, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Top with onions, then peppers, and another pinch of salt.
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Place on medium high heat, and wait for mushrooms to start sizzling. Cook until bottoms of mushrooms are nicely browned, about 3 minutes, and then stir everything together and cook for 1 minute more.
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Add cumin, paprika, turmeric, oregano, black pepper, and cayenne and cook, stirring, for another 30 to 60 seconds. Stir in tomato puree and water, and wait for mixture to simmer. Stir in cilantro, and scatter over half the feta.
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Use a spoon to make a well in the center, and transfer in the egg. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook until the egg is done to your liking, 3 to 5 minutes.
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Serve immediately topped with Aleppo chili flakes, and the remaining olive oil, feta, and cilantro, with bread on the side. John Mitzewich Chef's Note: Egg can be undercooked, since it will continue to cook a bit more in the hot sauce after it is removed from heat.
