A new dish has come into my life recently.  I mean, it’s an old dish, maybe very old, and maybe you’ve been eating it for breakfast or dinner all your life, but I’ve only gotten to know it in recent years.  And I’m a little obsessed.  It’s called shakshuka.

It’s a Tunisian dish, or an Israeli or a Libyan dish, depending on who you ask.  All I know is that I’ve been loving a version from my local bagel shop (which also inspired that caramelized onion hummus recipe).  Shakshuka is a mildly spicy stew of tomatoes and peppers, adorned with a poached egg.  In this recipe, adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty, the eggs are poached right in the tomatoes and peppers, making for a one-pot meal of the most delicious sort.Shakshuka (adapted from Plenty): Toast 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds in a wide, heavy pan over high heat for two minutes.  Add 1/4 c. vegetable oil and 2 thinly-sliced large onions and saute for five minutes.  Add 4 large peppers of various colors, sliced into 3/4″ strips, along with 4 tsp. dark brown sugar, 2 bay leaves, the chopped leaves from six sprigs of thyme, 2 Tbsp. chopped parsley, and 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro.  Continue to cook over high heat for 5-10 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peppers begin to brown.

Add 6 roughly-chopped ripe tomatoes along with 1 tsp. ground cumin, 1/2 tsp. saffron threads, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper to taste.  Reduce heat to low and simmer until thick and saucy, 15-30 minutes.  (Ottolenghi says you may need to add a bit of water to reach a saucy consistency–I didn’t–but don’t add more than a cup.)  Taste and adjust the seasonings; the stew should be very flavorful.

Remove bay leaves and make eight deep indentations in the peppers.  Carefully crack an egg into each.  Sprinkle a pinch of salt on each egg.  Cover the pan and cook over very low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked to your liking.  Sprinkle with cilantro and feta cheese if desired.  Serve with bread to sop up every drop of the sauce.