Shakshuka, from Kitty Liu

SHASHUKA

This probably-Tunisian recipe is super easy and can be bastardized in numerous ways to suit tastes and dietary needs. Prep time is around 10 minutes. Total cooking time is about 20 minutes, depending how long you cook the (optional) eggs.

Instructions:

1. Heat olive oil in large sauté pan on medium heat. Add bell pepper and onion and cook until softened and translucent. 2. Add garlic and spices and cook approx. 1 min. Be careful not to burn the garlic. If adding other spices, add now. 3. Add tomatoes (with juices). Break tomatoes with a spoon. Season with s/p to taste and lower heat to a simmer. IF ADDING CHICKPEAS, ADD

NOW. Let simmer 10-15 minutes. If mixture seems too chunky or dry, add a little water to loosen. 4. IF ADDING EGGS: Make small wells in the sauce and crack an egg into each well. Cover the pan and cook for at least 5 minutes, or longer if desired. 5. GARNISH with fresh herbs and feta or chevre, if using. 6. SERVE with warm pita or crusty bread (or omit if GF).

Instructions:

Sauce 1. Take a couple tablespoons of olive oil and heat in sauce pan medium heat 2. Add 2 or more crushed cloves of garlic, once it’s starting to get golden pour in 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes 3. Add 2 tsp of basil 4. Add 2 tsp of oregano. (If we have some pesto I’ll usually throw in a tbsp or two of that) 5. Add about a 1/4 tsp or so of pepper. (If you want to add some crushed pepper- the hot pepper flake things I sometimes add a few shakes of that) 6. Simmer on low for 15 minutes or so Crust 1. Add yeast and sugar to warm water. Wait for it to bubble. 2. Add 1/4 cup vegetable oil and mix it up 3. Add 4 – 6 cups of flour or enough to knead the dough into a ball so it’s firm and not too sticky 4. Once you have a ball pour a couple tbsp of olive oil into a bowl plop the ball of dough in the bowl then dough over so the oil gets to spread over the dough a bit. Let the dough ball double in size more or less. Once it does punch it down. 5. Wait at least ten minutes (30 is better), take a little more than a half of the dough and roll it out for the bottom of the pizza. Place in (olive oil) oiled pan. 6. We usually put about half or so of the sauce in the bottom half, spread about half of the cheese. We usually put some toppings in the first layer and some on the top layer. 7. Take the remaining dough and roll it out and cover the first layer, pinching the dough together around

Cook at 450 for 22-30 minutes depending on how thick the pizza gets. We usually cook for about 27-28 minutes, as we usually ad more cheese and toppings than the original recipe calls for. When the top is just starting to brown it should be cooked all the way through. If you cut into it and the bottom feels a little doughy pop it back in for 5 minutes. the edges of the pizza. Put the remaining sauce and cheese, topping, etc on top.