Chakchouka - Eggplant with Eggs and Tomatoes

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Heat the olive oil in a wide pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveWide, shallow pot
2. 2
   Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 3
   Add the garlic and fry 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

1. 4
   Add the eggplant and stir. Cook 8–10 minutes, until it softens.

   Stove
2. 5
   Add the paprika and cumin and stir for a minute, until fragrant.
3. 6
   Add the tomatoes and season with salt and black pepper. Turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡The sauce is ready for the eggs when a spoon dragged across the bottom of the pan leaves a trail. A sauce that's too thin cooks the eggs in water, not in sauce.

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
4. 7
   Make wells in the Dressing and crack an egg into each one. Cover and cook 6–8 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny.

   StoveLid

   💡Crack each egg into a small cup first and slide it into the well: that way the yolk doesn't break, and a stray bit of shell is easy to remove.
5. 8
   Sprinkle the parsley on top and serve immediately with pita bread.