Şakşuka (Turkish eggplant shakshuka recipe)
With its sassy combo of eggplant, peppers, ‘taters, and lightly spiced tomato sauce, this Turkish vegetable dish will have you saying, "Move over, boring, sad old veggies! There’s a new king in town.” Get ready to spice up your life with a vibrant journey through the Turkish flavors of Şakşuka!
Servings: 6 (6 cups eggplant, 2 cups sauce)
Calories: 197kcal
Cost: $9.50
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 medium russet potato peeled and diced into 1 cm. cubes
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2.2 lbs. 1 kg. eggplant, diced into 1 cm. cubes
- ½ green bell pepper diced
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ medium yellow onion diced
- 2 large beefsteak tomatoes finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and sliced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon dried or fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons tatlı biber salçası Turkish pepper paste or tomato paste
- ¾ teaspoon salt
To garnish:
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- 4 teaspoons finely minced red or yellow onion
Instructions
- Place the peeled diced potatoes into a saucepan with water to cover, and bring up to a boil over a high flame. Cook until fork tender and then drain in a colander.
- While the potato is cooking, heat the olive oil over a high flame in a wok, dutch oven, or large cast iron skillet over a high flame.
- After 60 seconds when the oil is hot, add the diced eggplant, and fry in the oil, stirring regularly for 6 minutes or until uniformly golden.
- Add the drained potatoes, pepper, and salt. Sauté for three minutes until the peppers are softened.
- Place the fried vegetables into an attractive serving bowl and set them aside while you prepare the tomato sauce in the same pan.
- Return the pan to the stovetop over high heat and add a tablespoon of extra olive oil if the pan is dry. Add the diced tomato and onion to the hot pan. Sauté for 3 minutes until the tomato starts to break down and the onion is fragrant.
- Stir in the garlic, paprika, coriander, cumin, red pepper flakes, thyme, and black pepper, and sautéed for another two minutes until fragrant.
- Add the vinegar, sugar, pepper paste (or tomato paste), and salt, adjust the heat to low, and simmer the sauce for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until thick and dark.
- Place the tomato sauce over the eggplant, potatoes and peppers, and garnish with parsley and minced onion.
Notes
If you want the final dish to be less oily, pat the fried eggplant down with a paper towel to remove some of the extra oil.
Nutrition
Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Sodium: 493mg | Potassium: 680mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 584IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg