Home & Lifestyle, Food

Brunch Spread: Green Herb Shakshuka

Lesson time 20:53 min

The best dishes come from the crossroads. Yotam shows you a Persian spin on a North African classic, shakshuka: a dish of braised eggs in a flavorful sauce. Yotam shares some favorite ingredients, such as fenugreek, dried limes, and harissa.

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Topics include: Green Herb Shakshuka • Happy People Eat More

Yotam Ottolenghi

Teaches Modern Middle Eastern Cooking

James Beard Award–winning chef Yotam Ottolenghi teaches you his recipes for delicious Middle Eastern platters layered with color and flavor.

Preview

[00:00:01.35] YOTAM OTTOLENGHI: I feel that the whole world now knows what shakshuka is. And it a kind of transported itself from North Africa to the Middle East and now to the rest of the world. It's a wonderful breakfast dish or brunch or lunch, which has eggs braising in a sauce. [00:00:22.89] [MUSIC PLAYING] [00:00:28.65] If you ever go and have breakfast somewhere trendy and you see people and their little pots and their little pans on the table, and they've got eggs that have just been braised in tomato sauce, and they've got bread next to it, and they're dipping it into the eggs and sauce, you know it's shakshuka. And I love it and I grew up on it. And in Tel Aviv, there is a place that specializes in shakshuka so much, that it's called Dr. Shakshuka. And that's all people eat there. Everybody comes there for breakfast or early lunch, and they sit with pans, and they eat shakshuka, and that's all they offer. [00:01:02.34] So today for my brunch spread, I'm doing a shakshuka, which is slightly different. So it's not necessarily based on a tomato sauce. It's based on using tons and tons of herbs. So it's a green shakshuka. So it's the opposite of the red one. The red one is normally quite smooth. This one is full of texture. And it is kind of inspired by a way-- a Persian way of cooking herbs, where herbs are-- offer the bulk. [00:01:31.18] So, you know, normally, we use-- or many of us use herbs as a garnish or something to flavor a dish. In Persian cooking, in soups and stews, often, the herbs offer the bulk of the dish. So this is what this shakshuka is all about-- herbs. And it's totally delicious. And I'm going to start by just warming up some oil that's about five tablespoons. And I'm going to add leeks to it. So as I said, it's a green shakshuka. So leeks are green, so that's a good start. So your oniony element because leeks are from the onion family, is lovely and green. [00:02:08.85] So all these leeks go there. That's about the amount of leek you want there. And then that just starts cooking slowly. I'm going to add a pinch of salt, which really helps the any onions, but leeks in particular that are a bit woody, to start breaking down and get that moisture out. Because now we're cooking something for a little while. [00:02:37.89] And the leeks are there to be softened, and you need some patience here. But that's how you create a base. You take your time, you let the ingredients cook slowly, and what you get in return is something pretty marvelous because you're giving it time. [00:03:00.71] So after about 20 minutes, you can see the leek is totally sweated down. It changes color. It's much more-- it's a darker delicious color. I'm going to add garlic-- so that's seven crushed garlic cloves-- and some cumin seeds. And I'm going to cook those out for a little bit. It's always nice to cook spices a bit before you add anything else. It smells good. The garlic is a winner. Cumin is the winner. Anyone that knows me knows how much...

About the Instructor

One of the most influential chefs working today, Yotam Ottolenghi creates dishes that layer color and flavor for maximum impact. Now the James Beard Award winner teaches you simple steps for making and mixing Middle Eastern–inspired recipes. Learn how to make generous platters—mezze and brunch spreads to homemade condiments, stunning stand-alones, and delicious vegetables—so you can entertain with ease.

Featured MasterClass Instructor

Yotam Ottolenghi

James Beard Award–winning chef Yotam Ottolenghi teaches you his recipes for delicious Middle Eastern platters layered with color and flavor.

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