Shakshuka with Eggs, Tomatoes and Chickpeas {GF, DF}

This quick shortcut fusion shakshuka is a breakfast egg dish made with onions, spices, zucchini chickpeas and tomatoes. A hearty high protein breakfast. GF & DF. 

If you’re like me you need to start the day with a solid breakfast. A hot hearty, protein filled breakfast. Preferably homemade.

Honestly, breakfast is my least favorite meal to eat out. I always would rather make my own breakfast at home.

I hate to think of myself as Type A but eggs, I am very particular about. They just always have to be exactly how I like them. I hate paying for breakfast that in my mind isn’t made to my liking and is inferior to what I could make at home.

Now I’m not hating on brunch. Brunch I can work with. A solid eggs benedict made well is absolutely welcome any time. I’m just referring to those most basic of breakfasts offered at simple restaurants or guesthouses when you’re traveling. Those I have consumed a LOT of.

When it’s possible I prefer to rent apartment when traveling (mostly for that wonderful kitchen which is oh so lacking in a regular hotel room). But more freuqently than not it’s not possible and I find myself having to get dressed and go out for the first meal of the day. It’s a pain.

Sometimes you just want to crawl out of bed, into the kitchen in your pajamas, make some coffee and slowly prepare to greet the world while making eggs.

That’s my ideal start to the day.

But our time in the Philippines has been mostly dictated by waking up starving and immediatley heading out the door in search of sustenance.

If you like pancakes, french toast, muffins, I can totally see why going out for breakfast would be easier and preferable.

But for me, I just need an egg-centric dish – sometimes I just want hardboiled eggs with crackers, or avocado and egg on rice cake toasts, or a kimchi egg skillet with oyster mushrooms, or this shakshuka with tomatoes and chickpeas.

It’s got to be easy, and I need variety. This shakshuka with tomatoes and chickpeas is my latest breakfast favorite; a dish I created while we were renting a gorgeous studio apartment in Boracay, Philippines. A classic shakshuka is a popular dish in Israel, Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco and is eggs poached in a sauce with tomatoes, chili peppers, onions, and spiced with cumin. Traditionally it is served in a cast iron skillet.

I didn’t have the cast iron skillet or all the ingredients so I would make my own take on the classic shakshuka with what I had.

Fusion recipes are always best if you ask me. A classic shakshuka can take a while to make, if you’re really going heavy on the tomato sauce – and I needed a quick shortened version. I mean when I wake up hungry, the transition to hangry can happen with a snap of the fingers.

For my shakshuka I started with a base of onions cooked in olive oil, with chickpeas & zucchini added and spice – cumin, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper. Side note – it’s great when your mom comes to visit you on your travels and bring you ziplock bags with spices from home! Yay for finally being able to cook with more than salt & pepper.

Once those chickpeas brown a bit and absorb the spices, the tomato sauce is added with a tiny amount of sugar (to help break down the tomatoes faster).

Then you make four egg “nests” in the pan and crack the eggs. Wait for them to cook to your liking and your shakshuka is ready!

Now this is by no means a traditional shakshuka, and shakshuka was more of a jumping off point for my own creativity to soar, but regardless this dish is delicious.

The creamy soft runny yolks blend perfectly with the spiced tomatoes and the hearty chickpeas. Sprinkle with fresh herbs before serving and dip some fresh bread to soak up all the sauce.

5 from 1 vote

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Shakshuka with Eggs, Tomatoes and Chickpeas {GF, DF}

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

This quick shortcut fusion shakshuka is a breakfast egg dish made with onions, spices, chickpeas and tomatoes. A hearty high protein breakfast. GF & DF.

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Servings: 2

Calories: 221 kcal

Author: Vicky

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 onion diced
• 1 small zucchini chopped (chopped) (optional)
• 1/2 can chickpeas about 3/4 cup
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• salt/pepper to taste
• 1/2 - 1 can diced tomatoes
• pinch of sugar
• 4 eggs
• handful basil slivered

Instructions

1. Heat oil over medium high heat in a pan or large cast iron skillet.
2. Add onions, cook for a couple minutes.
3. Add chickpeas, oregano, smoked paprika, salt & pepper. Mix.
4. Add zucchini.
5. Cook both for a few minutes until starting to brown.
6. Add tomato sauce and sugar. Cook for a few minutes.
7. Create 4 nests in the pan, crack 1 egg into each nest.
8. Reduce heat to low and cook until egg are set and cooked to your liking.
9. Serve garnished with basil.