This is one of those dishes that has been on my "to make" list for close to a year now. I have a feeling my initial attraction was the name (pronounced shock-shook-ah) since it is a fun word to say. This traditional Israeli/Moroccan dish, features a number of ingredients I normally have on hand anyway, which is probably another reason for my interest. I am not sure why it has taken me so long to make but with Valentine's coming up, I thought the color scheme was a good fit for the holiday and these flavors make for recipe my husband is sure to love too. The best part of this recipe was the heart shape that ended up in the white of the egg on the top left of the pan. I mean, are you kidding me? There is no way I could have made that happen if I tried and I don't even own Photoshop, so this was not something I could have accomplished by altering the photo. This was the result of one of those "happy accidents" in life. My simmer was apparently too high (read practically boiling) when I added the egg which ended up creating this large bubble in the egg white - not a desired outcome for me. So, I gently scooped up some sauce and laid it over the bubble hoping to appease the situation. That done, I set up for the picture and even took one or two before I realized that a heart shape had actually resulted from my fix. So if you are looking to go that extra mile for your loved one this weekend, you may go through a few attempts and waste a some eggs but it may just be the way to express your love this Valentine's day. Whether you are able to pull it off or not, you will have a great time making this and watch that simmer before adding the egg!!

Shakshuka

Adapted from a recipe from Food Republic

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 T minced garlic
1 T red pepper flakes
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp smoked red paprika
1 tsp freshly cracked pepper
2 14oz cans of crushed tomatoes
1/2 c packed spinach leaves, chopped (Swiss Chard would work nicely here too)
3/4 c feta, cut into 1/2" cubes
3 large eggs
1 loaf of crusty bread for savoring the remaining sauce on your plate.

In a 10 in skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat and add the chopped onions. Cook for five minutes. Add seasonings and garlic and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Add in tomatoes and reduce heat to medium cooking for 12-15 minutes until sauce has thickened somewhat but still loose enough to slosh around when you shake the pan. Stir in the chopped greens and cook for 2 minutes. Press the feta cubes into the mixture.

With the back of a spoon, make 3 indentations in the sauce. Crack an egg into each indentation and cook covered for an additional 10 minutes until eggs are done to your liking. Gently ladle sauce over the eggs to speed up the cooking of the eggs and to enhance the likelihood of any of your egg whites taking on a heart shape - best of luck with that! Send me a picture, I would love to see how yours turn out!

And if you a looking for an bright pink appetizer to start off your Valentine's meal check out this one for beet butter!