I became full-fledged obsessed with all things Ottolenghi and Israeli food in 2014, our first year living in California. I must have cooked shakshuka, a traditional Israeli dish of bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, braised down into a perfect sauce, with eggs poached right into the sauce, 100 times. Truly. At least 100 times.
I still adore the traditional tomato-based version, but I find myself tending towards this completely non-traditional “green shakshuka” a lot more these days. We feel so much better when we start our day with a big serving of leafy greens, something that we learned while doing the Whole30, plus this recipe is just completely delicious. Use whatever green you like (from my list below), but we hugely prefer Swiss chard.
You can braise the greens in water or heavy cream, depending on whether you’re feeling like a health nut, or a health nut who deserves to have a little fun.
We are also big eggs-for-dinner people, so we don’t by any means limit our green shakshuka to breakfast hours. This is a superb dinner dish, if you can get past thinking of it as breakfast!
This recipe serves two on it’s own, or four with a few slices of good bread and some extra crispy bacon.
One-Skillet Green Basil Shakshuka
Equipment
- 10-inch skillet with a lid (or just use a larger skillet or baking sheet to cover the skillet)
- Wooden spoon
- Cutting board
- Chef’s knife
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large bunch rainbow chard (about 1 pounds), stems thinly sliced and leaves finely chopped and kept separate (4 packed cups)
- 1 large shallot, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- Kosher salt
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 cup basil, thinly sliced, divided
- 1/4 cup water or heavy cream (water for Whole30)
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, crumbled (about 3/4 cup) (omit for Whole 30 and use diced avocado instead)
Substitutions:
- Swiss chard—> kale (deribbed, skip the stem step), collards, Napa cabbage
- Shallot—> small yellow or red onion
- Garlic cloves—> 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Cumin, paprika, red pepper flakes, turmeric—> it’s fine to leave out one or several of these spices. Swap in one of the following for a different but excellent flavor: 1 tablespoon harissa paste, chili powder, tiny pinch of cayenne pepper, dried thyme, dried oregano, chipotle powder
- Basil—> cilantro or parsley
- Water or heavy cream—> ok, I know you definitely have water, but I just wanted to add here that if you have a container of chicken stock going bad in the fridge, this is a great place to use that!
- Eggs—> errr, this is an egg dish, ma’am. But if you don’t have any eggs, fine, sure, you can just serve this braised green sich alongside grilled meat or something!
- Feta cheese—> goat cheese, cotija cheese, parmesan cheese…. do your thing here. Whatever cheese you have will probably be delicious.
Instructions
- Warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add Swiss chard stems only and 1 large minced shallot. Cook, stirring often, for 3 to 4 minutes, until tender.
- Add 3 minced garlic cloves, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon turmeric and stir for 1 more minute, until very fragrant. Stir in finely chopped Swiss chard leaves, 1/4 cup thinly sliced basil, and 1/4 cup water or heavy cream and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until leaves are tender and most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Using the back of a wooden spoon, create four 2-inch divots in the chard mixture. Crack an egg into each divot. Season eggs with a pinch of salt. Cover and cook until whites are almost set, 4 to 6 minutes.
- Sprinkle 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese over top, then cover, and cook until the whites are set and the yolks are cooked to your liking, 2 to 4 minutes more.
- Serve into shallow bowls and garnish with remaining 1/4 cup thinly sliced basil.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large bunch rainbow chard (about 1 pounds), stems thinly sliced and leaves finely chopped and kept separate (4 packed cups)
- 1 large shallot, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- Kosher salt
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 cup basil, thinly sliced, divided
- 1/4 cup water or heavy cream (water for Whole30)
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, crumbled (about 3/4 cup) (omit for Whole 30 and use diced avocado instead)
Substitutions:
- Swiss chard—> kale (deribbed, skip the stem step), collards, Napa cabbage
- Shallot—> small yellow or red onion
- Garlic cloves—> 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Cumin, paprika, red pepper flakes, turmeric—> it’s fine to leave out one or several of these spices. Swap in one of the following for a different but excellent flavor: 1 tablespoon harissa paste, chili powder, tiny pinch of cayenne pepper, dried thyme, dried oregano, chipotle powder
- Basil—> cilantro or parsley
- Water or heavy cream—> ok, I know you definitely have water, but I just wanted to add here that if you have a container of chicken stock going bad in the fridge, this is a great place to use that!
- Eggs—> errr, this is an egg dish, ma’am. But if you don’t have any eggs, fine, sure, you can just serve this braised green sich alongside grilled meat or something!
- Feta cheese—> goat cheese, cotija cheese, parmesan cheese…. do your thing here. Whatever cheese you have will probably be delicious.
