Modular recipe: Exploiting the versatility of Shakshuka

With an aromatic tomato and paprika sauce, this pan-cooked dish has long since become a breakfast favourite. How truly versatile Shakshuka is becomes clear with our modular recipe system. We reveal how to be even more creative and get more variety and colour out of your cooking.

We all have our favourite dishes that we would like to cook every week. Shakshuka has already turned many breakfast fans around the world into repeat offenders, because it is easily prepared in one pan and is perfect as a hearty breakfast for everyone to share and enjoy together.

Explore how to save, cook and modify our Shakshuka recipes here

• Red Shakshuka with avocado & mint
• Purple Shakshuka with pickled onions & tahini
• Orange Shakshuka with salmon & peas
• Green Shakshuka with feta & chili

How the Shakshuka system works

Shakshuka is an aromatic one-pot egg dish originating from the Levantine cuisine of North Africa and is considered a national dish in Israel, where it is basically served at any time of the day, usually with bread for dipping. The good news for foodies is that Shakshuka is highly versatile: this popular dish with tomato sauce is based on a simple formula that allows for 24 different combinations to be prepared with our modular system.

Once you know which building blocks Shakshuka is made up of, you can get really creative in the kitchen. The sauce is always the simmering foundation upon which two blocks are laid: the poached eggs and a topping. Here’s how it works:

Step 1: The sauce block

In addition to the classic with tomatoes, you can try something new like spinach, sweet potatoes or white beans as a vegetable base for the poached eggs. This not only gives the dish a different look, but also packs your Shakshuka with new flavours and nutrients.

These are our 6 basic building block variations:

• Red tomato & paprika sauce
• Purple sauce with beetroot & coconut milk
• Green spinach sauce
• Orange sweet potato sauce
• White cream cheese sauce with beans
• Creamy mushroom sauce with thyme

Step 2: Poached eggs as a fixed building block

Without doubt, eggs play the leading role on this stage and are the stars in every Shakshuka. Carefully dropped into hollows in the sauce, the eggs in particular make the dish a breakfast and brunch favourite. Just place a lid on top to allow the egg white to poach directly in the sauce, leaving the yolks to run into the base when serving and making the perfect dip for your bread.

Step 3: The flavourful topping

The dish is finished with a topping. Avocado and mint bring freshness to the game and fit perfectly into the breakfast theme. You can also accentuate the international origin of the dish with a combination of chili, feta and coriander, or with the trendy topping of pickled red onions, sesame seeds and tahini. Served with salmon and peas, Shakshuka becomes an ideal lunch or dinner.

All 4 topping variants at a glance:

• Avocado & mint
• Feta & chilli
• Pickled onions & tahini
• Salmon & peas

These three recipe modules are the elements that every Shakshuka needs. Each variant can be combined with each other and changed using the SWAP button in the ingredients overview of our app, allowing you to adapt your shakshuka into a low-carb or vegetarian variant as you wish. So, from now on it’s merely a matter of deciding which sauce and which topping to combine with the eggs in order to get as much variety as possible onto the table.

Images: © Robert Bosch Hausgeräte GmbH