Shakshukah

I love Shakshukah! It's a combination of eggs and tomatoes that is a great breakfast or lunch dish. At the little coffee shop at school they sell a version of it. And I have had it in other restaurants around Israel. It's a pretty popular dish. So a week or so ago I decided that I wanted to make it and the recipe is pretty easy to do. It just takes some time.

I found a recipe at My Jewish Learning and of course changed it.

Ingredients:

Tomatoes - 11 On the vine (a little more than 2 lbs)
Fresh Garlic - 9 cloves
Large Red Onion - 1/3 of an onion
Spicy Paprika - 1 tsp
Olive Oil - 6 Tbsp
Salt - 3 tsp
Eggs - 4 large


Directions:

Cut the tomatoes into chunks, a little smaller than a quarter of the tomato. Chop the onions and the garlic.
Combine the olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, onions, paprika and salt in a small saucepan.
Bring to a simmer and cook UNCOVERED over low heat until it thickens, stirring intermittently.



AT THIS POINT I took a large portion of the sauce and put it in a container to have ready to go for another day.

Transfer to a small, frying pan and bring it to a simmer
(Use a larger pan if you are making the dish all at once).

Crack an egg and put it on top of the sauce.
Break the yolk (unless you like it runny) and cover the pan to poach the egg(s) until they are cooked.

Serve

Yields 4 servings, but you can use medium eggs and serve less sauce and make it go for 5 or 6.



How was it?
The Taste was pretty good. I like the spice from using spicy paprika instead of sweet. The extra garlic was good too. It was really good with a pita! This one was a little runny. I think I may have over done it with the olive oil. Maybe take it down a tablespoon or two. As far as the presentation goes, I don't know if I poured the egg on the wrong way, or if I broke the yolk too violently. It didn't look quite right.

Timul Simshon

Since last Friday was the start of Yom Kippur, I needed to get a little grub in my stomach to hold me over for the day. My mom had mentioned checking out this place near Ben Yehudah Street called Timul Shimshon. I went with a small group of my classmates to check it out and to get a good brunch in.

The atmosphere was great. You need to duck into a dark, smelly alley, but when you walk out into the light you find a really nice outdoor patio. From what I was told, the inside is really cozy too. Apparently they let you read and buy random books off their shelves. We sat in the sun and just hung out. It was a great relaxing vibe for brunch.

I ordered their Shakshuka with spinach. They served it with a good cheese, I don't remember what it was called exactly, but it mixed with the heavy dose of tomato and eggs. I ordered it extra spicy, as I love my food. It was great! Then I started eating the shakshuka with their fresh baked bread. It crumbled so nicely, but also was firm enough to scoop up some of the "stew-ish" thing that I had.

The shakshuka came served with an Israeli Salad, which was good, but not great. I think it's getting to the end of the season that the veggies are perfect. The salad improved when I added their t'china to the mixture. The sesame added another layer to the flavor.

Initially I had some orange juice to drink, but I noticed that some of my friends had very tasty coffees. I ordered an espresso that comes with your meal. Very sweet creme on the top that finished with a smooth and slightly bitter espresso. I really liked the brunch and it was great to share with a good group of friends.

The only downside was that it made me miss Kaitllin. Brunch was something that she did a lot with her family and since I've been together with her, it's kinda become a bit of a thing to do. I can't wait to take her there this winter and I highly recommend you check it out if you're in Jerusalem.