Shakshuka, eggs gently poached in a spiced tomato and pepper sauce, is the kind of dinner that looks like effort and is not. It comes to the table bubbling in its pan, everyone tears off bread and dips straight in, and nobody has to plate a thing.
The trick for busy days is to let a slow cooker make the sauce. A long, gentle simmer softens the garlic and chili and turns canned tomatoes deep and sweet. When you get home, the only job left is cracking the eggs.
Slow-Cooker Shakshuka
Serves 4 to 6
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 2 red bell peppers, seeded and sliced
- 1 or 2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 cans (28 ounces each) whole peeled tomatoes, with their juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta
- a handful of chopped parsley or cilantro
- crusty bread or warm pita, to serve
- Warm the olive oil in a wide pan set over medium heat. Add the onion, peppers and jalapeño and cook, stirring now and then, until soft and lightly golden, about 8 minutes.
- Add the garlic, cumin and both paprikas and stir for one minute, until fragrant.
- Scrape everything into the slow cooker. Add the tomatoes with their juice, crushing them with your hands as they go in, and stir in the salt.
- Cover and let it cook on the low setting for 6 to 8 hours.
- When you are ready to eat, taste the sauce and adjust the salt. Pour about four cups of it into a wide skillet and bring it to a gentle simmer.
- Make six small wells in the sauce and crack an egg into each one. Cover and cook over low heat until the whites are fully set and the yolks are still soft, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Scatter the feta and herbs over the top and bring the skillet straight to the table with plenty of bread.
Make it your own. Like it hotter? Add a second jalapeño or a pinch of chili flakes with the spices. Want it richer? A spoonful of harissa stirred into the sauce works beautifully.
Leftovers. Any sauce you do not use freezes well for up to three months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight and you are ten minutes away from dinner on another busy night.
