Shakshuka

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp harissa, more if yours is mild
• 1½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, 28 oz, crushed by hand
• 1½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided
• 6 large eggs
• ½ cup feta, crumbled (optional)
• ¼ cup parsley or cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• pita or crusty bread, for serving

The salt amounts here are for Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If you have Morton kosher salt, use a little over half as much, because its grains are denser and saltier by the spoon.

Steps

1. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet with a lid over medium heat. Add the onion, peppers and a pinch of the salt and cook, stirring now and then, until the peppers have slumped and the onion is golden at the edges, 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, tomato paste, harissa, cumin and paprika and stir until the paste darkens and starts to stick to the pan, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Pour in the tomatoes and their juice and add all but a pinch of the remaining salt. Simmer uncovered, stirring and scraping the bottom every few minutes, until a spoon dragged through the sauce leaves a trail that fills in slowly, 12 to 15 minutes. Taste now: this is the last chance to season the sauce itself.
4. Turn the heat to low. Make six wells in the sauce with the back of a spoon and crack an egg into each, breaking them into a cup first if your aim is unreliable. Run a fork gently through the thick white around each yolk so it spreads into the sauce, keeping the yolks whole. Sprinkle the last pinch of salt over the eggs.
5. Cover and cook until the whites are opaque right up to the yolks and the yolks still wobble when you nudge the pan, 6 to 9 minutes. Start checking at 5; the eggs keep cooking after the heat is off.
6. Scatter the feta and herbs over the top and bring the skillet to the table with the bread.

Notes

The sauce keeps 4 days in the fridge or 3 months frozen; reheat it to a simmer in the skillet before adding the eggs. In summer, use about 2 lb of ripe fresh tomatoes, chopped, and simmer a few minutes longer. If you don't have feta, spoon a little thick yogurt or labneh over the top instead. For anyone who should avoid runny eggs, such as during pregnancy, keep the lid on a few minutes longer, until the yolks are firm.