Shakshuka with Feta and Couscous Recipe by Molly Yeh (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between shakshuka and Menemen? ›

The spice varieties vary depending on where it's served. Shakshuka features a thick, saucy tomato base of peppers and onions with baked eggs. With menemen, the concept is a little different. Think of it as more of a soft egg scramble with lots of silky green peppers and fresh tomato.

Also, it is perfectly acceptable to eat shakshuka straight out of the pan, using wedges of pita bread as your spoon. Of course, if you prefer a knife and fork, spoon the eggs with their sauce over lightly toasted bread. This recipe is especially tasty served on toasted Bloody Mary Bread.

Shakshuka (also spelt with an O, shakshouka), is a staple dish on any Israeli breakfast table. In fact, they eat it at breakfast, lunch and dinner – both at home and in restaurants. The dish is so popular here that it's considered right up there with falafels and hummus as the best of Israeli cuisine.

​ WHAT IS SHAKSHUKA? Shakshuka (Arabic: شكشوكة‎; Hebrew: שקשוקה‎) is a dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, chili peppers, onions, which is often spiced with cumin. It is believed to have a Tunisian origin. Shakshuka means "a mixture" or “shaken” in Tunisian dialect.

Even though many people today associate shakshuka with Israel, it actually originated in North Africa and the Ottoman Empire: the only reason shakshuka is eaten in Israel is because North African Jewish immigrants brought it there.

Serve it with pita or crusty bread for breakfast or brunch...or dinner!

Meaning of shakshuka in English

a breakfast dish of baked eggs in a tomato sauce that sometimes also contains vegetables: Shakshuka is a famous dish that almost every Libyan knows how to make. The shaksuka, served in its cooking pan, was great mopped up with sourdough toast.

Crack in the eggs and simmer

Ottolenghi advises using a fork to swirl the egg whites around in the sauce, all the while being careful not to break the yolks. Simmer until the egg whites are just set and the yolks are still slightly runny.

These two dishes are completely different. Huevos rancheros are fried eggs served with warm salsa on a fried tortilla and Shakshuka are eggs poached in a zesty tomato sauce.

Is shakshuka good for you? ›

Shakshuka is an easy-to-make and surprisingly healthy breakfast or lunch option, bringing together the health benefits of eggs and cooked tomatoes. If you've never heard of or tried Shakshuka, you are seriously missing out!

Originally coming from countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Algeria and Morocco it became popular in Israel from the Tunisian Jews. Some people believe the dish was invented in the Ottoman Empire and spread throughout the Middle East – often served with a spicy sausage.

In Jewish culture, a large batch of tomato stew is made for the Sabbath dinner and the leftovers used the following morning to make a breakfast shakshouka with eggs.

Many think of this dish an Israeli breakfast food because it is quite popular in places like Tel Aviv, but these eggs in tomato sauce are something you'll find in many parts of North Africa and the Middle East. Fun fact, the origins of the word shakshuka comes from the Arabic for "all mixed up" or "shaken."

Menemen is a popular traditional Turkish dish that includes eggs, tomato, green peppers, and spices such as ground black and red pepper cooked in olive oil. Menemen may be made with onions, but the addition of onions is often debated and is more common when menemen is eaten as a main dish, rather than at breakfast.

These two dishes are completely different. Huevos rancheros are fried eggs served with warm salsa on a fried tortilla and Shakshuka are eggs poached in a zesty tomato sauce.

Turkish Menemen and Israeli shakshuka are very similar but differ in the method and seasoning. Both are breakfast dishes where eggs are cooked in a tomato sauce. In menemen the eggs are virtually scrambled into the sauce, whereas shakshuka eggs are placed on the sauce and only slightly mixed.

In Morocco, it is referred to as bīḍ w-maṭiša (بيض ومطيشة "egg and tomato"). The term shakshouka may have derived from "shak", another Arabic word meaning "to combine things together", as the dish combines tomatoes, chilies and eggs.