Shakshouka

{{for multi|the shredded flatbread and chickpea dish|Chakhchoukha|the Turkish eggplant dish|Şakşuka|the documentary film|The Shakshuka System}}

{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Shakshouka

| image = Shakshuka by Calliopejen1.jpg

| image_size = 220px

| caption = Shakshouka in a cast iron pan

| image_alt = Shakshouka with five cooked eggs on top of tomato sauce in cast iron skillet

| alternate_name = Shakshuka, chakchouka

| country =

| region =

| creator =

| course =

| type = Main dish

| served =

| main_ingredient = Tomatoes, harissa, eggs, olive oil

| variations =

| calories =

| other =

| place_of_origin = Ottoman North Africa

}}

File:Shakshuka8.jpg

Shakshouka{{efn|{{langx|ar|شكشوكة|šakšūkah}}}}{{efn|also spelled shakshuka or chakchouka}} is a Maghrebi{{cite book|author=Gil Marks|title=Encyclopedia of Jewish Food |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFK_yx7Ps7cC&pg=PA1673|year=2010|publisher=HMH |isbn=978-0-544-18631-6|page=1673}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Salah |first=Maha |date=14 February 2020 |title=Shakshuka |work=Middle East Monitor |url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200214-shakshuka/}}

Etymology

Shakshuka is a word for "mixture" in Algerian Arabic, and "mixed" in Tunisian Arabic.{{cite book|author=بن قينة، عمر|title=قوة الحق فوق حق القوة|year=2010|publisher=دار الأمة، |isbn=978-9961-67-199-3|pages=121}}{{Cite dictionary |title=shakshuka |encyclopedia=Collins English Dictionary |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/shakshuka}} The Oxford English Dictionary describes the English version of the word as being borrowed from more than one origin: 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,{{Cite encyclopedia |title=shakshuka |encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/shakshuka_n?tab=etymology#1222841360}} and which itself had been borrowed into French from Algerian Arabic.{{cite book|author=Alain Rey|title=Dictionnaire Historique de la langue française|year=2011|publisher=NATHAN, 2011 |isbn=978-2-321-00013-6|pages=4220}}

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. 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.{{Cite book |last=Sienna |first=Noam |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7560/324578 |title=Making Levantine Cuisine: Modern Foodways of the Eastern Mediterranean |date=2021 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-1-4773-2457-8 |editor-last=Gaul |editor-first=Anny |pages=170–183 |chapter=Shakshūka for All Seasons: Tunisian Jewish Foodways at the Turn of the Twentieth Century |doi=10.7560/324578 |jstor=10.7560/324578 |editor-last2=Pitts |editor-first2=Graham Auman |editor-last3=Valosik |editor-first3=Vicki |editor-link3=Vicki Valosik}}{{Cite book |last=Buccini |first=Anthony F. |title=Authenticity in the Kitchen: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 2005 |publisher=Prospect Books |year=2006 |editor-last=Hosking |editor-first=Richard |pages=132–145 |chapter=Western Mediterranean Vegetable Stews and the Integration of Culinary Exotica}}

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. Shakshouka began appearing in Israeli restaurants in the 1990s.{{Cite web |last=Fitzgerald |first=Mary |date=Apr 24, 2021 |title=Shakshuka: All mixed up over a brilliant breakfast |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/shakshuka-all-mixed-up-over-a-brilliant-breakfast-1.4526350 |access-date=2021-09-09 |publisher=The Irish Times}}

Variations

File:Merguez Shakshouka.jpg shakshuka]]

File:At London 2024 032.jpg 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.{{cite news |title=Shakshuka recipe |date=February 18, 2012 |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/19/yotam-ottolenghi-breakfast-recipe-shakshuka}} Shakshouka is made with eggs, which are commonly poached but can also be scrambled, like in the Turkish menemen.Joel Lurie Grishaver (2008). Artzeinu: An Israel Encounter.Gil Marks, Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010, {{isbn|9780470391303}}, s.v., p. 547

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 {{Transliteration|ary|bīḍ w-maṭiša}} ({{Lang|ary|بيض ومطيشة}} "egg and tomato").{{Cite web |date=2012-10-16 |title=وداعا "البيض ومطيشة" |url=https://www.hespress.com/وداعا-البيض-ومطيشة-104064.html |access-date=2022-01-26 |website=Hespress - هسبريس جريدة إلكترونية مغربية |language=ar}}{{Cite news |last=بنعبو |first=عبد العزيز |date=12 February 2023 |title=المغاربة يواجهون غضبهم من غلاء الخضار بالسخرية… ومواطن يواعد الطماطم والبصل: «نلتقي لاحقا» |url=https://www.alquds.co.uk/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC%D9%87%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%BA%D8%B6%D8%A8%D9%87%D9%85-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%BA%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AE%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%B1/}}

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.{{cite web |title=Egyptian Shakshuka Recipe |url=https://www.getours.com/expert-travel-advice/food-drink/recipes/egyptian-shakshuka |website=Grand European Travel |access-date=March 16, 2025}} Chopped tomatoes or tomato paste is then added, along with spices such as cumin, paprika, and chili powder. Once the sauce thickens, eggs are cracked directly into the mixture and poached until the whites are set but the yolks remain runny.{{cite web |title=Egyptian Shakshuka Recipe |url=https://www.getours.com/expert-travel-advice/food-drink/recipes/egyptian-shakshuka |website=Grand European Travel |access-date=March 16, 2025}} 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.{{cite web |title=Egyptian Shakshuka Recipe |url=https://www.getours.com/expert-travel-advice/food-drink/recipes/egyptian-shakshuka |website=Grand European Travel |access-date=March 16, 2025}}

Some variations of shakshouka can be made with lamb mince, toasted whole spices, yogurt and fresh herbs.{{Cite news| issn = 0261-3077| last = Gordon| first = Peter| title = Peter Gordon's lamb shakshouka recipe| work = The Guardian| access-date = 2018-07-21| date = 2018-06-03| url = https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jun/03/peter-gordons-lamb-shakshouka-recipe}} Spices can include ground coriander, caraway, paprika, cumin and cayenne pepper.{{Cite web| title = Shakshouka Recipe – Tunisian Recipes| work = PBS Food| access-date = 2018-07-21| date = 2015-03-12| url = http://www.pbs.org/food/recipes/shakshouka-2/}}{{Cite web| last = Clark| first = Melissa| title = Shakshuka With Feta Recipe| work = NYT Cooking| access-date = 2018-07-21| url = https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014721-shakshuka-with-feta}} Tunisian cooks may add potatoes, broad beans, artichoke hearts or courgettes to the dish.{{cite book | title = The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York | first = Claudia | last = Roden | publisher = Knopf | date = 1996 | isbn = 9780394532585 | page = 512 }} The North African dish matbukha can be used as a base for shakshouka.{{cite book |last1=Gur |first1=Janna |title=Jewish Soul Food: From Minsk to Marrakesh |date=2014}}

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,{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/restaurants-and-bars/three-of-a-kind--shakshouka-20110603-1flpc |title=Three of a kind ... shakshouka |first=Stephanie |last=Clifford-Smith |date=2011-06-07 |work=Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=2017-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808074827/http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/restaurants-and-bars/three-of-a-kind--shakshouka-20110603-1flpc |archive-date=2017-08-08 |url-status=live }} and, like hummus and falafel, is a Levantine regional favorite.{{cite news |last=Josephs |first=Bernard |date=2009-10-08 |title=Shakshuka: Israel's hottest breakfast dish |url=https://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/food/shakshuka-israel-s-hottest-breakfast-dish-1.11723 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808035018/https://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/food/shakshuka-israel-s-hottest-breakfast-dish-1.11723 |archive-date=2017-08-08 |access-date=2017-08-07 |work=The Jewish Chronicle}} On the side, pickled vegetables and North African sausage called merguez might be served, or simply bread, with mint tea.{{cite book |last=Ashkenazi |first=Michael |title=Food Cultures of Israel: Recipes, Customs, and Issues |date=2020 |page=89}}

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. In Andalusian cuisine, the dish is known as {{Lang|es|huevos a la flamenca}}; this version includes chorizo and serrano ham.{{cite book |last1=Tish |first1=Ben |title=Moorish: Vibrant Recipes from the Mediterranean |date=2019 |publisher=Bloomsbury |page=46 |isbn=9781472958082 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dGKJDwAAQBAJ}} In Italian cuisine, there is a version of this dish called {{Lang|it|uova in purgatorio}} (eggs in purgatory) that adds garlic, basil or parsley.{{Cite web|title=Uova in purgatorio|url= https://www.lacucinaitaliana.it/ricetta/secondi/uova-in-purgatorio/|access-date=2023-06-24|website=La Cucina italiana|date= 20 August 2015|language=it}}