African Archives - The Wanderlust Kitchen

African Peanut Soup

Linda — Fri, 28 Oct 2022 19:00:00 +0000

Sweet Potatoes, Onions, Kale, and Peanut Butter make the base for this smooth and creamy African Peanut Soup Recipe!

African food is very underrated and I wish it was more prevalent in the States. However, although it may be hard to find restaurants serving African food, you can still check out my other African recipes such as my South African Piri-Piri Chicken, Harissa Shakshuka (North African Eggs in Purgatory), or East African Mango and Cucumber Salad!

Before you look at the ingredients and head for the hills do not be so quick to judge a book by its cover. Yes, sweet potatoes, peanut butter, kale, and onions may not sound appetizing all mixed together, but I can assure you after the first bite you will no longer question this seemingly odd combination.

How to Make African Peanut Soup

Assemble your ingredients. For exact amounts see the recipe card below.

In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, combine the vegetable broth and water over medium high heat and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, add in the onion, sweet potato, garlic, ginger, and salt. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.

Next, in a medium, heat safe, mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter and tomato paste with 1-2 cups of broth from your pot and whisk together until smooth. Then pour the peanut mixture into the pot and mix well.

Then, add in the kale and simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring often.

Finally serve over brown rice, if desired. Garnish with hot sauce and peanuts and enjoy!

Serving African Peanut Soup

This recipe is so versatile that it can be served a number of different ways. It works great as a main dish when you are wanting a warm soup on a cool day. If you are wanting to add more of a base to it as a main dish then I recommend pairing it with brown rice. You can throw it all in a bowl together for a hearty meal. Or if you are wanting just a taste of this soup it works as a great appetizer or starter course to any meal.

Storage and reheating

You can store this recipe in an airtight container in your fridge for 3-5 days or in your freezer for 2 weeks. To reheat you can do so in a pot on the stovetop over medium-high heat until everything has warmed through.

More Soup Recipes to Warm your Soul

African Peanut Soup Recipe

Sweet Potatoes, Onions, Kale, and Peanut Butter make the base for this smooth and creamy African Peanut Soup Recipe!

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Main Dish, Soup, Soups & Stews

Cuisine African

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Servings servings

Calories 245kcal

Author Linda

Equipment

Lodge Dutch Oven

Ingredients

4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 cup red onion diced
1 sweet potato peeled and cut into bite sized cubes
2 Tbsp fresh ginger peeled and minced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 cup kale chopped
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup tomato paste
Hot Sauce optional garnish
Peanuts optional garnish

Instructions

In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, combine the vegetable broth and water over medium high heat and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, add in the onion, sweet potato, garlic, ginger, and salt. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
Next, in a medium, heat safe, mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter and tomato paste with 1-2 cups of broth from your pot and whisk together until smooth. Then pour the peanut mixture into the pot and mix well.
Then, add in the kale and simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring often.
Finally serve over brown rice, if desired. Garnish with hot sauce and peanuts and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Nutrition

Baked Beef Samosa

Linda — Sat, 06 Feb 2021 20:56:03 +0000

This Baked Beef Samosa recipe is a delicious combination of lean beef, potatoes, peas, sweet yellow onions and spices wrapped up in a golden pastry shell for a savory, crunchy appetizer.

Have you ever eaten a samosa? If you haven’t then just trust me, these are savory triangles of pure delight!

What is a Samosa?

A samosa is a fried or baked pastry with a savory filling, such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, cheese, beef and other meats, or lentils. The samosa is made in different shapes, depending on the region, including triangular, cone, or half-moon shapes. Samosas are a popular entrée, appetizer, or snack in the local cuisines of South Asia, Western Asia, Southeast Asia, the Mediterranean, and Africa.

Make Lamb, Chicken or Turkey Samosas

While this recipe is for beef samosas, you can switch out the ground beef for ground lamb, chicken, or turkey and instead make lamb samosas, chicken samosas or turkey samosas with this recipe.

Make Time for this Recipe

This beef samosa recipe takes a little time to make due to the time it takes to fill the pastry, but it is fun and gets done faster if you invite a family member or friend to help! The time to make this on the recipe card assumes you are doing it yourself. It takes about 2 minutes to fill each beef samosa and since this yields 25-30, the time to fill the samosas is about an hour.

Calories of Samosa

In this beef samosa recipe, there are only 136 calories per samosa if you make 30 samosas. So, go ahead, have two!

How to Make Samosas

Here is the process of how to make samosas.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Assemble the samosa ingredients for this beef samosa recipe.

Make the Samosa Filling

Here is how to make the beef samosa filling.

Fill a medium-sized saucepan with water, salt lightly and bring the water to a boil.

Gently pour in the potatoes and peas, being careful not to get any hot water on you.

Cook for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Drain off the water and then mash the potatoes and peas together, then set them aside.

Use a large saucepan and pour in the vegetable oil and heat it with medium high heat.

Add the cumin seeds and bay leaf to the vegetable oil and brown for 60-90 seconds.

Mix in the onions and ground beef to the large saucepan. Cook until the beef is browned and the onions are soft, about 5-10 minutes.

Mix in the fresh ginger and garlic.

Mix in the seasonings: cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili powder, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, salt and black pepper.

Mix in the mashed potatoes and peas.

Stir the mixture until evenly combined.

Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until it has cooled enough to handle easily.

After the mixture has cooled, mix in the cilantro and green chile peppers into the samosa filling.

Fill the Beef Samosas

Please view the photos below and the video in this post to see exactly how to easily fill these samosas.

Open the phyllo package and unroll it and lay it onto wax paper.

Peel off one phyllo sheet and place it onto another piece of wax paper, then cover the rest of the phyllo sheets with wax paper or they will dry out quickly.

Brush the melted butter across the phyllo sheet.

How to Fold a Samosa

Now, you need to know how to fold a samosa.

Taking hold of the long side of the phyllo sheet, fold one third of the phyllo sheet over.

Then do the same with the other long side so that you have a long phyllo sheet with three layers.

Take one end of the short side of the phyllo sheet and fold it over to form a triangle, where some of the folded phyllo sheet will be outside of the phyllo sheet underneath.

Brush butter on the phyllo sheet above the triangle.

Fold it over one more time for another triangle, where the edges will align together. Please note that it helps to put your finger at the top of the previous triangle to get the fold where you want it. This creates the pocket for the filling.

Pick up the phyllo sheet gently and open the pocket for the filling.

Place approximately 2-3 tablespoons of the samosa filling into the pocket of each phyllo sheet.

You want to fill the pocket, but not overfill it, since you don’t want the filling coming out when it bakes.

Fold the triangle three or four more times to complete the samosa and set it on the baking sheet.

Cook

Place the samosas on a greased baking sheet and cook for 15-20 minutes until the corners are golden brown.

Serve

Serve warm with The Wanderlust Kitchen Super Simple Mango Chutney, plain yogurt, and/or sour cream.

These homemade samosas are so good and healthier than fried samosas. Just look at the tasty filling inside!

Having some mango chutney, yogurt or sour cream on the side provides for some additional flavors that compliment the baked samosas. I personally like to mix the mango chutney with yogurt and use that as a dip for these baked beef samosas.

Baked Beef Samosa Recipe

This Baked Beef Samosa recipe is a delicious combination of lean beef, potatoes, peas, sweet yellow onions and spices wrapped up in a golden pastry shell for a savory, crunchy appetizer.

Course Appetizers

Cuisine Asian

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Additional Time 1 30

Total Time 2 30

Servings -30 Samosas

Calories 136kcal

Author Linda

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef
4 cups baking potatoes peeled and cubed about 2 large potatoes
4 cups sweet yellow onions finely chopped (about 2 large onions)
1 cup frozen peas thawed
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic minced
1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon . ground black pepper
1 bay leaf finely chopped
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tablespoons chopped green chile peppers
1 16 ounce package phyllo dough
12 Tablespoons salted butter melted

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Make the Samosa Filling

Fill a medium-sized saucepan with water, salt lightly and bring the water to a boil.
Gently pour in the potatoes and peas, being careful not to get any hot water on you.
Cook for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
Drain off the water and then mash the potatoes and peas together, then set them aside.
Use a large saucepan and pour in the vegetable oil and heat it with medium high heat.
Add the cumin seeds and bay leaf to the vegetable oil and brown for 60-90 seconds.
Mix in the onions and ground beef to the large saucepan. Cook until the beef is browned and the onions are soft, about 5-10 minutes.
Mix in the fresh ginger and garlic.
Mix in the seasonings: cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili powder, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, salt and black pepper.
Mix in the mashed potatoes and peas until evenly combined.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until it has cooled enough to handle easily.
Mix in the cilantro and green chile peppers into the samosa filling mixture.

Fill the Samosas

Please view the photos and / or video in this post to see exactly how to easily fill these samosas.
Open the phyllo package and unroll it and lay it onto wax paper.
Peel off one phyllo sheet and place it onto another piece of wax paper, then cover the rest of the phyllo sheets with wax paper or they will dry out quickly.
Brush the melted butter across the phyllo sheet.
Taking hold of the long side of the phyllo sheet, fold one third of the phyllo sheet over, then do the same with the other long side so that you have a long phyllo sheet with three layers.
Take one end of the short side of the phyllo sheet and fold it over to form a triangle, where some of the folded phyllo sheet will be outside of the phyllo sheet underneath.
Brush butter on the phyllo sheet above the triangle and fold it over one more time for another triangle, where the edges will align together. Please note that it helps to put your finger at the top of the previous triangle to get the fold where you want it. This creates the pocket for the filling.
Pick up the phyllo sheet gently and open the pocket for the filling.
Place approximately 2-3 tablespoons of the samosa filling into the pocket of each phyllo sheet.
Fold the triangle three or four more times to complete the samosa and set it on the baking sheet.

Cook the Samosas

Place the samosas on a greased baking sheet and cook for 15-20 minutes until the corners are golden brown.

Serve

Serve warm with The Wanderlust Kitchen Super Simple Mango Chutney, plain yogurt, and/or sour cream.

Video

Nutrition

Slow Cooker Moroccan Lentils

Linda — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 11:14:00 +0000

This versatile recipe uses a slow cooker to make tender Moroccan Lentils. Serve the lentils over rice, or puree it into a soup. The choice is yours!

Oh, lentils. Let me count the ways I love you.

First: you are cheap. I mean this with no disrespect.

Second: you are easy. Again… no disrespect.

Third: you are tasty.

Most weeks I don’t have time to make elaborate lunches for myself, so I eat a variety of yogi bowls and a million different takes on beans-and-rice.

You’d be surprised how many tasty dishes are really just fancy versions of beans and rice. I love making big pots of madras lentils, saucy Puerto Rican beans and potatoes, and Mejadra to get me through the week.

Lately I’ve been on a big lentil kick, so I’ve been whipping up big batches of lentils in the slow cooker. As I said, lentils are easy, but slow cooker lentils are even easier!

Lentils are perfectly suited to slow cooking for a few different reasons.

First, they don’t need to be pre-soaked. I love this because I suck at remember to soak beans. On days when I wake up and realize I have nothing to eat for dinner (or for the week!), I can just toss some lentils in the crock pot and let them cook while I work. If you need a crock pot, here is one I recommend.

Second, lentils become super tender and creamy when they’re slow cooked. Trust me on this one.

Now, you could really make this recipe about a hundred different ways by just switching up the spices and greens.

I wanted a Moroccan flavor for this version, so I used ras el hanout. For an Ethiopian-style dish, I use berbere. Feel like Indian food tonight? Go with garam masala. You can get the organic brands I use from the Amazon links below.

Ras El Hanout

Berbere

Garam Masala

Of course, you can always keep it simple by just using salt, pepper, bay leaves, and maybe some red pepper flakes.

I love sneaking leafy greens into my recipes, so I threw in some chopped red chard. Spinach, collards, and kale would also be great choices.

I like to cook the lentils until they are tender but still intact so I can use them in recipes throughout the week. You could also turn the heat up and cook them a bit longer until they are falling apart — this makes a tasty soup!

Here’s the Recipe!

Slow Cooker Moroccan Lentil Soup Recipe

This versatile recipe uses a slow cooker to make tender Moroccan Lentils. Serve the lentils over rice, or puree it into a soup. The choice is yours!

Course Soups & Stews

Cuisine Moroccan

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 8

Total Time 8 10

Servings to 10 servings

Calories 126kcal

Author Linda

Equipment

Ingredients

1 pound brown lentils rinsed and sorted for debris
2 quarts vegetable broth
1 yellow onion diced
2 medium carrots diced
3 cloves garlic peeled and minced
1 tablespoon ras el hanout
2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 cups chopped chard leaves
1 lemon sliced into 8 wedges
Toppings: yogurt mint, cilantro

Instructions

Place the lentils, broth, onion, carrot, garlic, ras el hanout, and salt in the crock of a large slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, until the lentils are tender.
Stir in the chard leaves and allow to warm for half an hour.
Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing and optional toppings.

Nutrition

Easy Moroccan Vegetable Tagine

Linda — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 12:48:00 +0000

This Easy Moroccan Vegetable Tagine recipe simmers eggplant, potato, chickpeas, and dried apricots in a Moroccan-spiced sauce. A one pot vegan meal that will please everyone!

Moroccan Tagine of Vegetables!

This is kind of a fake-y tagine because it isn’t actually made with a tagine pot.

Look, stop judging me, okay? I have one… somewhere. I just can’t find it or maybe I donated it because I never use it.

Anyway, seeing as most people probably don’t own one either, I think it’s suitable to share this recipe which utilizes a plain old Dutch oven.

This one-pot vegetable tagine recipe is SUPER easy to make.

It requires a bit of prep work, but maybe you can enlist some help from your significant other or house guests.

Anybody that can manage to peel a potato will do.

You start by sautéing some vegetables and eggplant (also called aubergine) in oil — and yes, before I get questions in the comments, leave the skin on! It will soften up as it cooks. Trust me, you’ll love it.

Next, chuck in some peeled potatoes, diced tomatoes, dried apricots and broth. Let it all get cozy and cook it until the potatoes are nearly falling apart.

To thicken things up a bit, you’ll mash half a can of chickpeas up with a fork before adding them into the pot. The rest of the chickpeas are allowed to remain whole.

Serve this Moroccan vegetarian tagine over a bed of prepared couscous, then top with toasted almonds and chopped fresh coriander.

Make sure you don’t forget the lemon wedges for squeezing on the lemon juice! They add *just* the right punch of flavor. I forgot to put them in the pictures, but trust me the lemon flavor is there.

Here’s the Recipe!

Moroccan Vegetable Tagine Recipe

This Easy Moroccan Vegetable Tagine recipe simmers eggplant, potato, chickpeas, and dried apricots in a Moroccan-spiced sauce. A one pot vegan meal that will please everyone!

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Moroccan

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Additional Time 5

Total Time 1 25

Servings to 8 servings

Calories 228kcal

Author Linda

Equipment

Frontier Organic Seasoning, Ras El Hanout, 1.8 Ounce

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup sliced yellow onion
1 small jalapeno seeded, stemmed, and minced (optional)
2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
1 medium eggplant cut into bite-sized pieces (skin-on)
4 teaspoons ras el hanout spice mix
2 russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 medium tomatoes roughly chopped
12 dried apricots halved
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
1 14-ounce can chickpeas
2 teaspoons honey
½ cup sliced almonds
¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves
1 lemon sliced into wedges

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in in a 6-quart or larger lidded pot over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapeno (if using); sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, until the onion begins to soften. Add the garlic, eggplant, and ras el hanout; toss well to coat.
Turn the heat up to high and add 3 cups of water along with the potatoes, tomatoes, apricots, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium-low, cover the pot, and simmer for 25 minutes. Uncover the pot and continue cooking for another 20 to 25 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Meanwhile, place half of the chickpeas in a small bowl and mash with a fork. Toast the almonds in a small pan over medium heat until lightly browned and fragrant. Prepare couscous if desired.
Once the potatoes are tender, stir in the chickpeas (both whole and mashed) and the honey. Taste and add more salt as desired. Serve over couscous topped with toasted almonds, chopped cilantro, and lemon wedges for squeezing.

Nutrition

Warm Moroccan Chickpea Salad

Linda — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 11:17:00 +0000

Dried dates and crunchy pistachios make this Moroccan Chickpea Salad recipe both sweet and savory!

Things are cooling off around here as we ease into autumn, which means we get to go back to using the oven and eating warm food. HOORAY!

I love to eat richly spiced food this time of year, and this Moroccan Chickpea Salad is just what I need.

This warm chickpea salad recipe is chock full of crunchy almonds and pistachios, as well as golden raisins and dried dates to add a wonderful sweetness to the dish. Everything is rounded out with a warmly spiced lemon dressing that makes me feel all warm and cozy.

Because the chickpeas are pan-fried, this dish comes out slightly warm and tastes perfect that way. I’ve also eaten it room temperature and chilled, both of which were also delicious.

If you have leftovers, try serving them over a bed of couscous, or mixing it into some arugula for a quick and easy salad.

One ingredient in this Moroccan salad recipe that you might not be familiar with is Ras El Hanout. Ras El Hanout is a Moroccan spice blend made from a mixture of coriander, turmeric, cardamom, black pepper, clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

It’s one of my favorite spice blends to keep on hand because it adds instant Moroccan flavor to whatever you’re cooking. I use this brand.

Both the quality and the price are incredible!

I’d love for you to keep in touch! You can enter your email address below to get new recipes sent to you. Join me on Facebook and Pinterest!!!

Here’s the Recipe!

Warm Moroccan Chickpea Salad Recipe

Dried dates and crunch pistachios make this Moroccan Chickpea Salad recipe both sweet and savory!

Course Salad

Cuisine Moroccan

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Total Time 25

Servings servings

Calories 456kcal

Author Linda

Ingredients

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
Juice and zest of 1 small lemon
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic pressed
1/2 teaspoon honey*
1/4 teaspoon ras el hanout
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 14.5 ounce cans chickpeas drained, rinsed, and patted dry
1 small shallot peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped pistachios
2 tablespoons chopped roasted almonds
2 tablespoons golden raisins
6 dried pitted dates roughly chopped
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

In the bottom of a large serving bowl, whisk together two tablespoons of the olive oil along with the lemon juice and zest, red wine vinegar, pressed garlic, honey, ras el hanout and salt.
Heat the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot and shimmering, add half of the chickpeas and fry for 3 to 4 minutes, until lightly browned and crispy. Transfer the fried chickpeas to the serving bowl. Repeat with the remaining half of the chickpeas.
Add the sliced shallot to the hot pan and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until softened and slightly translucent. Transfer to the serving bowl along with the pistachio, almonds, raisins, and dates.
Toss well and serve warm.

Notes

*use Agave for vegan

Nutrition

Please note that this recipe is often misspelled as: Morrocan chickpea salad recipe, Morrocan chick pea salad recipe and Moroccan chick pea salad recipe.

Creamy Vegan Ethiopian Lentils

Linda — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 14:35:34 +0000

Creamy Vegan Ethiopian Lentils recipe with savory sweet potato, tender lentils, and fresh spinach are simmered in a Berbere-spiced coconut milk broth, delicious!

This is one of my all-time favorites for cold weather and lazy weekends. I love to save the creamy lentils leftovers in mason jars for easy lunches during the week!

Happy Meatless Monday! Spring is *officially* here, but the weather is still terrible and I’m still eating warm meals.

I’ve got a lovely Creamy Vegan Ethiopian Lentils recipe for you today. Just look!

One of the easiest ways to achieve a delicious Ethiopian flavor is to use a traditional seasoning known as Berbere seasoning.

I buy mine from Frontier Co-op on Amazon.

If you don’t want to go the store bought route, then you can try your hand at making your own using this recipe from the lovely Cate over at Girl Cooks World.

Lentils and yams are just so yummy this time of year! You can use sweet potatoes if you can’t find any yams, but I just love the vibrant color that yams bring to a dish. This was really comforting and hearty. Perfect to slurp up next to a cozy fire.

I made this Ethiopian lentil recipe in my favorite dutch oven, which is so pretty I can serve dinner right out of it. You can order one from Amazon.

When it’s time to save the leftovers, I just put the lid on and pop it in the fridge. It’s enameled cast iron, so it can also go in the dishwasher. Love it!

(Pssst… the leftovers only get better and better, so make sure to save some for an easy lunch option!)

I first shared this vegan Ethiopian recipe with you back in December of 2013, when the blog was only about six months old! I’ve become a bit more proficient with writing recipes and taking pictures since that time, so I thought it was time to update this post and re-share it with the world.

Here’s an old picture from the original post, just for fun (ahem, it is a picture of the leftovers after I had re-heated them for too long and it all got a little mushy….. oops):

Here is the new picture to Pin on Pinterest:

Enjoy your meatless Monday!

Here’s the Recipe!

Creamy Ethiopian Lentils Recipe

Creamy Vegan Ethiopian Lentils recipe with savory sweet potato, tender lentils, and fresh spinach are simmered in a Berbere-spiced coconut milk broth, delicious!

Course Main Dish

Cuisine African

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings

Calories 337kcal

Author Linda

Equipment

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced yellow onion about half an onion
1 tablespoon Ethiopian Berbere seasoning
2 cloves garlic minced
3 cups vegetable broth or mushroom broth
2 large red yams peeled and diced
1 cup brown lentils sorted for foreign material and rinsed
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with juices
1 inch of fresh ginger grated
14 oz can light coconut milk
4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
Flatbread and/or cooked basmati rice for serving optional

Instructions

In a large dutch oven (or other heavy bottomed pot), heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the onions and saute for 3-4 minutes, until softened.
Add the Berbere seasoning and garlic; toss to coat. Immediately add the broth, yams, lentils, and tomatoes. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the sweet potatoes are fork-tender and the lentils are soft.
Add the ginger and coconut milk. Let the mixture cook for another 3 to 5 minutes or so over low heat, then stir in the spinach. Once the spinach is wilted and the dish is heated through, remove from heat. Serve with flatbread or rice, if desired.

Nutrition

Harissa Shakshuka (North African Eggs in Purgatory)

Linda — Tue, 16 Feb 2016 18:03:14 +0000

This Harissa Shakshuka recipe is a classic dish of eggs simmered in spicy tomato sauce that will both delight and satisfy. Be sure to serve your Harissa Shakshuka (or, eggs in purgatory) with plenty of crusty bread for dipping!

The other day I remembered the New Year’s Resolution I set for myself for 2015. Yes, I’m talking about last year, not this year.

Brief recap:

2013 was the year I gave up fast food (still going strong, except for 3 minor Taco Bell incidences we won’t talk about here)

2014 was the year I gave up drinking soda (except for one or two whiskey-coke incidences we won’t talk about here)

2015 was the year I decided to eat eggs.

Kind of a weird resolution, right?

Well, here’s the thing: historically, I’ve been a little anti-egg. Or maybe even a LOT anti-egg.

Growing up, my mom and dad used to make scrambled eggs on weekends (at the proper ratio of 1 part scrambled egg, 2 parts grated cheddar cheese on top), which I liked then and I still like now.

I’ve also eaten my fair share of omelets and frittatas over the years (also completely smothered with cheese).

I was always okay with eggs as long as the whites and yolks were blended together before they were cooked. I never liked the taste or texture of either the whites or the yolks when separated from each other.

No hard boiled eggs at easter

No dippy eggs for breakfast.

No Eggs Benedict for brunch.

Every time I told someone about my aversion to non-scrambled eggs, I’d receive a look of incredulity and a diatribe on what I was missing out on. I finally decided that 2015 was the year that I was going to learn to eat (and cook!) eggs of all kinds.

I failed pretty spectacularly at that resolution, but then came 2016 and the year when I gave up meat. I haven’t had any meat or fish since Christmas, and I’m seriously loving it.

I expected that I would eat a lot more vegetables, cut down on grocery costs, and maybe even lose a pound or two in the process.*

(*Side note: my niece, age 5, was visiting me last week and she grabbed a solid handful of my stomach fat and exclaimed “wow, look at all this!” I responded with “yes, honey, that’s what happy people look like!” #AuntParenting)

Anyway, I had some expectations about what might change when I stopped eating meat, but I definitely didn’t expect that I would suddenly become obsessed with eggs.

I’m eating a ton of fried and poached eggs lately and putting them on just about everything. My aunt was in town from Israel last week and she brought me a cookbook on Israeli cooking. I’ve been meaning to try my hand at Shakshuka, which some describe as a spicier version of the Italian dish known as eggs in purgatory.

The recipe in the book called for using dried and fresh chilies, but I decided to go North African with the dish and spice it up using harissa spice. I used a dry spice mix from Frontier, which you can grab on Amazon here.

You can easily substitute prepared harissa, like this one from Mina.

I’d say use a tablespoon of the prepared kind, or a teaspoon of the spice mix.

A lot of people eat these harissa eggs as a breakfast-for-dinner, but I like making it in the morning and enjoying it as a true breakfast. Depending on the day, I might use 2 teaspoons of the spice mix instead of just one. I’d suggest starting with one, tasting it, and adding more until it’s right where you like it.

Some people call this shakshuka harissa recipe, and I’m okay with it either way.

If you forget the crusty bread you might as well just go back to bed and start again tomorrow.

Pin this to Pinterest and Share with Your Friends:

Here’s the Recipe!

Harissa Shakshuka Recipe (North African Eggs in Purgatory Recipe)

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Middle Eastern

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 25

Total Time 30

Servings

Calories 377kcal

Author Linda

Equipment

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon harissa spice mix
14 ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes with juices
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces goat cheese thinly sliced into coins
2 eggs
Crusty bread for serving

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Heat the olive oil in a oven-safe skillet set over medium-low heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the onions and sauté until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and harissa; sauté until fragrant, about 60 seconds.
Pour in the tomatoes and season the mixture with the salt and pepper. Simmer the mixture, using a wooden spoon to help break down the tomatoes, until thickened, about 10 minutes.
Arrange the goat cheese slices around the pan and turn off the heat. Crack the eggs into a small dish, then add them to the pan one at a time. Season each egg with additional salt and pepper, then bake in the preheated until the whites are set, about 7-10 minutes.

Nutrition