Spicy Mince Beef Shakshuka

Shakshuka this, Shakshuka that. It is everywhere these days, isn't it? 

A classic from Israel, served for breakfast, lunch, all ingredients that you have at home, nothing fancy.

But I wanted a recipe that would be filling because cooking a side dish that would leave you hungry with just eggs in my mind it's a bit of a....better said, total waste of time. 


So I googled: meat shakshuka and there all kinds of recipes came up. So I tried this one that looked interesting and with a bit of an african kick and it was so good and not hard.  Here it is:






INGREDIENTS

-500 grms of beef minced.
-half of a yellow pepper.
-half of a green pepper.
-half a red pepper.
-1 small onion or half a big one.
-5 big tomatoes or one can of 500 grms of whole peeled tomatoes.
-1 big garlic clove or at most 2.
-some tomato paste or tomate frito (100 ml).
-1 tsp of sugar.
-4-5 eggs.
-some mozzarella cheese or melty cheese.
Spices:
-1 tsp. of coriander.
-1 tsp. of chili powder.
-1 tsp. of paprika.
-1 tsp. of cumin.
-1 tsp. of chili flakes.
-black pepper and salt.
-some chickpeas (optional)
-some spinach (optional)
-some green onions (optional)

STEPS:

1. Dice up the onion, the bell pepers and sautee with olive oil for 2 mins.
2. When they have cooked a little, add the meat and all the spices. The trick is this step because the mince here gets all the yummy spicy flavours. 
3. Sautee a little, and add the garlic diced up, here you can put even more spicy peppers.
4. Add the tomatoes and the tomato paste and a teaspoon of sugar to compensate for the acidity of the tomatoes, and let it all simmer for 10-15 minutes until it all blends nicely, cover a little and then uncover so that the water evaporates. If they are natural tomatoes you will have to break them a little with the spoon.
5. Now add all the extra ingredients that should be done in no time, that is the green onions, chickpeas, and spinach. (I added all this because I wanted a big meal and not have to cook for 3 days basically).
6. At this point if you have too much liquid try to evaporate it a little by elevating the fire stove, but be careful not to burn the food.
7. Now make a little whole for the eggs in the saucepan, crack them and deposit them in the space you have made. I had space for 4. Cover so that the eggs cook fully.
8. In the spaces in between I put a little mozzarella cheese and worked incredibly well.
9. And now decorate with coriander leaves, or chives or whatever green herb you may have.
10. Now let it all sit 10 minutes before you eat it and it will all come together. 

So easy! I think it was all a total 30 minutes and the flavour was awesome spicy but also sweet, soft with the mozzarella,  delicate with the eggs, and hearty with the chickpeas. YUM.

How much I miss you Jerusalem.