Recipe variations that jazz up Classic Shakshouka

Shakshouka is a tomato stew dish that can be eaten at all hours of the day. (Photo: Joy/Flickr)


Turn it green, add a sprinkling of cheese, serve it over hummus – there's no denying the awesomeness of shakshouka.

Shakshouka is a relatively straightforward dish to make. It's basically the best tomato sauce you've ever had with a few eggs cracked over the top of it. Voila, that's it and it's darn delicious. But it's understandable if, from time to time, you want to add a little pizazz to this minimalist dish. Here are five ways to do just that.
Green shakshouka

Green shakshouka at Jack's Wife Freda, a Mediterranean restaurant with two lower Manhattan locations. (Photo: Courtesy of Jack's Wife Freda)

In case you didn't find shakshouka healthy enough, there's green shakshouka. In this rendition the tomato component is replaced with a sauteed green vegetable – spinach and swiss chard are popular alternatives, but kale is quickly gaining ground in the popularity ranks. Here's a recipe using swiss chard that's great for shakshouka novices.

The nice thing about this dish is that, while the recipe for traditional shakshouka isn't one to deviate too far from, green shakshouka is much more amenable to experimentation. Add mushrooms, tomatillo, lentils, leeks – anything you like, really.

Shakshouka hummus

Shakshouka hummus (foreground) is easy to make and a delicious alternative to eating the two dishes separately. (Photo: Christina Garofalo/Flickr)

This is an Israeli favorite, easy enough to make at home, and quite tasty. First you layer a dish with hummus, then you layer the shakshouka on top of it. That's it. Really.

If making it at home seems too daunting a task, then rest assured, if you happen to come across it on a restaurant's menu, it signals the chef's mastery of both foods, and you should probably order it. And eat it. Definitely eat it.

Louisiana shrimp shakshouka

Wunderkind Israeli chef Alon Shaya's ability to fuse the flavors of his adopted hometown of New Orleans and blend them with those of his home country have made him a culinary star Stateside. No dish is more symbolic of his approach to modern Israeli cuisine than Louisiana shrimp shakshouka. It is a staple of his eponymous restaurant Shaya, that takes a classic shakshouka recipe and adds okra, shrimp and spice to it. Surf and turf, meet surf and spicy.
Shakshouka with feta

Adding feta cheese to shakshouka is a good way to give the dish even more flavor. (Photo: Elena Veselova/Shutterstock)

This is a nice alternative on Israeli menus to plain shakshouka, especially at vegetarian restaurants, where the addition of meat is clearly not an option. It is one of the more popular dishes at the Silvana restaurant in New York City.

Cook up your shakshouka as usual. You can either add crumbled bits of feta before or after the eggs have been added – it really depends on whether you prefer to fully incorporate it into the dish or have it garnished on top. Either way you'll be happy to have included it.
Shakshouka pizza

Shakshouka pizza is a fun way to eat the traditional tomato stuff. (Photo: Joy/Flickr)

Placing a pan full of bright red stew in front of a child and getting them to eat it may be difficult. But dressing it up as pizza by throwing that red stew on top of some circular dough (or whatever shape pleases you), adding cheese of your choice and then plopping down a couple of eggs on top might give you a better chance of the outcome you want: a happy camper at the dinner table. Basically use the shakshouka as the sauce and then have fun with it. Remember that there are no rules to this one.