A spicy, tomato sauce with slices of Turkish sausage (sujuk), topped with perfectly baked/poached eggs, feta cheese and mint! This Middle Eastern Shakshuka is a healthy, protein-packed meal that’s going to be your new favourite breakfast! Or lunch, or dinner…it’s great any time of day! Plus it’s ready in under 30 minutes!
Shakshuka (sometimes spelled shakshouka) is a Middle Eastern and North African dish, with its origins in Tunisia!
It’s traditionally made by poaching eggs in a tomato sauce with capsicum, onion, garlic, and spices. The creaminess of the egg yolks with the bold flavours of the sauce are a perfect combo.
And the beauty of Shakshuka is you can swap out different ingredients to suit your taste! So here I’m giving you my Middle Eastern Shakshuka, which is a much-loved breakfast in our household. But it also makes for a quick, healthy, protein-packed lunch or dinner!
Ingredients for Middle Eastern Shakshuka
Turkish Sausage (Sujuk)
One of the stars of the show in this dish is the Turkish sausage (sujuk, or sucuk) that we use to start building flavour. It’s like the Middle Eastern version of a chorizo! It’s a semi-dried, very flavourful sausage typically made from beef.
It usually has chilli, cumin, paprika, and other spices, and is utterly delicious! Because it has a slightly firm texture, it’s absolutely perfect as a breakfast sausage to slice up and fry off.
Sauce Base and Spices
For the sauce, we’ll need olive oil, crushed tomatoes (or passata, if you like a smoother texture), garlic and onion. And for the true flavour hit – the spices. We’ll need cumin, coriander powder, paprika, sumac, dried mint, salt and pepper. The dried mint and sumac are especially characteristic of Persian cuisine.
And if you’ve never heard of sumac, it is one of the most incredible and flavourful spices ever! It’s an incredibly citrusy, fruity red spice, and it’s made by grinding down the dried sumac berry (Native to Iran!). And it goes perfectly with many meat dishes, like this easy butterflied lamb leg!
Eggs and Toppings (Mint and Feta)
Of course, this wouldn’t be a shakshuka without eggs! And to finish off the dish, we’ll need Persian feta (or Greek feta), and fresh mint leaves.
Persian feta is made with cow’s milk and is soft, buttery, creamy, and usually marinated in oil and herbs. Greek feta is often made with sheep’s milk (sometimes combined with goat’s milk) and is firmer, and generally saltier. For this dish, I prefer the buttery, creaminess of Persian feta!
Trust me, the combination of mint and feta is such a winner. It’s a classic flavour combo in the Middle East – one traditional Persian breakfast is mint, feta, and walnuts wrapped in flatbread, and it is honestly one of the most delicious and unique combos!
The creamy saltiness of the feta, with the herbal freshness of mint is a match made in heaven. Paired with the rich egg yolks, Turkish sausage, and spiced tomato sauce, you’ve truly got yourself a flavour explosion.
How to Make this Middle Eastern Shakshuka
You start by frying your slices of Turkish sausage (sujuk) in some olive oil to begin releasing the flavour. Then you add your garlic and onion and sauté for a few minutes until they start to soften.
Next, add your cumin, coriander, paprika, dried mint, and some salt and pepper. I like adding the sumac right at the end, after the eggs have baked, to retain its intense citrusy flavour! After you add the spices, pour in your crushed tomatoes (or passata) and simmer until you’ve got a thick sauce.
With the back of a spoon, make a little well for each of the eggs. Then, just crack in your eggs! Pop the lid on until they are cooked (if you like a runny yolk like I do, 5-7 minutes will do). You can also pop the dish in the oven to bake at 180⁰C for 8-12 minutes. The cook time will depend on how many eggs you’re using, and how runny you like your egg yolks.
You can add your feta with the eggs for a more melty texture, or add them once the eggs are done for a firmer texture and cold contrast to the warm eggs – your choice. But that’s really it! Top with olive oil, fresh mint, and plenty of sumac.
Just like that, you’ve got a delicious, flavourful Middle Eastern Shakshuka in under 30 minutes!
Recipe Substitutions and Serving Suggestions
To keep this shakshuka very traditional, you can add capsicums in with your garlic and onion. You can also add sliced fresh chillies for extra spice! Or, for a completely different flavour profile, try a Spanish-Style shakshuka with ham, chorizo, fresh tomatoes and smoked paprika! You can even try a veg-based version with spinach and lentils, or chickpeas with some Greek yoghurt. The possibilities are endless!
I love serving my Middle Eastern Shakshuka with a few thick slices of crusty sourdough bread. But any flatbread would work well (traditional Persian lavash, or some naan) for mopping up all that delicious sauce!
I truly hope you love this recipe! xxx
Middle Eastern Shakshuka (Baked/Poached Eggs)
Ingredients
Method
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Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Throw in your sujuk and sauté for 1-2 minutes per side, or until starting to brown. Throw in your garlic and onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes, until they begin to soften.
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Throw in your paprika, cumin, dried mint, coriander powder, salt, pepper, and stir for 30-60 seconds. Pour in your crushed tomatoes and bring to a simmer for a a few minutes, or until it's thickened to your liking (I think 2-3 minutes is plenty - I prefer a runnier sauce!)
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With the back of a spoon, make a well in the sauce for each egg. Crack the eggs in, pop the lid on, and cook on a low-medium heat for 5-7 minutes, or to your liking (take them off the heat when they are slightly undercooked as they'll continue to cook in the heat of the sauce). See Note 3.
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Top with sumac, Persian feta (see Note 4), fresh mint leaves, and a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy as is or with some bread to mop up all that delicious sauce!
Note
- You can use either smooth passata, or crushed tomatoes for a slightly chunkier texture – personal preference!
- If you add the sumac at this stage, the intense citrusy flavour will be lessened during cooking. It’s best used as a finishing spice, which is why I like to sprinkle it on top at the end!
- The timing for how long to cook your eggs will depend on how runny you like your yolk, and how many eggs you are making in total. More eggs and cooked through yolks = longer cook time. But check at the 5 minute mark to see how they are going, and then every few minutes, until they are slightly under. Remove them from the heat at this point, since they will continue to cook in the hot liquid/sauce as they sit there.
- I like adding the feta at the end out of preference! I prefer the crumbly texture, but if you prefer an oozy, melty feta then add it in along with your eggs!
