Shakshuka with Fennel and Feta

While it looks like there are a lot of peppers in this recipe, it’s not overly spicy at all. It doesn’t have too much heat. If you don’t have a sweet, smoky paprika at home, use regular paprika instead but know that the smoky variety adds such a nice, rich layer of flavor so you may want to seek it out in the bulk aisle next time you’re at the market. Last, you could very well use goat cheese instead of feta if you’d prefer, and serving this with warm pita bread or, like Eltana does, a half of a bagel would be equally wonderful.

Adapted from: Food and Wine

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 white onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 small fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced

2 serrano chiles, seeded and chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

1 green pepper, diced

kosher salt

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes

1 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, chopped with their liquid

5 large eggs

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Instructions

In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add the onion and fennel and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened, 3 minutes. Add both chiles and the bell pepper and season with salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, red chili flakes and paprika and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and their juice and simmer over low heat until the sauce is thickened, 8-10 minutes.

Make 5 little divots in the sauce for the eggs to crack right into. Crack the eggs into the sauce and cover the skillet. Cook over low heat until the whites are firm and the yolks are runny, 6-8 minutes.

To serve: Spoon the sauce and eggs into a bowl and top with parsley and feta. Serve hot with warm crusty bread.