And I never thought I'd go to Israel

Friend and fellow foodie, I do love a good eater, Mark, recently sent me a recipe for Israeli Shakshuka after having had it for his dinner. When he explained to me spicy tomato sauce, eggs and feta I was intrigued and a little skeptical. Firstly, I really don't like spicy food, pepper is about all I can handle and I really don't like the taste of it, vaguely lavendarish. I should also note that living with my mother could ruin anyone for those little black crumbles. Mom decorates with pepper the way Martha Stewart does with glitter. A bit much, so much that you sneeze when you walk by her plate and at restaurants the pepper mill grinder person has to take a break and flex their arm. I digress. Spicy tomato sauce and eggs...sounds like ketchup on eggs, a sight I cannot handle. Watching my sister Nanine in the mornings gave new meaning to morning sickness. I won't mention how excited she was when purple ketchup came out. Lastly, the feta. I like feta in eggs, I like feta with tomato, this sounded promising so I guess someone was onto something. Reading the recipe you may be like me, a bit apprehensive about the quantity of peppers and types used so I just substitute what I thought my lips could handle and went with a daring three jalapenos. The sizzling onions, garlic and peppers smelled delicious, and as I stirred in the tomatoes and cumin and smoked paprika..I deviated from the recipe a little, I got really excited. Scrolling further down the recipe I realized that the eggs are poached in this tomatoey goodness and the author liked his eggs runny. Other than the obvious disgusting yellow ooze, I didn't think that the runny yolks would taste very good nor do I like my eggs that way. I poached them hard which took a whopper of about 5 minutes more. I highly recommend it. First bite was smokey, tomato richness with a hint of cumin and just a dash of heat on the back of the tongue. I didn't bother waiting for Donald to come home and ate my bowl without him. Next time I might add another pepper or two.

Shakshuka
Serves 4 to 6
1/4 cup olive oil

5 Anaheim chiles or 3 jalapeños, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped (I was nervous and only used 2 Anaheims; I would go for 3 or 4 next time for a more moderate but still gentle kick)

1 small yellow onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, crushed then sliced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon paprika

1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained

Kosher salt, to taste

6 eggs

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

Warm pitas, for serving

Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add chiles and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and paprika, and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft, about 2 more minutes.

Put tomatoes and their liquid into a medium bowl and crush with your hands. Add crushed tomatoes and their liquid to skillet along with 1/2 cup water, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt.

Crack eggs over sauce so that eggs are evenly distributed across sauce’s surface. Cover skillet and cook until yolks are just set, about 5 minutes. Using a spoon, baste the whites of the eggs with tomato mixture, being careful not to disturb the yolk. Sprinkle shakshuka with feta and parsley and serve with pitas, for dipping.