Shakshuka, red or green

Here in New York we're at the very end of the summer season, eking out the last of the warm weather garden. The nights have turned chilly and while the first frost isn't here yet, it isn't far off either. Tomatoes and peppers are just about wrapping up, making way for squash and hardier cool weather harvests. For this last bounty I cook one of my absolute favorites, shakshuka.

Shakshuka is eggs poached in a spiced tomato sauce, from North Africa originally and eaten all over the Middle East. It's fast, it's filling, and it's hard to get wrong. It's also the only method by which I have ever successfully poached an egg.

I start with the sauce. Onions and garlic in olive oil, then bell peppers and tomatoes. Crushed canned tomatoes are the fast route and a pot of garden tomatoes stewed down is the slow one, and both are good. If there's a carrot in the drawer I chop it very finely and put it in, which sweetens the sauce. I season the sauce here, with Cumin Seed, a shake of Garlic Granules on top of the fresh garlic already in there, and a spoonful of Harissa. The heat in Harissa comes from Guajillo and Japones chiles, with Caraway and Coriander underneath and a little smoked paprika. Cayenne works too if that's what's in your cabinet. Taste it before the eggs go in.

Add greens near the end if you want them. Spinach, chard, kale torn up small, stirred through until they wilt down into the sauce.

When the sauce tastes the way I want it, I make wells in it with the back of a spoon and crack an egg into each one, then put the lid on and turn the heat low. Right before they're done I open it up and scatter feta over the top, or a soft crumbly farmer's cheese. Cook the eggs to whatever doneness makes you happy. Serve it in a wide shallow bowl with a lot of crusty bread (this doubles as a utensil in my house).

This Shakshuka recipe shows another way to do it, in the oven instead of under a lid. The tomatoes are seasoned with El Greco, our Mediterranean blend of Oregano, Basil, Garlic, and Sumac, plus Alderwood Smoked Salt for a little smoke. Spinach and feta go in before the eggs, and it's finished with a scatter of Aleppo Pepper or Marash Chile Flake.

There's a green version too. I learned that one while I was cooking for my dad, back when he was off nightshades for a while, so tomatoes and peppers were out. You build the base on leeks and onions cooked slowly until they're sweet, then layer in every green thing in the produce drawer: chard, zucchini, shaved Brussels sprouts, spinach, whatever you have laying around. It goes in the pan looking like a giant pile and cooks down into a soft green bed for the eggs. Green Za'atar is lovely on that one, with sesame and thyme and tart sumac, and there are no nightshades in it either.

Any of these versions are good for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or brunch, whichever meal you're in the mood for. I really hope you try it!

 - Aubrey