Shakshuka pairs well with warm flatbread and <a href='https://masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-labneh' target='_blank' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-labneh","linkCopy":"labneh","category":"automated-link"}' automatic='true'>labneh</a> as the centerpiece of a brunch spread. Learn how to make Chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s green herb shakshuka, a variation on the traditional, tomato-based dish.

Yotam Ottolenghi’s Green Herb Shakshuka Recipe

Shakshuka is a North African dish of eggs poached in a flavorful harissa-spiked sauce eaten across the Middle East as a breakfast or lunch. Shakshuka recipes may call for red bell peppers and tomatoes, but you can make shakshuka with nearly any vegetable.

While the dish typically features tomato sauce, Israeli-born Chef Yotam Ottolenghi decided to make a green shakshuka by slowly cooking a huge quantity of herbs and green vegetables together (a technique that is common across the Persian Gulf). You can use bread or pita to eat his mix of eggs braised in a pan with a vegetable-based sauce.
Shakshuka is substantial but not overly heavy, endlessly versatile, and visually enticing. Shakshuka improves with slow cooking, but Chef Yotam has a few tips for saving time and enhancing the flavor: 

- __Use a food processor__. There’s a lot of vegetable prep involved in shakshuka, so to save time, use a food processor to roughly chop the herbs and scallions. “[Don’t add] all the herbs at the same time because [the] machine cannot deal with that,” Chef Yotam says. “But you can do it in batches. It will save you tons of time… Get the machine to do it for you. That’s what technology is for.” 
- __Slow-cook the herbs__. Cook the herbs over moderate heat and stir them often to avoid sticking and burning on the bottom. “I wanna make sure that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan,” he says. “That’s the main thing here… The slow-cooking without much oil is what this dish is all about.” The longer you cook the base, the better it will taste. Slow-cooking the herbs in this way makes the base earthy and fragrant while still feeling fresh. The runny egg yolks add richness, and everything gets an extra oomph from a drizzle of spicy harissa and a sprinkle of freshly fried garlic.
- __Incorporate citrus__. Lime juice will add a brightness to the dish. In lieu of fresh lime juice, you can also use store-bought or homemade preserved lemons or other alternatives, which you can stir directly into the base. “If anyone has some Iranian dried limes, which are these rock-hard limes you can get in Middle Eastern and Persian shops, they are great here,” Chef Yotam says. “You put one of those here and [crush it], and then it will give a lot of [flavor] to the sauce.” 
- __Make the base in advance__. To save additional time, make the base in advance. “You can make it a day ahead of time and just keep it in the fridge and warm up the following day, he says. “And that’s true of every shakshuka base.” 
Shakshuka pairs well with warm flatbread and <a href='https://masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-labneh' target='_blank' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-labneh","linkCopy":"labneh","category":"automated-link"}' automatic='true'>labneh</a> as the centerpiece of a brunch spread. Learn how to make Chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s green herb shakshuka, a variation on the traditional, tomato-based dish.

Shakshuka is a North African dish of eggs poached in a flavorful harissa-spiked sauce eaten across the Middle East as a breakfast or lunch. Shakshuka recipes may call for red bell peppers and tomatoes, but you can make shakshuka with nearly any vegetable.While the dish typically features tomato sauce, Israeli-born Chef Yotam Ottolenghi decided to make a green shakshuka by slowly cooking a huge quantity of herbs and green vegetables together (a technique that is common across the Persian Gulf). You can use bread or pita to eat his mix of eggs braised in a pan with a vegetable-based sauce.

What Is Shakshuka?

Shakshuka is substantial but not overly heavy, endlessly versatile, and visually enticing. Shakshuka improves with slow cooking, but Chef Yotam has a few tips for saving time and enhancing the flavor: <ul class="mc-m-4 list-styled"><li class="">Use a food processor. There’s a lot of vegetable prep involved in shakshuka, so to save time, use a food processor to roughly chop the herbs and scallions. “[Don’t add] all the herbs at the same time because [the] machine cannot deal with that,” Chef Yotam says. “But you can do it in batches. It will save you tons of time… Get the machine to do it for you. That’s what technology is for.” </li><li class="">Slow-cook the herbs. Cook the herbs over moderate heat and stir them often to avoid sticking and burning on the bottom. “I wanna make sure that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan,” he says. “That’s the main thing here… The slow-cooking without much oil is what this dish is all about.” The longer you cook the base, the better it will taste. Slow-cooking the herbs in this way makes the base earthy and fragrant while still feeling fresh. The runny egg yolks add richness, and everything gets an extra oomph from a drizzle of spicy harissa and a sprinkle of freshly fried garlic. </li><li class="">Incorporate citrus. Lime juice will add a brightness to the dish. In lieu of fresh lime juice, you can also use store-bought or homemade preserved lemons or other alternatives, which you can stir directly into the base. “If anyone has some Iranian dried limes, which are these rock-hard limes you can get in Middle Eastern and Persian shops, they are great here,” Chef Yotam says. “You put one of those here and [crush it], and then it will give a lot of [flavor] to the sauce.” </li><li class="">Make the base in advance. To save additional time, make the base in advance. “You can make it a day ahead of time and just keep it in the fridge and warm up the following day, he says. “And that’s true of every shakshuka base.” </li></ul>

Chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s Tips for Making Shakshuka

Yotam Ottolenghi’s Green Herb Shakshuka

Shakshuka pairs well with warm flatbread and <a href='https://masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-labneh' target='_blank' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-labneh","linkCopy":"labneh","category":"automated-link"}' automatic='true'>labneh</a> as the centerpiece of a brunch spread. Learn how to make Chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s green herb shakshuka, a variation on the traditional, tomato-based dish.

Shakshuka pairs well with warm flatbread and <a href='https://masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-labneh' target='_blank' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-labneh","linkCopy":"labneh","category":"automated-link"}' automatic='true'>labneh</a> as the centerpiece of a brunch spread. Learn how to make Chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s green herb shakshuka, a variation on the traditional, tomato-based dish.