Hailing from Tunisia, shakshouka is a great dish of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce. Perfect for a brunch menu, it is also lovely for a light lunch or dinner.
Peel and chop the garlic cloves.
Peel and slice the onion. Cut both peppers into strips.
Remove the flesh from the preserved lemons, and chop the peel into thin slivers.
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Sweat the onion along with a pinch of salt.
When the onions are translucent, add the garlic, cumin seeds, thyme and peppers. Stir until the peppers are soft.
Add the crushed tomatoes, and lower the heat. Leave to simmer for about 5 minutes.
Stir in the preserved lemon, and half the harissa -you can always add more later.
Taste for seasoning: the lemon brings quite a bit of salt to the dish, so be wary of the amount of salt you add to the dish.
Keeping the heat relatively low, break the eggs into the tomato sauce. Cover the pan with a lid, and leave the eggs to poach until cooked to your liking.
Serve immediately with bread.
«The tomato sauce can be made ahead of time, and kept for up to five days, or frozen, until needed. The eggs are best poached at the last minutes.»