Sundried Tomato & Artichoke Shakshuka
Shakshuka is the quintessential midweek meal: it’s fast, it’s easy, and it uses very few perishable ingredients. This satisfying North African dish is the perfect way to satisfy you and keep you feeling full after a long day. In our twist on the tradition recipe, we’ve incorporated artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, and avocado to help get a little extra nutrition and flavour into your meal! With the combination of deep, rich tomato sauce alongside the perfectly poached eggs, we can’t think of a better way to spend a chilly night.
What is Shakshuka ?
Shakshuka, also seen as “shakshouka,” is a tomato-based sauce with eggs baked on top and is believed to originate from Tunisia, Yemen, and generally just Ottoman North Africa. In the Tunisian dialect, it translates to “shaken” or “a mixture.” Over the years, it’s come to be a staple in many North African cultures, most commonly spotted in Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, and Morocco. This delicious dish is often accompanied by fresh bread to prevent any sauce from going to waste.
It’s often thought of as an easy midweek meal that can both feed and satisfy four hungry people. This dish has many variations depending on the family or region it’s being eaten, but often consists of a combination of tomatoes, eggs, onions, peppers, and either cumin or harissa. Common toppings I’ve come across are feta and parlsey/cilantro. Our shakshuka is topped with avocado, which while not traditional, represents what was in our kitchen at the time of the fateful shakshuka craving that spawned this particular recipe.
What are Marinated Artichoke Hearts?
Marinated artichoke hearts are pretty similar to what they sound like; they’re artichokes that have been harvested at peak ripeness (like canned tomatoes) and marinated in a variety of ways in order to preserve them for year-round consumption. Like sun-dried tomatoes, these jarred hearts are a great off-season alternative to fresh and can sit in our cupboards for long periods of time without needing to be refrigerated. Because of this, we like to keep artichoke hearts in our pantry for a rainy day when we just don’t know what to cook because of the huge flavour punch it packs without taking up much excess storage space.
The main preservative keeping your hearts from going bad is oil. While not an indefinite solution, this method can last anywhere from 1-3 years depending on the brand being used. Most food spoils because of the presence of microbes (undesirable microscopic organisms in this case), that digest your food and produce a biproduct that may be unsafe for human consumption. The best example are things like mold that can make you very ill. The point of preserving a fresh ingredient in oil is to create a sterile environment that denies any of those unwanted microbes of oxygen.
Along with the oils and sterilization process, canned/jarred foods must have a specific pH level (acidity level) to help stabilize the ingredient as well as to further protect against unwanted bacteria or fungi. This acidity usually comes in the form of citric acid, salt, or ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). Olive oil is often used for these types of oil-based preservations, for flavour along with the usual benefits, and is primarily made up of Oleic and Linolenic acids.
These food preservation methods have existed for thousands of years before the advent of refrigeration as a way to better maintain food security, and many of these methods can be done safely at home if all safety conditions are met.
Sundried Tomato & Artichoke Shaskshuka
Simone Peironnet | 03/20/2023
prep time: 5 minutes | cook time: 45 minutes | total time: 50 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients :
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp Sundried Tomato Oil
- 1 Yellow Onion
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- 7 oz Sun Dried Tomato, jarred in oil
- 28 oz Canned Whole Peeled Tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp Harissa
- 1 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
- 2 tsp Red Chilli Flakes
- 1 Tbsp Dried Basil
- 1 Tbsp Dried Oregano
- 2 Bay Leaves
- Pinch Salt
- 1 Jar Marinated Artichoke Hearts
- 1 Small Bunch Kale
- 5 oz Feta
- 5 Eggs
- 1 Avocado
Special Equipment Suggestion: Cast Iron Skillet (link)
Instructions:
- In an oven safe pan over medium heat, add your olive oil and sundried tomato oil. Finely dice your onion and add to your pan once the oil comes up to temperature. Sprinkle with salt to draw out moisture and agitate every few minutes until onions are mostly caramelized, then add sliced bell pepper until just softened.
Finely dice your garlic, then add to your pan once peppers have softened. Add in your sundried tomatoes and mix until distributed. Once the garlic is fragrant, pour your entire can of tomatoes into your pan, crushing the whole tomatoes with your cooking spoon.
Add your spices and artichoke, then allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350°F while you wait.
- Once done simmering, stir through your roughly chopped kale. Crumble several larger chunks of feta onto your tomato mixture, then top with 5 eggs evenly spaced apart. Transfer pan into the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the whites of your eggs are fully set.
- To serve, crumble the rest of your feta over your shakshuka. Slice your avocado over your shakshuka place over top. Wait 5-10 minutes before serving and enjoy!
Product Suggestions
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