Now When I Eat, Well Don't Think I'm A Nut, Don't Want No Fancy Brunch Dish, Just One Like Old King Tut's

He could'da won a Grammy, buried in his jammies....King Tut. Good old Steve Martin.

Lovin' over the oven!

Shakshuka, or Shakshouka, is a staple of Egyptian, Tunisian, Libyan, Algerian and Moroccan cuisine, and is very popular in Israel. For this weekend, it proves a very tasty way to help use up the abundance of Israeli tri-color pearl couscous on hand, a result of yet another mis-read of the quantity in an Amazon Marketplace order. I seem to make that mistake a lot. Hmm.

I keep throwing myself into peals of hysterical giggles over the name of the  dish. It sounds like the character of Sarah Palin in Game Change trying to learn to pronounce Mikheil Saakasvili's last name.

A cranberry mimosa sounds lovely right about now.

Mangia!

Saffron Shakshuka

Yahoo Food 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, peeled and minced

2 red peppers, cored, seeded, and rough chopped

1 – 2 poblano peppers, seeded and chopped

6 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled, and minced

1/4 cup canned green chilies

1 quart whole, peeled tomatoes

1 tablespoon spicy Hungarian paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt (less if using a very salty feta)

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin seed

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed

5 threads saffron

Splash rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup goat’s milk feta (look, I don't know if what I used was from a goat. I got over it quickly.)

1/4 cup minced parsley

2 tablespoons minced chives

6 eggs

Yum!

Heat a large 3 or 4 quart skillet with 2 inch deep sides over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, and
when hot, the onions. When the onions are soft and translucent, add the red pepper and poblano; continue to sauté for 4 minutes or so. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute more. Next, stir in the canned chilies and the tomatoes and juice, crushing each whole tomato with your hand as you go. Stir in the salt, pepper, and spices. Bring mixture up to a gentle boil, and then turn heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the rice wine vinegar, feta, parsley, and chives. Check salt levels and adjust as needed.

Edge heat up to medium-low. Working one at a time, crack each egg into a small bowl, and then transfer the egg to the shakshuka by dipping it into the stew and giving it a careful tip. Repeat for each egg. Cover and allow eggs to poach for 6 – 8 minutes –– just until the whites have set up.

To serve, ladle into a bowl or spoon shakshuka over a grain, polenta, or rice. Garnish with a pinch of fresh herbs, a dash of paprika, and a sprinkle of feta.