Shakshuka with Melted Mozzarella and Chunky Tomatoes with homemade tomato paste

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade tomato paste ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and quarter each tomato.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 2
   Put the tomatoes, the salt and half of the olive oil in a wide pot, cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release their liquid.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 3
   Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill or sieve and return the purée to the pot: the skins and seeds stay behind.

   Food millorFine sieve
4. 4
   Cook uncovered about an hour at a lively simmer, stirring now and then, until the purée reduces by half.

   StoveWooden spoon

   💡The paste burns easily as it dries: stir and scrape the bottom and edges, and once it is thick, don't walk away.
5. 5
   Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
6. 6
   Grease a wide baking dish with the rest of the olive oil and pour in the purée in a thin layer. Dry in the oven about 3 hours, stirring and scraping the edges every 30 minutes, until the paste is thick, sticky and brick red.

   OvenBaking sheetSilicone spatula
7. 7
   Let the paste cool.

   Jar

For the Fried onion

1. 8
   Cut the tomatoes into rough 2 cm cubes.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 9
   Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat.

   StoveFrying pan
3. 10
   Add the onion and fry 7–8 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.

   Stove

   💡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.
4. 11
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   Stove

   💡Garlic burns fast and turns bitter. Add it only once the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells.
5. 12
   Add the pepper and fry about 1 minutes, stirring, until it softens.

   Stove
6. 13
   Cut the onion into slices.

   KnifeCutting board

To assemble

1. 14
   Add the tomato paste, paprika and chili and stir for a minute, until fragrant.
2. 15
   Add the tomatoes and sugar and season with salt. Turn down the heat and simmer for 12–15 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

   Stove

   💡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.
3. 16
   Transfer the sauce into two heatproof bowls, make wells and crack an egg into each one. Sprinkle the cheese over the eggs. Bake in an oven preheated to 220°C (430°F) on top broil for 8–10 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks still wobble and the cheese is melted and bubbling.

   OvenBaking pan

   💡Glass and ceramic keep cooking after they come out of the oven, so take it out just before the eggs look done.
4. 17
   Serve with fresh bread for dipping in the sauce.