Shakshouka ( ar, شكشوكة : šakšūkah, also spelled ''shakshuka'' or ''chakchouka'') is a Maghrebi dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion and garlic, commonly spiced with

cumin Cumin ( or , or Article title
) (''Cuminum cyminum'') is a

paprika Paprika ( US , ; UK , ) is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers. It is traditionally made from ''Capsicum annuum'' varietals in the Longum group, which also includes chili peppers, but the peppers used for paprika tend to be milder an ...

and cayenne pepper. According to

Joan Nathan Joan Nathan is an American cookbook author and newspaper journalist. She has produced TV documentaries on the subject of Jewish cuisine. She was a co-founder of New York's Ninth Avenue Food Festival under then-Mayor Abraham Beame. ''The Jerusale ...

, shakshouka originated in Ottoman North Africa in the mid-16th century after tomatoes were introduced to the region by Hernan Cortés as part of the

Columbian exchange The Columbian exchange, also known as the Columbian interchange, was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, commodities, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the New World (the Americas) in ...

Etymology

The word ''shakshouka'' ( ar, شَكْشُوكَةٌ) is a

Maghrebi Arabic Maghrebi Arabic (, Western Arabic; as opposed to Eastern or Mashriqi Arabic) is a vernacular Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb region, in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Western Sahara, and Mauritania. It includes Moroccan, Alger ...

term for "a mixture". The exact provenance of the word is often contested, but, like the names of many Maghrebi dishes and terms, is believed to come from the language of the Amazigh (or Berber) people indigenous to the region. In the western Maghreb, it is referred to as ''bīd wu matiša'' ( "egg and tomato").

History

The origin of the dish remains a matter of some controversy with competing claims of Algerian, Libyan, Moroccan, Tunisian, Turkish and Yemeni origins. Tomatoes and peppers are notably New World ingredients that only became common ingredients in later centuries after the

. North African Jewish immigrants in Israel brought the dish in the 1950s and 1960s, though it only became popularised on menus in the 1990s.Gil Marks, ''Encyclopedia of Jewish Food'', Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010, , ''s.v.'', p. 547

Variations

Many variations of the basic sauce are possible, varying in spice and sweetness. Some cooks add

preserved lemon Preserved lemon or lemon pickle is a condiment that is common in the cuisines of Indian subcontinent and Morocco. It's also found in 18th-century English cuisine. It is also known as "country lemon" and ''leems''. Diced, quartered, halved, or ...

, salty

sheep milk cheese Sheep milk cheese is a cheese prepared from sheep milk. Well-known cheeses made from sheep milk include the Feta of Greece, Roquefort of France, Manchego from Spain, the Pecorino Romano and Ricotta of Italy. Yogurts, especially some forms of st ...

s, olives, harissa or a spicy sausage such as

chorizo Chorizo (, from Spanish ; similar to but distinct from Portuguese ) is a type of pork cured meat originating from the Iberian Peninsula. In Europe, chorizo is a fermented, cured, smoked meat, which may be sliced and eaten without cooking, or ...

or merguez. Shakshouka is made with eggs which are commonly poached but can also be scrambled like the Turkish '' menemen''.''Artzeinu: An Israel Encounter'', By Joel Lurie Grishaver, 2008 Some variations of shakshouka can be made with lamb mince, toasted whole spices, yogurt and fresh herbs. Spices can include ground

coriander Coriander (;

, caraway,

cumin Cumin ( or , or Article title
) (''Cuminum cyminum'') is a

cayenne pepper. Tunisian cooks may add potatoes, broad beans, artichoke hearts or courgettes to the dish. The North African dish '' matbukha'' can be used as a base for shakshouka. A shakhsouka made with a

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

version of

Spam Spam may refer to: * Spam (food), a canned pork meat product * Spamming, unsolicited or undesired electronic messages ** Email spam, unsolicited, undesired, or illegal email messages ** Messaging spam, spam targeting users of instant messaging ( ...

(called ''

loof Loof or Lööf (Swedish variant) is a Germanic surname that may refer to: *Anders Lööf (born 1961), Swedish male curler *Annie Lööf (born 1983), Swedish politician * Annika Lööf (born 1966), Swedish female curler * Augustine Loof (born 1996), ...

'') was added to

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

army rations in the 1950s. Because eggs are the main ingredient, it is often on breakfast menus in English-speaking countries, but in the Arab world as well as Israel, it is also a popular evening meal, and like

hummus Hummus (, ; ar, حُمُّص, 'chickpeas'; full Arabic name: ''ḥummuṣ bi-ṭ-ṭaḥīna'' ar, حمص بالطحينة, 'chickpeas with tahini'), also spelled hommus or houmous, is a Middle Eastern dip, spread, or savory dish made fr ...

and falafel, is a Levantine regional favorite. On the side, pickled vegetables and North African sausage called merguez might be served, or simply bread, with

mint tea Maghrebi mint tea (Maghrebi Arabic: , ''atay''; ar, الشاي بالنعناع, aš-šhāy bin-na'nā'; ), also known as Moroccan mint tea and Algerian mint tea, is a North African green tea prepared with spearmint leaves and sugar. It is tr ...

. In Jewish culture, a large batch of tomato stew is made for the

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...

dinner and the leftovers used the following morning to make a breakfast shakshouka with eggs. In Andalusian cuisine, the dish is known as '; this version includes

and

serrano ham Serrano may refer to: People * Serrano people, a Native American tribe of Southern California * Serrano language, the language spoken by the Serrano people *Serrano (surname), people with the surname Serrano Places *Serrano, Lecce, an Italian tow ...

. in Italian cuisine, there is a version of this dish called (eggs in purgatory) that adds tomato paste, anchovy, garlic, basil or parsley, and sometimes parmesan cheese.

References

External links

* {{Cuisine of Morocco Arab cuisine Libyan cuisine Tunisian cuisine Algerian cuisine Moroccan cuisine Israeli cuisine Egg dishes National dishes Mizrahi Jewish cuisine Sephardi Jewish cuisine Maghrebi cuisine Ottoman cuisine Spanish cuisine Italian cuisine Meze Tomato dishes Breakfast Transatlantic cultural exchange Shabbat food Middle Eastern cuisine Berber cuisine Romani cuisine

Etymology

History

Variations

See also

References

External links