One of my favorite pastimes is cooking for the people that I love. I think the best way to spend a Sunday morning is making a delicious, balanced brunch. Yesterday I made this Harissa Ground Turkey Shakshuka and my fiancé LOVED it. He asked me how I thought of this combo and it was because I know many struggle to get protein in their mornings that isn't from just cottage cheese and protein powder. I knew that Shakshuka is loved by many, so why not add a very lean meat to it? The ground turkey is a perfect lean meat that doesn't alter the taste of the Shakshuka much, so all you can taste is the kick fo flavor from the harissa and the delicious & fresh tomato sauce you'll make. By adding ground turkey, you'll obtain 25-30 more grams of protein in your breakfast, you can't go wrong. You can enjoy it with any morning carb source - toast, pita, focaccia, I don't care, just make sure you have something to dip into the Shakshuka. I'm also letting you know that if you want a fresher tomato sauce, you'll need to be patient and allow the tomatoes to cook for as long as possible - the cooking time is 40 minutes, so while the tomatoes are cooking, clean your house make a coffee, do what you gotta do. Trust me, it will be worth the wait. But if you are in a rush, feel free to use already diced tomatoes in a can to make the cooking process faster. Let's get to the recipe!
Yields: 2
Portion: 2 eggs
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes
This recipe is gluten free.
Ingredients:
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 beefsteak tomatoes or 15 oz can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp mild or medium harissa (depends on how much spice you can tolerate)
Salt
Black pepper
½ lb lean ground turkey
4 eggs
Fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions:
1. Prep tomatoes: if you're using fresh tomatoes, dice them finely. Set aside. Make sure your ground turkey is fully defrosted. Set aside. Have an electric kettle filled with boiling water to use throughout the cooking process.
2. Add to pan: drizzle in olive oil into large frying pan on medium heat. Once you smell the olive oil, add tomatoes. Stir and add in harissa. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Add ½ cup hot water. Cover the pan and allow the tomatoes to soften. If you notice that the tomatoes are drying out, continue adding more hot water until a thick and consistent sauce is made. This process will take 20-25 minutes.
3. Add turkey: once the sauce has thickened, add the ground turkey in and stir it in well to ensure the turkey is well mixed in. You may need to add a bit of hot water once more to ensure the ground turkey fully cooks - this may be another 15 minutes.
4. Add eggs: once the sauce has thickened and the turkey is cooked, create four wells in the tomatoes for your eggs. Crack one egg into each well. Cover the pan and cook until the eggs are done to your liking, this needs less than 5 minutes. Season with freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.
