Eggs in Tomato Sauce for 1
Half a can of tomatoes, two eggs, a small pan: Shakshuka in a single portion.
- Preparation
- 5 min
- Cook/bake time
- 15 min
- Total
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
Half a can of tomatoes, two eggs, a small pan: Shakshuka in a single portion. The problem with cooking for one person is not the recipe, it is the package sizes. Here, the half can is intentional. The other half keeps for three days and is ready in eight minutes the second time around.
Why this works
Eggs set between 62 and 70 degrees, with the egg white cooking first and the yolk later. In a gently bubbling sauce, the temperature is around 95 degrees, which is far too hot for a creamy yolk if you simply place the egg on top. That is why the eggs here go into little wells that you press into the sauce. There, the egg is surrounded by sauce instead of the hot pan wall, and the lid cooks the top with steam instead of contact heat. Both together cook the egg white through in four minutes, while the yolk remains runny. The second point is toasting the cumin. It only unfolds its aromas in fat, and if sprinkled into a finished tomato sauce, it tastes mealy instead of warm.
Step-by-step instructions
- 1
Sauté the onion and bell pepper
Sauté the onion and bell pepper in oil in a small pan for five minutes until soft. Make sure to use a truly small pan of about twenty centimeters, because in a large one the sauce will be too shallow and the eggs will have no support.
- 2
Bloom the spices in fat
Add the garlic, cumin, and smoked paprika, and toast them for thirty seconds until very fragrant. This is the step that makes the difference between a tomato sauce with spices in it and a Shakshuka.
- 3
Simmer the tomatoes
Pour in the tomatoes, season with salt, and let the sauce simmer uncovered for eight minutes until it is noticeably thicker and a spoon leaves a brief trail. A thin sauce will not support the eggs, and they will sink right through.
- 4
Add the eggs and cover
Press two wells into the sauce and crack an egg into each. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to a minimum. After four to five minutes, the egg white will be firm and the yolk still runny, which is visible when the surface is matte white instead of translucent. Sprinkle with parsley.
Our best tips
- Small pan, thick sauce. In a large pan, the sauce spreads out too thinly and the eggs will not have a well to sit in.
