Shakshouka

Last updated
Shakshouka
Shakshuka by Calliopejen1.jpg
Shakshouka in a cast iron pan
Alternative namesShakshuka, chakchouka
Type Main dish
Place of originOttoman North Africa
Main ingredients Tomatoes, harissa, eggs, olive oil
Individual portion of shakshouka Shakshuka8.jpg
Individual portion of shakshouka

Shakshouka [a] [b] is a Maghrebi [1] [2] [3] dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion, and garlic, commonly spiced with cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Shakshouka is a popular dish throughout North Africa and the Middle East. [4]

Contents

Etymology

Shakshuka is a word for "mixture" in Algerian Arabic, and "mixed" in Tunisian Arabic. [5] [6] The Oxford English Dictionary describes it as being of multiple origins, an onomatopoeic Maghribi Arabic word, related to the verb shakshaka meaning "to bubble, to sizzle, to be mixed up, to be beaten together," and the French word Chakchouka, which was borrowed into English in the nineteenth century. [7] Chakchouka was borrowed into French from Algerian Arabic. [8]

History

Gil Marks, while noting some similarities with the Ottoman dish menemen, suggests that shakshouka evolved from şakşuka which spread to the Maghreb through the influence of the Ottoman Empire. [1] Anthony Buccini noted similarities between a wider range of vegetable stews. He and Noam Sienna conclude that both shakshouka and menemen, among other dishes like piperade and ratatouille, are members of a wider family of vegetable stews of common ancestry appearing throughout the western Mediterranean. [2] [3]

The migration of Maghrebi Jews in the 1950s brought the dish to Israel, where it was subsequently widely adopted. The dish was not previously present in Palestinian or Levantine cuisine. [1] [2] Shakshouka began appearing in Israeli restaurants in the 1990s. [9]

Variations

Merguez shakshuka Merguez Shakshouka.jpg
Merguez shakshuka
Vegan shakshouka, with falafel in place of eggs At London 2024 032.jpg
Vegan shakshouka, with falafel in place of eggs

Many variations of the basic sauce are possible, varying in spice and sweetness. Some cooks add preserved lemon, salty sheep milk cheeses, olives, harissa or a spicy sausage such as chorizo or merguez. [10] Shakshouka is made with eggs, which are commonly poached but can also be scrambled, like in the Turkish menemen . [11] [12]

In Algeria, shakshouka is commonly eaten as a side dish, and there are countless variations of it, each with their own unique blend of ingredients. One such variation is hmiss, which is often served alongside traditional kesra bread. Hmiss typically includes grilled peppers, tomatoes, and garlic. In Tunisia, a similar dish called slata meshouia is enjoyed, but it differs from hmiss with the addition of onions, cumin and tuna.

In Morocco, there is a dish referred to as bīḍ w-maṭiša (بيض ومطيشة "egg and tomato"). [13] [14]

In Egypt, the dish features the typical poached eggs in a spiced tomato-based sauce but with some variations in ingredients. The base consists of sautéed onions, garlic, and chopped bell peppers cooked until softened. [15] Chopped tomatoes or tomato paste is then added, along with spices such as cumin, paprika, and chili powder. [15] Once the sauce thickens, eggs are cracked directly into the mixture and poached until the whites are set but the yolks remain runny. [15] It is garnished with fresh herbs like parsley and cilantro, sometimes also a sprinkle of domiati cheese. The dish is commonly enjoyed with warm eish baladi, and is a popular choice for breakfast in the country. [15]

Some variations of shakshouka can be made with lamb mince, toasted whole spices, yogurt and fresh herbs. [16] Spices can include ground coriander, caraway, paprika, cumin and cayenne pepper. [17] [18] Tunisian cooks may add potatoes, broad beans, artichoke hearts or courgettes to the dish. [19] The North African dish matbukha can be used as a base for shakshouka. [20]

Because eggs are the main ingredient, it often appears on breakfast menus in English-speaking countries, but in the Arab world as well as Israel, it is also a popular evening meal, [21] and, like hummus and falafel, is a Levantine regional favorite. [22] On the side, pickled vegetables and North African sausage called merguez might be served, or simply bread, with mint tea. [23]

In Jewish culture, a large batch of tomato stew may be made on Friday for the Sabbath dinner and the leftovers used on Sunday morning to make a breakfast shakshouka with eggs. [12] In Andalusian cuisine, the dish is known as huevos a la flamenca; this version includes chorizo and serrano ham. [24] In Italian cuisine, there is a version of this dish called uova in purgatorio (eggs in purgatory) that adds garlic, basil or parsley. [25]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Arabic: شكشوكة, romanized: šakšūkah
  2. ↑ also spelled shakshuka or chakchouka

References

  1. 1 2 3 Gil Marks (2010). Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. HMH. p. 1673. ISBN   978-0-544-18631-6.
  2. 1 2 3 Sienna, Noam (2021). "Shakshūka for All Seasons: Tunisian Jewish Foodways at the Turn of the Twentieth Century". In Gaul, Anny; Pitts, Graham Auman; Valosik, Vicki (eds.). Making Levantine Cuisine: Modern Foodways of the Eastern Mediterranean. University of Texas Press. pp. 170–183. doi:10.7560/324578. ISBN   978-1-4773-2457-8. JSTOR   10.7560/324578.
  3. 1 2 Buccini, Anthony F. (2006). "Western Mediterranean Vegetable Stews and the Integration of Culinary Exotica". In Hosking, Richard (ed.). Authenticity in the Kitchen: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 2005. Prospect Books. pp. 132–145.
  4. ↑ Salah, Maha (14 February 2020). "Shakshuka". Middle East Monitor .
  5. ↑ بن قينة، عمر (2010). قوة الحق فوق حق القوة. دار الأمة،. p. 121. ISBN   978-9961-67-199-3.
  6. ↑ "shakshuka". Collins English Dictionary.
  7. ↑ "shakshuka". Oxford English Dictionary.
  8. ↑ Alain Rey (2011). Dictionnaire Historique de la langue française. NATHAN, 2011. p. 4220. ISBN   978-2-321-00013-6.
  9. ↑ Fitzgerald, Mary (Apr 24, 2021). "Shakshuka: All mixed up over a brilliant breakfast". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  10. ↑ "Shakshuka recipe". The Guardian. February 18, 2012.
  11. ↑ Joel Lurie Grishaver (2008). Artzeinu: An Israel Encounter.
  12. 1 2 Gil Marks, Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010, ISBN   9780470391303, s.v., p. 547
  13. ↑ "وداعا "البيض ومطيشة"". Hespress - هسبريس جريدة إلكترونية مغربية (in Arabic). 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  14. ↑ بنعبو, عبد العزيز (12 February 2023). "المغاربة يواجهون غضبهم من غلاء الخضار بالسخرية… ومواطن يواعد الطماطم والبصل: «نلتقي لاحقا»".
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Egyptian Shakshuka Recipe". Grand European Travel. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  16. ↑ Gordon, Peter (2018-06-03). "Peter Gordon's lamb shakshouka recipe". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  17. ↑ "Shakshouka Recipe – Tunisian Recipes". PBS Food. 2015-03-12. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  18. ↑ Clark, Melissa. "Shakshuka With Feta Recipe". NYT Cooking. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  19. ↑ Roden, Claudia (1996). The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York. Knopf. p. 512. ISBN   9780394532585.
  20. ↑ Gur, Janna (2014). Jewish Soul Food: From Minsk to Marrakesh.
  21. ↑ Clifford-Smith, Stephanie (2011-06-07). "Three of a kind ... shakshouka". Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on 2017-08-08. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
  22. ↑ Josephs, Bernard (2009-10-08). "Shakshuka: Israel's hottest breakfast dish". The Jewish Chronicle . Archived from the original on 2017-08-08. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
  23. ↑ Ashkenazi, Michael (2020). Food Cultures of Israel: Recipes, Customs, and Issues. p. 89.
  24. ↑ Tish, Ben (2019). Moorish: Vibrant Recipes from the Mediterranean. Bloomsbury. p. 46. ISBN   9781472958082.
  25. ↑ "Uova in purgatorio". La Cucina italiana (in Italian). 20 August 2015. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.