mmm-yoso – Page 368 – As in, yoso-silly, yoso-hungry, yoso-full, or best of all; mmm-delici-yoso!!!!! A San Diego based food and travel blog. An Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Friends explore food, restaurants, and travel from San Diego and points beyond.

Recently Consumed……

December 26, 2012 mmm-yoso Cooking

We've been eating at home quite a bit recently……here are some of what we made.

Didn't know what to make for dinner…ended up buying some Italian Sausages and making a very basic sausage and peppers.

I do the thing where a brown the sausages over medium low heat and then cook the peppers and onions in the rendered fat. Surprisingly, the Missus enjoyed this and I ended up making it as one the dishes for Her Xmas potluck.

We had that alongside one of my favorite things….oven blasted brussel sprouts.

I love those leaves that fall off and get crisped up like chips…..I'm surprised that they haven't packaged that yet! Or maybe someone has and I just don't know about it.

Leftover sausage and peppers means a fritatta.

Alongside roasted baby white potatoes……

As you can tell, the oven is getting a bunch of work…..

Loved the oven roasted baby eggplant…..

How about some oven roasted cauliflower????

I've been making that pepper-tomato-harissa-cumin shakshuka thing. Here's a flat-iron steak seasoned with cumin-salt-pepper-paprika-granulated garlic-oregano, on top of the salsa/sauce.

There had been a a couple of packages of tempeh in the fridge that the Missus bought….tempeh…..sigh…. I went ahead and smoked it for the Missus, which She told me tastes really good. I'll take Her word for it. She decided to take what was left of the "shakshuka thing" and mix that with shaved vegetable and roasted kabocha, sauteed, with an egg cracked in the middle finished in the oven.

She's really into that "Ottolenghi look", huh?

I'm thinking slicing the smoked tempeh thin and frying it….bacon style…maybe….well…maybe not.

I saw some wild Mexican 41-50 white shrimp at Catalina Offshore. It might be small for many uses; but I think it's perfect for Gambas al Ajillo (Garlic Shrimp).

So there you go….been cooking at home quite a bit lately….have you?

Merry Christmas

December 24, 2012 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, yoso-silly

Well, it's another Christmas almost in the books folks…….

Where does time go? I recently received an email from someone who had started reading our little blog as a sophomore in high school…….he's now a college senior! I don't know what to say……

The whole gang here at mmm-yoso would like to wish each and everyone of you a happy, healthy, and delicious holiday season!

And now for some gratuitous food photos. The Missus has to work this Christmas Eve so I was on my own…….

Thanks for dropping by!

The Elephant in the Room-Donut Shops

December 23, 2012 Cathy Bakery, Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

You are reading mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food. Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are busy with things right now and Cathy is blogging today because she is caught up with things.

You know how when you are told not to do or think something, it turns out the only thing you want to do is dwell about that something-the elephant in the room? Well, almost two years ago, everyone around me seemed to become overly aware of their glucose levels, carbohydrate intake and 'eating healthy'. Ever since then, I went from eating one donut a year to stopping at any place with "Donut" and/or "Bakery" in its signage at least once a week. This post is a compendium of some of my favorite Donut shops in different parts of San Diego County.

Let's start in the center – Mira Mesa.

This is the only 'generic' strip mall Donut Shop where I go out of my way to stop – If you've been to Lucky Seafood at the NE corner of Mira Mesa Boulevard at Black Mountain Road, that's where you've seen Donut Stop. It's open from 4:30 a.m. until 10 p.m., in case you have a craving.

What I really like from here are the whipped cream filled donut holes: Little light puffs of angel breath. They call them 'cream puffs' but the dough is soft, not crispy and they are topped with just a dusting of powdered sugar. The raised glazed donut is an automatic purchase and always nice. Simple, not crazy sweet and perfect.

Donut Stop 9330 Mira Mesa Blvd San Diego 92126 (858)271-8751

When we head to West to Pacific Beach, Linda's Donuts, on the NW corner of Grand at Lamont, doesn't look very fancy…

It's small inside, but just like Donut Stop, the donuts are constantly being made and there is something ready to eat- even at 10 p.m..

The Boston Creme and French Cruller. Both here are made perfectly. They are 'normal' sized donuts and the Bavarian is quite heavy with filling. If I lived closer, the cruller, with its soft layered interior and crispy light exterior, would be my morning ritual.

Linda's Donuts 1888 Grand Avenue San Diego 92109 (619) 274-4004

Now, heading South-

All the way in Imperial Beach, at the spot where Palm Avenue turns into Highway 75 (the Silver Strand) at 7th Street. In your mind's eye, you can see the signage here used to be "Stardust Donuts" "Fresh"… My friend, "caninecologne" introduced me to Stardust -or at least she tried to; they were closed that one day and have random hours, but now when I am in the area, I make an effort to stop here, in case they are open.

The thing to get here is a cinnamon roll. Again- a 'normal size' with light glaze, not "County Fair" huge with dripping frosting- and a buttermilk stick cake donut are perfect to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Stardust Donut Shop 698 Hwy 75 Imperial Beach 91932 (619) 424-6200

Heading North on the 15, to Escondido, take the Centre City exit then jump onto Escondido Boulevard to the South West corner of Ninth…

Peterson's Donut Corner. Open 24/7 (except it's closed from Christmas Day until January 3rd). Form three lines and you can see the selection walking on the outside of the building, through all the windows…

There is outdoor seating and pretty much always a line of people ordering, even in the heat of Summer.

On this day, we got the maple frosted Vienna Kreme, another Cruller and an apple spice cake donut (the flavored cake donuts are different each day). The Vienna Kreme donut is HUGE as are all the filled donuts here. There is always a great variety (blueberry…just get something blueberry) and I don't think the kitchen ever closes.

Peterson's Donut Corner 903 S. Escondido Boulevard, Escondido 92025 (760) 745-7774

Then there is "my" Donut Shop- the one I can walk to (although walking home is uphill)- also open 24/7 (including Christmas Day).

Mary's, on the South West block of Mission Gorge Road at Fanita, one block East of the 125…if you've been to Santee, you've seen it.

There's a small eat in area, the walls are plastered with photos of patrons.

The filled donut holes here are covered in powdered sugar and need coffee to cut the sweetness. The French Cruller is just light and crispy with an eggy interior and …perfect. It really is one of my cravings.

Mary's Donuts 9031 Mission Gorge Road Santee 92071 (619) 448-4800

I hope everyone is having a good weekend. Take some time to enjoy a treat before those New Year Resolutions kick in!

Sometimes it just doesn’t work out: Ottolenghi’s Marinated Sweet & Sour Fish

December 20, 2012 mmm-yoso Cookbooks, Cooking, yoso-silly

Not everything we make, even if it's made exactly as the recipe is written works out, or is even to our taste. Of course, I've mentioned how much we enjoy Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbooks as evidenced in previous posts. The dude has some great vegetarian recipes and also seems to have a serious egg fetish. And you know me….I love my drippy eggs, right?

On the other hand, I've been a bit leary of the meat and especially fish recipes in his latest book, Jerusalem. But the Missus was taken with the Marinated Sweet & Sour Fish recipe from the book.. It had all the great ingredients we enjoy…the peppers, the harissa, coriander seeds, garlic, tomatoes……

And I took the Missus to Catalina Offshore getting some really nice halibut…..

I did think the recipe bit odd. You basically saute all the vegetables. Then fry the fish in an egg batter, then place the fish in the ragout to finish in the oven. For me, it really got odd when the book recommended you eat this the next day…..at room temperature. I mean, you've created a pretty hard barrier, via the egg batter….would any of the flavor permeate the fish which is simply seasoned with salt? It was strange enough that I followed the recipe to the letter….even doing the steps I usually change around from the book, like not blooming, in this case, the curry powder in oil for more flavor. I even held off and used only two cloves of garlic, crushed. I will say that the dish really did look like the photo in the book.

With nothing to really do the next day; I just made a simple tomato-lettuce salad with a white balsamic vinaigrette and roasted some baby eggplant and small white potatoes in the oven.

The dish was nothing if not bright and vibrant looking.

Man….compared to other dishes I've made from the book; this was pretty bland. The batter from the fish had become mushy….really not a great texture. The flavor of the vegetables was all over the map….a combo sour-curry-coriander, not bad, but just kind of weak.

So no recipe on this one……

I do always say to adjust recipes to your taste, his time I didn't. Get the book though….try out the recipe, just because we didn't care for the flavors doesn't mean you won't like it. I will say, that I found this to be a bit fussy, with maybe too many steps.

The one great thing…..I managed to show the Missus what I like when buying fish…the sheen, etc…. Catalina Offshore has often been problematic because of their hours. But now, the Missus enjoys dropping by and picking up fish for dinner.

Remember that shakshuka recipe from the same book (adjusted a bit of course)? Well, I made the peppers and tomato portion as before. Then seasoned some nice halibut with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, oregano, granulated garlic, then finally some cumin powder to tie it to the vegetable concoction and used it as a relish or salsa if you will. I'm thinking the recipe above might have been great done this way.

This was a really nice dinner……..

Pan fried halibut on spicy red bell pepper-tomato relish, with some shaved kale and purple cabbage salad and oven roasted potatoes and eggplant. It's amazing what you can make on a weeknight if you have a plan!

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Midweek Meanderings: Coming Soon – The Original Sab E Lee in Rancho Penasquitos, Baraka Market and Restaurant, and yes we’re stalking North Park Produce in Clairemont

December 19, 2012 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers, Thai Restaurants

The Original Sab E Lee Opening in Rancho Penasquitos:

On December 11th, "KevinK" commented about Sab E Lee opening in PQ on this post. So the very next day I dropped by The Original Sab E Lee and asked…..and was told that yes, they were opening, probably within two weeks. I asked for an address….and cracked up when they couldn't remember it! All they told me was that it was in a strip mall near Twin Trails Drive. So of course we drove up there this past weekend to find out exactly where…… it's here:

Right next to Penasquitos Pets…. I was told that the menu will be the same as TOSEL, the restaurant will be much larger, about 50 seats. No need to worry, TOSEL on Ulric is not going anywhere.

13223 Black Mountain Rd.
San Diego, CA 92129

Baraka Market and Restaurant:

We drove by the long empty space that used to house United Oriental Food Market on El Cajon Boulevard and saw some activity and even a sign.

I believe "baraka" means blessed or something along those lines in Arabic…..not quite sure. But we'll have to just wait and see what's up.

It's great to finally have something in that spot.

5349 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

And yes, we're stalking North Park Produce in Clairemont:

We stopped by the NPP in Poway, since we'd never been there (a later post). The really friendly woman behind the deli counter told me that NPP was opening on the 16th….last Sunday. But Sunday came and no dice. We've been waiting since we first noticed the sign in September for this place to open. We were at the North Park location of NPP and they told us "in ten days……"

We've been checking the place out every time we drive by….which is pretty much daily. Sheesh….I'm starting to feel like I'm stalking the place.

4220 Balboa Ave.
San Diego, CA 92117

Big Island: Village Burger – Kamuela (Waimea)

December 18, 2012 mmm-yoso Burgers, Hawai'i - The Big Island

I'm kinda taking thing out of sequence for this one…….after a night's rest in Kona, we headed out to Hilo. We did stop at the Keauhou Saturday's Farmer's Market, but I'll include that in a future post (you'll see why), where I managed to grab some breakfast. We rolled into one of my favorite little towns on the Big Island, Waimea….which my friends and I always call Kamuela. It a farming community with a lot of heart. I almost took a job there in the mid-nineties….I wonder how things would be if I did? Anyway, my good friend's family had a plot in the town…aka an empty lot that needed upkeep from time to time. So we'd escape to Kamuela….have beers at the Parker Ranch Broiler, which is now in a new location…..

I'd been looking forward to checking out the town and we arrived at a shade after 10am. It seemed like a busy Saturday, malls on each side of the street had major Craft Fairs going on. The Missus really enjoyed the farming village vibe……. Parker Ranch, founded in 1847, years before most of the cattle ranches were established in the Southwest, and once upon a time, the largest family owned ranch in the United States (it's now run by a trust), calls the area home. So it's major cattle country. You can literally walk into Foodland and see grass fed beef sold cheaper then the usual corn fed stuff!

Like I said, the Missus was taken by the town…….

I'm thinking the Missus will want to spend at least a night here next time we're around…..

As for lunch….well I had one place in mind. Ever since I read this post on James Rubio's Big Island Grinds, I've been wanting to check out Village Burger.

Located in the Parker Ranch Center, Village Burger features pasture raised beef and locallysourced ingredients…..they actually even told us where they got the very delicious and ripe tomatoes we had on our burgers. I was a bit surprised when I heard the owner is Edwin Goto; not a household name, but if you ever watched the old series Great Chefs of Hawaii, you might recognize the name…. So now it's burgers eh?

The little shop is attached to the food court in the shopping center, perhaps a bit odd, but kind of neat in a way. The process was very much standard fast-foodish.

I just wanted ot taste the local beef, so I went with the straight-forward "Hawaii Rancher's Beef" Burger ($7.50). No mayo……..

First off….the burger was done just as ordered….no "shibai" about "we only serve our burgers yada…yada…" only to get a over cooked hockey puck. It was super moist and tender, though I expected a bit more beefiness. I ended up getting some whole grain mustard from the condiment counter which really brought the flavor up. The brioche was up to the task, with just a hint of sweetness….loved the flavor of the ripe tomato. This was just a nice burger……

The Missus went with the Hamakua Mushroom Burger; not cheap at nine bucks. It came on a yeasty roll.

They didn't mess with this too much, as the earthy flavors of the mushroom came through. It was well seasoned as well. There really wasn't much obvious binder in this, as it really looked like the previously cooked mushrooms, and there was quite a bit of it, was loosely bound, then placed in a burger ring and dusted with flour, corn/potato starch to create a crust…adding to things by providing a textural counter-point.

I thought the basic burger was well priced, perhaps the mushroom burger was on the pricey side, but to the Missus it was well worth it.

Maybe Edwin Goto isn't doing James Beard Foundation dinners anymore. But he sure has a winner in this place and he seems to be enjoying it. More power to him.

Village Burger
67-1185 Mamalahoa Hwy
Kamuela, HI 96743

Hours:
Mon-Sat 1030am – 8pm
Sun 1030am – 6pm

Retasting Bud’s Louisiana Cafe – Six and a half years and three locations later

December 17, 2012 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Cajun, Southern, and Soul Food, Seafood

Man, here's another one that really dates us……. I first posted on Bud's, when it was Bud's Louisiana Food Shoppe on Kettner back in August of 2006. We then visited a couple of itmes after they moved to Tierrasanta in August of 2008. We thought the food had slipped a bit and before we knew it, Bud's was gone…….

Only to find out that Bud's Cafe had reopened on a small side street of Balboa Avenue in an area that looked like a business park.

After the move to Tierrasanta, the hours had gotten a bit different, and here it was Monday and Tuesday, breakfast and lunch, 7am to 3pm. Wednesday thru Friday 7am to 9pm, and Saturday 12 noon to 9pm. Since I'm fairly close to the location, I decided on grabbing some lunch to see how things were at Bud's.

It's the same paintings and furniture, but for some reason, I liked it in this setting more. There's also a nice outdoor area, for those non-rainy, winter months. The menu looked pretty much the same and I've always enjoyed the option of a cup of gumbo or bisque to pair with a sandwich. So I went with something I hadn't had in a while, a cup of Jambalaya ($4).

This was better than I recalled; a nice tang, decent seasoning…..the food at Bud's has never struck me as spicy, so I didn't expect that. It was a decent bowl, even overcoming my dislike for converted rice.

I paired that with the New Orleans BBQ Shrimp Po' Boy ($9).

Bud'sRev 04

The sandwich came with some "by the book" Cajun seasoned fries. The bread was crusty and the shrimp was just plain perfectly sauteed. I had forgotten that Bud's tends to drench stuff with tartar sauce……the BBQ sauce wasn't particularly spicy and this isn't a "super stuffed" sandwich, but I wasn't expecting that. Not bad…..

My server was excellent, friendly, but not too buddy-buddy, efficient and professional. I thought the service was actually a notch above the food…..

I returned a couple of days later and ordered a Spicy Andouille Po Boy ($10).

The bread was again crusty, whole grain mustard went well with the sausage, which I was told was Comeaux's Andouille, a pretty well known brand out of Lafayette. The spices were nice, with a bit more ooomph then I expected. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the very tough casing of the sausage, which was really hard to bite through with pulling the whole darn thing out on your lap. Nitpicky perhaps, but overall a decent meal…..

I had mentioned having lunch at Bud's to the Missus. She was curious to see if the food had changed over the years……and I noticed that Bud's has a Happy Hour from Wednesdays through Fridays, from 3pm to 6pm. 15% off appetizers…..I thought some appetizers would be enough for a meal for me and since they also had the lunch/dinner menu, She went for the Crawfish Etouffe ($15).

This seemed a tad lighter (in a good way) then what we'd experienced at Bud's before, it was not as rich, but the great flavors of the shellfish base came through nicely. It was also devoid of the gummy textured, floury taste that sometimes came along with this pretty looking plate. The Missus thought the crawfish taste came through better as well.

I almost forgot about the Caesar Salad that came with the etouffe…….it was actually decent in size. But take a close look and you'll find that the romain lettuce is dripping wet. It hadn't been dried well after rinsing……watering things down.

The cup of Red Beans and Rice was a total fail for us. Other then the nice tasting Andouille, I really thought it second rate. First, there was a total lack of flavor in this….no beans, no spice, no smokiness. It was more watery then creamy, and the beans were tough….. I mean c'mon, this is something I make at home all the time. I know it can be done better…..

I was fascinated by the Creole Caviar, so of course I ordered it.

I loved the flavor of the "pate", a blend of shellfish base with shrimp, crawfish, the Cajun trinity….it was rich in a good way. The Missus didn't care for it at first, mostly because the "toasts" were a bit too buttery, taking the richness over the top for us, and making the dish a bit too salty. This would have been great with just plain bread ot toasts. It didn't seem like much, but sure filled us up. We'll have this again….though maybe order a baquette instead of the toasts.

Thinking that I hadn't had a fried item here, I ordered the Soft Shell Crab Appetizer, a simple floured and deep fried soft shell crab. First, I thought the tartar sauce in this case really helped the soft shell crab….the capers in the sauce did wonders, mainly because the flavor was pretty mild. We also didn't enjoy how this was fried….preferring light and crisp, over gummy and chewy. Sad, I'd always thought they did a good job of frying here….perhaps this is an aberration.

Dinner did seem a bit of a mixed bag, but we left in a positive state of mind. Service had been nice and professional, and though I've heard folks complain about the price to quantity ratio……I'd point to our $30 tab for two burgers we recently ordered at the bar, which was more expensive then this meal!

We'll probably be back in the near future….I still need to see if their gumbo and seafood bisque is still any good.

Bud's Louisiana Cafe
4320 Viewridge Ave
San Diego, CA 92123

Kailua-Kona: Costco, Da Poke Shack, and KTA Keauhou – The Big Island

December 16, 2012 mmm-yoso Hawai'i - The Big Island, Poke

Even though we'd eaten and done the coffee tour thing, it was still pretty early. So I decided to head over to what I'd recommend for a quick first stop in Kona….it's close to the airport, you can stock up on water if you're staying for more than 3-4 days….Costco….yep, Costco. My friends know how much I dread going to Costco, the crowds, the insanity….but here I was going of my own accord. This being the Big Island, meant that Costco might have some interesting items…..

Like poke……

Rambutan seems to be much more popular than I recall……though I hadn't been to the Big Island in almost a decade. They even sell it at Costco.

It was great to see local products being sold at Costco. You can even get local poi!

Or even Hamakua Mushrooms……

And what other Costco has its own Guard-Rooster??? Pretty aggressive little fella'. Make sure you don't take his "reserved space"!

We then headed off back to Kona and was able to check in at the King Kamehameha….which was a good choice for us. Nothing fancy but the location, at the top of Ali'i Drive worked for us. The interior of the hotel is much nicer than the exterior which looked a bit dated. The staff was also very nice, especially the parking lot ladies who always smiled and waved us and in and out.

That taken care of…..means it was time for lunch, right? We headed up Palani Drive to Kuakini Highway, then back down to Ali'i Drive and a small shop called Da' Poke Shack.

The little shop with a couple of parking spots and tables outside has about a dozen varieties of poke…which you can get a la carte as a bowl or as a plate (with two sides)…..though the plate seemed a bit steep at $20, we decided that it was something we could share as a rather light lunch.

I ordered the "Shack Special" which was a mildly sweet furikake poke and the "Wet Hawaiian" which was some kind of award winning version of poke….brown rice with kimchi and seaweed salad as our sides.

The portion sizes of the fish seemed to hover around 4-5 ounces. They told me, this was ahi……it seemed like tombo ahi – albacore, or even A'u as the fish seemed a bit mushy. Regardless, it was fresh, the flavors not too bad, maybe a bit on the salty side.

We shared our table with this momona (chubby) dove, who has obviously been eating well.

Not the best poke I've had, kind of pricey, but probably the best in the area.

Da Poke Shack
76-6246 Alii Dr
Kailua, HI 96740

Open Daily: 10am – 6pm

We then attended to the next task at hand…..trying to figure out what was for dinner! Since the room had a decent mini-fridge, we decided to check out KTA in Keauhou, which we recalled as being pretty decent. We did make a couple of purchases and headed back to our room with a self-catered meal on hand.

After freshening up, we took a nice stroll up Ali'i Drive a bit….which basically looked the same, except for the lack of tourists. We watched the sunset from the back of the Kona Inn…….which never, ever, gets old.

We then walked up a bit further, cut over to Kuakini Highway and made our way back to our room……..and dinner, which was pretty simple. The Missus loves boiled peanuts.

And smoked ahi…….

I really enjoyed the local grass fed pipikaula poke, which I thought was really tasty….didn't like the look of the poke on sale, and frankly, if you don't have a fish counter, I ain't going to buy it.

The pipikaula had a nice chew and the flavor was nice and beefy; this wasn't too salty and was really enjoyable. Totally dinner on the hotel lanai food….and just like old times…….

We enjoyed the pupus with some Mehana Beer, which even the Missus enjoyed. We had decided to boycott Kona Brewing Company. The brewery and restaurant were mere yards from our hotel. However, when we walked over just to find out about the tours, the Hostess/Server was really very rude and condescending……so was another Server I asked. So no more Kona Brewing Company for us……

We got to sleep early….we'd be heading out to Hilo side in the morning.

Recently Consumed

December 15, 2012 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

Here's some of the stuff that we've had recently.

I had made three different types of wings for the pig-fest. One of the sauces was sort of a Indonesian inspired sauce that I threw together during a break. It used Kecap Manis, Sambal Olek (an Indonesian brand), lime juice, and honey. Since the only chance I really have of getting to Catalina Offshore is during Saturdays……I try to make the best of things. Here's a pan fried grouper which I cooked in a combo coconut-grapeseed oil.

The sauce went really well with the fish.

The Missus liked it so much that She ended up using it as a dressing.

She placed the fish on top of a shaved chard, kale, brussel sprout salad. The dressing did quite well with the rather bitter salad….even I liked it. So maybe we've found a use for this "wing sauce", which actually wasn't too bad on wings either……

Not everything I end up making is particularly good:

I couple months back, I finally ordered David Chang's Momofuku cookbook. An aquaintance of mine had gone on and on about the "ginger scallion sauce" and the ginger scallion noodles. So I went ahead and made it….exactly like the recipe was written and man, it was pretty bland….so I made adjustments, more scallions, more salt…….man, it was still fairly mild.

The sauce on the right is my ginger scallion pesto, which I made to compare…and I preferred more. It had more body, the garlic helped the sauce as well….I think hot peanut oil also brought out more flavor. So I dunno……if you look at the photo in the book, the sauce on David Chang's noodles is much darker.

Sometime's recipes from even a trusted source doesn't quite come out. I love Pei Mei's Chinese Cookbook Volume 1. Just about everything I've made from the "Julia Child of Chinese Cooking" has turned out….except for the Sauteed Lamb with Scallions.

I'm thinking it was the additional of vinegar that killed this…… I'll make adjustments and try again.

Luckily, I used only half the lamb and the next night I went back to my stand by; zi ran yang rou.

Cumin Lamb, one of my favorites…….

Shakshuka

December 13, 2012 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

This is more of the Tunisian style shakshuka, then the potatoand eggplant Turkish version….we love both. But we were a bit disappointed in the versions we had in Tunisia……so much of it looked like scrambled eggs. So when the Missus, a big fan of Yotam Ottolenghi's vegetarian cookbook, Plenty, gave me the green light to get his latest, Jerusalem, I went ahead and ordered it. And wouldn't you know, the first page the Missus opens to is the recipe for Shakshuka! From previous experience with Ottolenghi's recipes, I was certain, with adjustments to our taste, (remember, a recipe for cooking is just an outline) that things would turn out okay at the least.

This recipe uses no onions, but still has a good amount of pungency from the harissa we used. It's a brand we bought from a woman who seels French good at the various Farmer's Markets. You'll have to adjust the amounts based on that. I also bumped up the garlic slightly. You can also check out Cathy's recipe here. The dish she makes is quite similar. The version in the book also uses 4 whole eggs plus 4 yolks….sounded a bit much for us. So we just stuck to three large eggs.

Shakshuka

2-3 Tb Olive Oil
2-4 Tb Harissa (depending on brand)
2-3 Tb Tomato Paste (we used more since we used fresh tomatoes which weren't super ripe)
2 large red bell peppers cut into 1/4" dice
5-6 ripe roma tomatoes diced
4-6 cloves garlic finely minced
2 tsp ground cumin
3-4 large eggs – I crack them in bowls and leave them on the side
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

– Heat olive oil over medium heat in a pan. We used our trusty cast iron pan.
– Add the cumin to "bloom" (not burn), then quickly add harissa, tomato paste, and garlic.
– When fragrant add the red bell peppers and some salt. Stir occasionally for about 8-10 minutes until softened.
– Add tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens.
– Taste and adjust seasoning.
– Make divots in the thick sauce and pour eggs into the divots. I stir the whites of the eggs lightly to enhance the cooking time.
– Lower the heat and simmer for 8-12 minutes, or more to let the eggs set-up to taste. If you enjoy your eggs a bit more well done, you can cover them for a few minutes.