Shakshouka (also shakshuka) is a dish of egg

Egg (food)

Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...

s poached in a sauce of tomato

Tomato

The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...

es, chili pepper

Chili pepper

Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...

s, onion

Onion

The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...

s, often spice

Spice

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...

d with cumin

Cumin

Cumin is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native from the east Mediterranean to India. Its seeds are used in the cuisines of many different cultures, in both whole and ground form.-Etymology:...

. It is believed to have Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

n and Tunisia

Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

n origins.

Etymology

Shakshouka in Tamazight

Berber languages

The Berber languages are a family of languages indigenous to North Africa, spoken from Siwa Oasis in Egypt to Morocco , and south to the countries of the Sahara Desert...

 means "a mixture." In Hebrew it means “all mixed up.”

History

Shakshouka is a staple of Tunisian

Cuisine of Tunisia

Tunisian cuisine, the cuisine of Tunisia, is a blend of Mediterranean and desert dwellers' culinary traditions. Its distinctive spicy fieriness comes from neighbouring Mediterranean countries and the many civilizations which have ruled the land now known as Tunisia: Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs,...

, Egyptian, Libyan

Libyan

A Libyan is a person or thing of, from, or related to Libya in North Africa.The term Libyan may also refer to:* A person from Libya, or of Libyan descent. For information about the Libyan people, see Demographics of Libya and Culture of Libya. For specific persons, see List of Libyans.* Libyan...

, Algerian

Algerian cuisine

The cuisine of Algeria is a distinct fusion of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines.-Description:Algerian cuisine differs slightly from region to region. Algerian cuisine has strong Berber but also Ottoman Turkish influence due to the Ottoman occupation. The main varieties are Algiers, Oran ,...

, and Moroccan cuisines, and is also popular in Israel

Israeli cuisine

Israeli cuisine comprises local dishes by Jews native to Israel and dishes brought to Israel by Jews from the Diaspora. Since before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israeli Jewish fusion cuisine has developed.Israeli cuisine has adopted,...

, where it was introduced by Tunisian Jews

History of the Jews in Tunisia

The history of the Jews in Tunisia goes back to Roman times. Before 1948, the Jewish population of Tunisia reached a peak of 110,000. From the 1950s, half this number left for Israel and the other half for France...

. In Libya, Shakshouka is a traditional breakfast meal.

In Israel, the dish has been said to challenge hummus

Hummus

Hummus is high in iron and vitamin C and also has significant amounts of folate and vitamin B6. The chickpeas make it a good source of protein and dietary fiber; the tahini consists mostly of sesame seeds, which are an excellent source of the amino acid methionine, complementing the proteins in the...

 and falafel

Falafel

Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas and/or fava beans. Falafel is usually served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread known as lafa. The falafel balls are topped with salads, pickled vegetables, hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces...

 as a national favourite, especially in the winter. It is traditionally served up in a cast iron pan with bread to mop up the sauce.According to some food historians, the dish was invented in the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

, spreading throughout the Middle East and Spain, where it is often served with spicy sausage. Another belief is that it hails from Yemen

Yemen

The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

, where it is served with zhug, a hot green paste.

Similar dishes

Shakshouka is similar to the Turkish

Cuisine of Turkey

Turkish cuisine is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. Turkish cuisine has in turn influenced those and other neighbouring cuisines, including that of western Europe...

 dish menemen

Menemen (food)

Menemen is a Turkish dish which includes egg, onion, tomato and green peppers , and spices such as ground black pepper, ground red pepper, salt, oregano, and mint). Black or green olives can be included as ingredients...

, and the Mexican breakfast dish huevos rancheros

Huevos rancheros

Huevos rancheros is a classic Mexican breakfast dish popular throughout much of the Americas consisting of eggs served in the style of the traditional large mid-morning fare on poor farms....

.

External links

• Jewlicious—Authentic Moroccan Jewish Shakshuka recipe
• The Shiksa—Shakshuka recipe inspired by Doctor Shakshuka in Israel