Tiny cute quail eggs poached in a stew of tomatoes, bell pepper, garlic, onions, and spices, served in 4-leaf-clover-shape tortilla bowls.

It’s a very special and creative way to make the traditional Middle Eastern breakfast dish – shakshuka – to be even more fun to enjoy!

What’s Shakshuka?

Shakshuka was originated in Ottoman North Africa, and has been globally popularized. It is especially popular in the Israeli culture; it is even considered Israeli’s top cuisine.

Shakshuka is a naturally vegetarian (if you accept egg as a vegetarian food), nutrient-rich, pretty, and easy-to-make dish, which is excellent to be served for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, at home and in restaurants.

The word shakshoka (Arabic: شَكْشُوكَةٌ) is a Maghrebi Arabic term for “a mixture”. It is usually served in the pan it was cooked in. To eat shakshuka, you will use a piece of toasted pita bread to mix up the runny egg yolk, the spiced tomato sauce, and the melted cheese. 

Tomatoes and eggs are so naturally good together!

• Remember I just made the extremely popular Chinese dish – Tomato Egg Stir Fry.

• Menemen from Turkey is quite similar to Shakshuka. Instead of poached, the eggs are scrambled in the tomato and onion based sauté.

•  Huevos Rancheros from Mexica has fried eggs served on top of tomato salsa, pepper, cilantro, and tortillas. 

Is there a popular tomato and egg dish in your culture? Leave a comment below~ I’m super exited to add more content in this “tomato and egg from every culture” section!

How to Make Tortilla Bowls

Tortilla is often served as a side of shakshuka. So, why don’t we serve assemble them together?

I got this exciting idea and decided to make some tortilla bowls. 

I tried to press a corn tortilla into a ramekin. However, the tortilla broke up for me every single time no matter how gently and carefully I tried. 

I should have bought those flour tortillas that said “extra soft” on its package instead!!

But at least I have a pretty smart brain! I thought of a perfect solution: soften the tortillas!

Simply wrap a tortilla in a damp paper towel (rinse the paper towel with water then squeeze all the water out), microwave for about 20 seconds until the tortilla turns soft and flexible.

• I also tried to microwave a stack of tortillas (about 3) at the same time, but they didn’t come out as soft as single-microwaved ones. 

Then spray the ramekins with oil, and gently press the softened tortillas into the ramekins.

They just look like some cute 4-leaf clovers! Hope they can bring us good lucks haha!

How to Make Shakshuka in Tortilla Bowls

Equipment

• Ramekins (Mine ramekins are 8 oz size. My tortillas are 6 inch wide. You can use larger ramekins if you have larger tortillas. )

• Oven

• Microwave (Optional if your tortillas are soft.)

Ingredients

• 1 Sweet onion (chopped)
• 1 Bell pepper (chopped)
• 3 Garlic cloves (minced)
• 3 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 tbsp Tomato paste

• 500g Boxed/canned diced tomato

• 1 tsp Smoked paprika

• 1 tsp Cumin powder

• ¾ to 1 tsp Salt to your taste
• 1 tsp Black pepper
• A handful Cilantro (chopped)
• 12 Tortillas (6 inch/ 25g each

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil over a large skillet over medium high heat.

2. Add chopped onions and minced garlic, stir fry for about 5 minutes until they turn translucent.

3. Add tomato paste and chopped bell pepper, stir fry for about 3 minutes until the peppers turn soft.

4. Open a box of diced tomato (500g), add it to the skillet, stir until simmer.

5. Add smoked paprika, cumin powder, salt and pepper, stir until well combined.

6. Use medium low heat to reduce the sauce for about 15 minutes, stir occasionally to prevent burning, until there’s nearly no liquid left on the bottom of the skillet. Turn off the heat.

7. Add a handful of chopped cilantros to the skillet, stir until well combined. Set aside.

8. Preheat the oven at 350 °F (175°C ).

9. Wrap a tortilla in a damp paper towel, put it on a plate, microwave for 20 seconds. (I used corn tortillas, which break easily in the ramekin if I don’t soften them with this method. If you are using wheat/flour tortillas, you can skip this microwave soften step.)

10. Coat a ramekin/oven safe bowl with cooking spray, gently press the softened tortilla inside the ramekin. Repeat with the left of tortillas.

11. Place all the ramekins on a baking tray, add about 3 tablespoons of the shakshuka sauce to each tortilla bowl.

12. Crack one quail egg into each tortilla bowl. Optionally sprinkle some grated parmesan, feta, or mozzarella cheese over the eggs.

13. Bake at 350 °F for about 8 minutes until the egg whites turns white from translucent.

14. Optionally garnish with black pepper, parsley or basil leaves. Serve immediately.