When I walked into Liza Borenstein’s Youngsville home, I noticed she had a colorful array of ingredients on the counter waiting to be transformed into something special. The Borensteins moved to Louisiana from Tel Aviv a year ago.
We chatted as she gave some background on the origins of shakshuka (pronounced shakshuka). What awaited us was a traditional Middle Eastern breakfast or brunch with Mediterranean influences. .
The literal translation of shakshuka means “everything mixed together”. This dish is built around poached eggs, but it starts by making a delicious sauce of finely diced tomatoes, onions, and peppers. Various spices are usually used to flavor the sauce. Borenstein adds spice with that flair, and her family enjoys this dish with a kick.
Liza Borenstein and husband Guy prepare shakshuka at their Youngsville home.
For many people in Tel Aviv, Saturday is a day of rest.
“Shakshuka is a Saturday morning ritual of enjoying breakfast or brunch at their home,” Borenstein said.
At home in Youngsville, shakshuka is how Borenstein celebrates weekends together as a family, but the kids aren’t yet enthusiastic about the dish. It is a nutritious meal and a great vegetarian alternative to breakfasts that are usually heavy on meat.
After sharing the history and traditions behind the dish, Borenstein got down to business with her husband, Guy, who was nearby. Children’s laughter filled her background as she prepared shakshuka and freshly baked pita bread. She kindly invited my children to participate in this experience.
“This recipe is a personal choice. You can make it as hot or sweet as you like,” she said.
She spiced it up mostly by feel, but made it so many times that it was measurable.
Shakshuka begins by making a sauce of finely diced tomatoes, onions and peppers.
Borenstein prepared freshly baked pita bread, and I simmered the bright red dough, stirring with a wooden spoon. Shakshuka contains a lot of tomatoes. Instead of using her tomatoes on the beefsteak that the recipe suggests, she substituted cherry her tomatoes. Incorporating cherry her tomatoes made the texture of the dish pleasant and surprising as the seeds emerged in the sauce.
After eating the pita bread, she added a spoonful of sugar to the pan.
“I love it when the sauce is sweet,” says Borenstein, adding water while stirring the sauce until it’s moist, watery, and frothy, just the perfect amount.
It’s time to add the eggs. She made six small pockets in the sauce to poach the eggs and seasoned each egg with black pepper.
Liza Borenstein prepared freshly baked pita bread to accompany shakshuka.
Borenstein returned to the pita and found that the pockets weren’t forming the way he wanted them to. Traditionally, a pocket is formed in the center of the pita to hold all the fillings. Nonetheless, as her husband put it, “pita is used to soak up sauces and clean plates.
His words proved to be true.
Rising steam indicates the shakshuka is ready. Borenstein placed the pot on the trivet in the center of the table. The table had fresh pita, a variety of raw vegetables, sliced cheese, cottage cheese and jams to surround the main course.
I figured if I sat down and ate it myself, it would taste like a bolognese sauce. I was amazed. The first bite awakened my senses with an explosion of flavors. Borenstein’s husband said he could “feel love” in food.
Shakshuka is a culinary experience not to be missed and should be included in everyone’s recipe collection, whether they enjoy international cuisine or not. This easy-to-make dish is sure to please everyone.
shakshuka
Accommodates 4 people. The recipe is by Liza Borenstein.
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large white onion
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 red bell pepper
Beef steak 3-4 tomatoes
1-2 tablespoons of sugar
½ cup water
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
Garlic salt ¼ tsp
black pepper to taste
chili powder to taste
6 ounce can of tomato paste
6 eggs
coriander or parsley for garnish
1. Chop the onion, garlic and green pepper.
2. Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add olive oil. When the heat goes through, add the onions and fry for about 2 minutes.
3. When the onions are soft, add the garlic to the frying pan and sauté according to your garlic preference.
4. Then add the red bell pepper. Fry over medium heat until softened.
5. Add tomatoes and fry. Add half the sugar and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
6. Pour in 1/2 cup water. The sauce should be watery.
7. Add spices (paprika, salt, pepper, chilli, garlic). Stir to incorporate them into the mixture.
8. Add a little olive oil to taste. You can add sugar at this point.
9. Add tomato paste and mix well.
10. The ingredients will melt. Add more water and cover.
11. Simmer for 15 minutes on medium heat.
12. Make 6 spaces in the sauce and add the poached eggs. Boil until desired firmness and season with salt.
13. Once the eggs are cooked, top with cilantro or parsley and serve immediately.
Pita bread
Accommodates 4 people. The recipe is by Liza Borenstein.
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
1 teaspoon salt
Garlic powder ¼ tsp
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
1. In a mixer bowl with a kneading hook, combine flour, yeast, sugar and water and knead for 5 minutes (or 10 minutes by hand).
2. Add salt and oil and knead for another 7 minutes until you have a slightly sticky dough.
3. Cover and let rise for 1 hour until doubled in size.
4. Roll the dough into a ball and let it rest on parchment paper for 5 minutes.
5. In a hot skillet (no oil), fry the oiled pita for 2 minutes on each side until golden brown.
6. Next, cover the pita with a towel to keep it warm.