I love simple recipes that are more than the sum of their parts and that’s certainly the case with Atlas chef Charlie Carrington’s (ridiculously) Simple Shakshuka Sauce. The ingredients are basic but the slow cooking method gets all the sweetness out of the garlic and shallots creating a sauce with incredible depth of flavour.
The sauce is great with baked eggs, as we do in the video, but it’s also brilliant as a pasta sauce or a braising medium for chicken, fish or prawns. You can also serve it as a base for sausages. It’s so versatile and adaptable.
Charlie’s Melbourne restaurant, Atlas, changes its cuisine every few months. It’s an extraordinary feat of creativity. As Charlie mentions, this recipe was developed for their Israeli menu which was so popular that the Atlas crew has spun it off into Lomah (land of milk and honey), a casual restaurant that’s in Melbourne Prahran and Melbourne Central’s Ella precinct. Try their amazing falafel!
Makes: 1.4 litres
Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 140 grams (5 oz) garlic cloves, peeled
- 140 grams (5 oz) shallots, peeled
- 100 grams (3.5 oz) olive oil, plus extra to serve
- 10 grams (1 tsp) ground cumin
- 10 grams (1 tsp) ground white pepper
- 1 litre (35 oz) tinned, chopped tomatoes
- salt, to taste
- few sprigs fresh dill
- eggs, as desired
Method
1. Place garlic, shallots, olive oil, cumin and white pepper in mixing bowl and cook 20 min/Varoma/speed 2.
2. Once the room smells incredible and the timer goes off, add the tomatoes and cook 8 min/100°C (212°F)/speed 5.
3. Set aside to cool, or use immediately. To make shakshuka, ladle sauce into a pan and crack two eggs into it. Season with salt. Bake in a hot oven (220°C/430°F) for 3-4 minutes or until eggs are cooked as desired. To serve, drizzle generously with olive oil and scatter with dill.
Tips
- Use red or golden shallots, as desired.
- Don’t be frightened by the amount of garlic in this recipe. It becomes so sweet and rounded.
- Use your own Passata instead of tinned tomatoes.
- Store cooled shakshuka in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.
Variations
- You can change up the spices as desired; ground cinnamon and coriander are also nice.
- Use the sauce over pasta or a braising medium for chicken, fish or prawns. You can also serve it as a base for sausages. It’s so versatile and adaptable.
More about this video
- Visit Charlie Carrington’s Atlas restaurant and Lomah.
- See Charlie’s Chicken Liver Pate – it’s brilliant.
- Want more Israeli flavours? Check out Eyal Shani’s Hummus and Gazpacho.
- This baked egg dish reminded me of amazing Khachapuri.
