Egg and Spinach Shakshuka with Soy Cream
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~$3.20 CAD per serving (estimate)
Ingredients
- 2 tbspolive oil
- 1 mediumyellow onion, finely diced
- 3 clovesgarlic, minced
- 1 mediumred bell pepper, diced
- 2 tspsmoked paprika
- 1 tspground cumin
- 0.5 tspground coriander
- 0.25 tspcayenne pepper
- 800 gcrushed canned tomatoes
- 0.75 tspfine salt, plus more to taste
- 150 gbaby spinach
- 8large eggs
- 60 mlsoy cream
- 1 tbspflat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 pinchblack pepper, freshly ground
Nutrition / serving
- Calories265 kcal
- Protein17 g
- Carbs14 g
- Fat16 g
- Fiber4 g
Cost Estimate
~$3.20 CAD per serving (estimate)
Shakshuka is one of those rare dishes where the technique is almost embarrassingly simple but the result tastes like it took real effort. Eggs poached directly in a spiced tomato sauce pick up every note of cumin and smoked paprika as they set, while a handful of wilted spinach adds body without weighing anything down. A swirl of soy cream just before serving cuts the acidity cleanly — no dairy needed. This is a genuine weeknight supper: one pan, under twenty-five minutes, and filling enough on its own.
Instructions
Soften the aromatics
Warm the olive oil in a wide, lidded skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6–7 minutes until the onion is soft and translucent and the pepper has lost its raw edge.
Bloom the spices
Add the garlic, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, and cayenne. Stir constantly for 60 seconds — the spices should smell fragrant and the paste should deepen in colour. Pull the pan off the heat briefly if anything threatens to scorch.
Build the tomato sauce
Pour in the crushed tomatoes, add the salt, and stir to combine. Bring to a brisk simmer over medium heat and cook uncovered for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens enough to hold a trail when you drag a spoon through it.
Wilt the spinach
Add the baby spinach in two or three handfuls, stirring each addition until it collapses before adding the next. The whole batch will wilt in about 90 seconds. Taste the sauce and adjust salt.
Poach the eggs
Use a spoon to make 8 shallow wells in the sauce, spacing them evenly. Crack one egg into each well, then cover the pan with a lid and cook over medium-low heat for 5–6 minutes, until the whites are fully set but the yolks are still soft when you nudge the pan gently. If you prefer firmer yolks, give them another 90 seconds.
Finish and serve
Drizzle the soy cream in a loose spiral over the surface, then scatter the parsley and a few grinds of black pepper. Bring the pan straight to the table and serve immediately — the eggs continue cooking in the residual heat.
Chef's Cool Facts
Why eggs set in acid
Tomato sauce is mildly acidic (pH around 4.1–4.5), which actually slows egg protein coagulation slightly compared with plain water. That slower, gentler set is part of why shakshuka whites turn tender rather than rubbery — the acid buffers the heat so the proteins tighten gradually.
Smoked paprika's origin
Smoked paprika — pimentón ahumado — comes from peppers dried over oak fires in Spain's La Vera valley, a practice documented since the 16th century when Extremaduran monks began cultivating New World peppers. The same tin works across cuisines because the smoke note is neutral enough to read as "depth" in a North African tomato sauce just as readily as in a Spanish stew.
Spinach and oxalic acid
Raw spinach contains oxalic acid, which binds iron and calcium and makes them harder to absorb. Wilting spinach in a hot, acidic tomato sauce breaks down some of that oxalic acid, making the iron modestly more bioavailable — a small but real nutritional bonus.
Soy cream's role here
Soy cream has a fat content of roughly 15–18%, close enough to single dairy cream that it emulsifies into the hot tomato sauce without breaking. The fat molecules physically coat the tongue and blunt the perception of acidity, which is why the dish tastes rounder after the swirl than before it.