Green Shakshuka
SERVES 4
TIME 1 hour
Ingredients
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound swiss chard, stems sliced ¼ inch thick (2 cups), leaves cut into 1½-to 2-inch pieces (8 cups)
1 onion
8 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 teaspoon table salt, divided
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley sprigs, divided
1 pound (16 cups) baby spinach
1 ounce country-style bread, cut into ½-inch pieces (½ cup), plus bread for serving
1½ teaspoons ground sumac, divided 1¼ cups water
8 large eggs
1 ounce goat cheese or feta cheese, crumbled (¼ cup)
Before You Begin: Sumac gives the dish brightness. If sumac is unavail- able, omit it in the steps and serve with lemon wedges (lemon juice may dull the color of the greens). Use a glass lid if you have one. If not, peek at the eggs frequently as they cook. Serve with hot sauce and garnish with Crispy Garlic.
Directions
1. Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add chard stems, onion, garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Add coriander and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chard leaves and 2 cups of parsley. Adjust heat to medium-low and cook, covered, stirring occasionally until greens are just wilted but still bright green, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add half of spinach, cover, and cook until just wilted. Add remain- ing spinach and cook, covered, stirring occasionally until all spinach is wilted but still bright green, 3 to 5 minutes. Off heat, transfer 1½ cups of the greens mixture to a blender. Add bread, 1 teaspoon sumac, water, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Process until smooth puree forms, about 1 minute, scraping sides of blender jar as needed. Add puree to skillet and smooth into even layer.
4. Using the back of a spoon, make 8 shallow indentations (about 1 inch wide) on the surface of greens (7 around perimeter and 1 in center). Crack 1 egg into each indentation (which will hold yolk in place but not fully contain egg). Spoon greens over edges of egg white so that whites are partially covered and yolks are exposed.
5. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and cook until yolks film over, 3 to 5 minutes, adjusting heat to maintain gentle simmer. Continue to cook, covered, until white are softly but uniformly set (if skillet is shaken slightly, each egg should jiggle as a single unit), 1 to 2 minutes longer. Off heat, sprinkle with goat cheese, remaining 2 tablespoons parsley, and remaining ½ teaspoon sumac. Season with salt to taste and serve, passing bread separately.
Why This Works: For a vibrant, earthy green shakshuka, we replaced the robust tomato and pepper sauce from red shakshuka with a mix of leafy greens and herbs: savory, mineral-y Swiss chard; tender baby spinach; and a bunch of fresh parsley. We started by softening the thinly sliced stems of the chard with onion and garlic in olive oil and then added cumin and coriander before wilting the chard leaves, parsley, and spinach. Next, we pureed a portion of the cooked greens with water and bread. The bread helped bind some of the water so that the puree was thick and homogenous. The puree provided a smooth consistency for evenly transferring heat to the eggs, which helped them cook at the same rate, while the portion of unblended greens provided a sturdy bed for the eggs. Cooking the eggs covered allowed them to be heated from above and below.
Recipes provided by America’s Test Kitchen; used with permission.
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