Cooktop Cove: Collect eggs & whip up this hearty breakfast
By Audrey Michels
If you’ve never heard of shakshuka, you’re in for a treat. It’s a dish comprised of eggs poached in a flavorful sauce that can be served as easily at dinner as it can be at breakfast. If you have had shakshuka before, you might be wondering where the tomatoes are in this version.
Well, this is a shakshuka with a twist: Not only is it vegetarian, but it's also packed with vitamins and minerals thanks to the star ingredient — Swiss chard. Chard is a wonderful source of vitamins A, C and K, as well as magnesium, potassium and iron, making this a meal you can feel good about going back to again and again.
Vegetarian Swiss chard and egg shakshuka
6
20 minutes
35 minutes
55 minutes
3 medium bunches of green Swiss chard, de-stemmed and divided
Salt and pepper
2 serrano peppers, seeds removed and chopped
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon toasted and ground caraway seeds
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup ice
1 sweet onion, sliced
6 eggs
1 Tablespoon harissa paste
Heat the oven to 325 F.
Place a large pot of salted water over a high heat until boiling.
Prepare a large bowl full of cold water and ice.
Blanch 1/3 of the chard leaves in the boiling water for 10 seconds before plunging in the ice bath to stop the cooking process.
Drain and squeeze out excess water before roughly chopping the Swiss chard leaves and transferring them to a blender or food processor with the serrano peppers, cilantro, cumin, paprika, ground caraway seeds, 1/4 cup of olive oil and the ice.
Process until the mixture is smooth, and season with salt and pepper.
Tear the remaining chard leaves into pieces.
In a large skillet over a medium heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil.
Once it's shimmering, add the onion and sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes, before adding the leaves.
Once all the leaves have wilted and the onion is translucent, add the pureed mixture and stir.
With the back of a spoon, create 6 wells for the eggs to sit in, and crack an egg into each.
Sprinkle the top of the skillet with salt and small blobs of harissa paste before transferring to the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked to your preference.
Serve immediately.
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