Name: Spinach Shakshuka
Yield: Serves 2–3
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling; 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped; 1 small jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped; 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander; 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 10 ounces (280 g) baby spinach; 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice; 4–6 eggs; Freshly ground black pepper; Feta cheese and roughly chopped fresh cilantro, for sprinkling

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Photo by SANG AN

Since I was little, I have thrilled at reading food-related passage in novels. But the food scenes in Some Day by Israeli novelish Shemi Zarhin are on another level. In one passage, Zarhin describes a dish so vividly, I felt compelled to re-create it in my own kitchen He writes: "Ruchama...fried onions and sprinkled garlic cloves...seasoned it with spicy green pepper and coriander seeds and squeezed a lemon and placed a pile of beet leaves...in the middle, and within seconds, the green pile sunk into the pot and became an aromatic green sauce, into which Ruchama chopped cubes of sheep's milk cheese and broke three eggs and dripped olive oil." As I read and my mouth watered, I realized that Ruchama is essentially making a tomato-free version of the North African poached egg dish, shakshuka. Riffing off the "recipe," I experimented with a spinach shakshuka and, like Ruchama, ended up mopping it up with pita "with great pleasure."

Ingredients

Serves 2–3

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

1 small jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon kosher salt

10 ounces (280 g) baby spinach

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

4–6 eggs

Freshly ground black pepper

Feta cheese and roughly chopped fresh cilantro, for sprinkling

Preparation

Step 1
Heat the olive oil in a large pan set over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapeño and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic, coriander, cinnamon, and salt, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
Step 2
Add the spinach and lemon juice to the pan, turn the heat to low, cover, and cook, tossing occasionally with tongs, until the spinach is very soft, 7 to 10 minutes. (If the spinach does not fit all at once in the pan, add a little at a time, adding more as the spinach in the pan wilts.) Uncover and evenly spread the mixture across the bottom of the pan. Use the back of the spoon to make four to six shallow indentations in the surface of the greens mixture to hold the eggs while they cook.
Step 3
Break the eggs into small cups and gently slide them into the indentations. Raise the heat to medium, cover the pan , and cook until the whites are set but the yolks are still a bit runny, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Drizzle a little more olive oil on top and sprinkle with pepper, feta, and cilantro. Serve hot, directly from the pan.

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Leave a Review

Reviews (13)

Almost 5 stars. I'd ease back or eliminate the cinnamon, and reduce the salt. Maybe go a little bit heavier on the oinion? In recent years I've decided that shakshuka, in all its forms, is on my short list of world's most perfect meals. Delicious, fast, easy, inexpensive, healthful, almost infinitely mutable ... what's not to love? I've done numerous tomato versions, a handful of spinach versions, a caramelized onion version, and others. All yummy.
- Elizabeth McFadden
- Silver Springg, MD
- 4/4/2023
Very nice flavor, but a bit salty, I'd reduce the salt next time. Probably the tastiest way I've had spinach, for sure.
- sterlingartist
- 6/1/2021
Wow! I read the story so I used the goats cheese I had instead of feta. Otherwise no substitutions. Used 6 eggs. Great flavor, easy to make. Served it over jasmine rice. I've shared this with quite a few people I adored it so much. Can't wait to make it again. Highly recommend this gem!
- Kookaburra_
- Charlotte nc
- 5/7/2021
This is delish! With modifications though as per other reviews. We halved the cinnamon, puréed half the spinach mixture before adding the eggs and only added a pinch of salt. Cooked for four minutes over medium heat but was still overdone. Would do 3 minutes next time. Flavour is excellent and served with some lightly olive oiled and baked baguette.
- ritajoyholmberg6443
- Vancouver, BC, Canada
- 12/31/2020
Very, very good!! The eggs came out overcooked for my taste, but I will simply cook them for a shorter amount of time, next time.
- heliconia
- Tracy, CA
- 10/3/2020
Made this for my family and my ten year old called it “perfection”! I substituted goat cheese for the feta and red pepper flakes for the jalapeño since that’s what I had in the house. The creaminess of the goat cheese balanced the salty/spicy of the spinach mixture. Will definitely make again!
- shefter
- Silver Spring, MD
- 10/12/2019
A very easy to prepare dish. As did other reviewers, I cut back on the salt about 1/2. I usually prepare my spinach on the side and blend smooth. This was a nice new way to serve an egg and spinach combo. Enjoy!
- karapossum
- Savannah, GA
- 7/25/2017
Sorry, but this was sooooooo salty that it was inedible, and I love salt! I would use 1/4 as much salt as required, and it would still be plenty salty. Also it is very easy to overcook the egg. Watch the eggs like a hawk so they don't overcook and turn rubbery!
- Anonymous
- New Jersey
- 6/23/2017
I absolutely loved this recipe and will definitely make it again. I used twice as much cinnamon as the recipe called for. (A delicious mistake!)
- hilaryzerbst
- San Francisco
- 3/17/2017
I really wasn't very impressed - the cinnamon with the spinach is a bit cloying, it seemed like the flavors were very much in competition. I plan on trying other Shakshuka recipes, but this one just didn't do it for me.
- jake_catlett
- Mesa, AZ
- 6/19/2016
This was really good. I would reduce the amount of salt (or eliminate it) next time though, if using feta.
- mynwt
- Annapolis, MD
- 5/19/2016
Delicious! Used goat cheese because I didn't have feta, but otherwise followed the recipe as written. I'm definitely going to make double the amount next time!
- lilj424
- Vancouver, BC
- 5/9/2016
Really good. I made this with lime juice and extra cinnamon. I also put it in two pans so it would cook properly.
- Anonymous
- 4/9/2016
This was very good, although I made a few modifications to adapt this to a one-person meal based on what was in my refrigerator. I made about half of the spinach mixture with goat cheese because that is what I had and used two eggs. I had it with rice to make it gluten free. I also ignored the salt amount and salted it to my taste. I couldn’t find the cinnamon so I left it out.
- Anonymous
- 4/16/2024