duck egg shakshuka

my affection towards shakshuka began with this idyllic moment in dahab, egypt. i don't know why i don't make it more often for myself at home. it's stupidly easy to make and incredibly satisfying. last weekend, we went to the farmers market a bit later in the day than usual and our go-to egg farmer was sold out of chicken eggs. he did however, have beautiful giant duck eggs for sale! they were far heftier than chicken eggs, with incredibly rich, large orange yolks that ran runny through the spicy tomato stew. and in celebration of spring, i tossed in some fresh radishes from the market as well and served it all up with some crusty olive fougasse bread from our favorite market vendor. it was such an incredible meal, you can certainly enjoy this dish for breakfast, lunch or dinner! 

i'd encourage you to splurge on some pastured duck eggs, but you can certainly use chicken eggs. note that they won't be quite as filling so you may want to cook 2 chicken eggs per serving, instead of one duck egg. you can also make a full batch of tomato stew and then just use a portion of the stew to cook individual eggs in individual-sized skillets. or store any leftover stew and simmer more eggs another day! heck, make a double batch of shakshuka stew and have a quick 5 minute meal ready to go all week! 

duck egg shakshuka ~ serves 4

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon cumin 

1/2 teaspoon (or more) harissa paste 

1 diced red bell pepper or 6 cherry bomb peppers, thinly sliced

28oz crushed canned tomatoes (or briefly whiz up any other type of canned tomatoes in a blender)

1 cup loosely packed parsley

4 duck eggs

4 radishes, optional

1/2 cup feta cheese (i used raw goat milk feta) 

serve with crusty bread for mopping up the stewy eggs! 

notes: cherry bomb peppers are spicy, so if you are sensitive to heat, use red bell pepper. harissa is also optional, but i love the added heat of both the fresh peppers and the harissa chili paste! 

crush garlic cloves and let rest for 10 minutes before cooking garlic. heat oil in a wide skillet and saute onions over medium heat for 5 minutes. add garlic, peppers and spices. saute for another 3 minutes over medium-low heat. add crushed or blended tomatoes and bring to a simmer. continue to simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. in the mean time wash and chop parsley, thinly slice radishes and crumble feta to set aside. 

after tomatoes have stewed for 15 minutes, remove lid and make 4 divots in the stew - spaced evenly apart but not too close to the rim. crack duck eggs into each individual divots. cover again and simmer for 5-8 minutes. check firmness frequently after 5 minutes. for duck eggs, you'll want the white to be fairly firm but the yolk should still feel giggly. for chicken eggs, remove from heat when whites are just set. top with parsley, feta cheese and radishes and serve with crusty bread or toast.