Start the New Year off on the right track with my favorite egg dish. Brunch doesn’t need to complicated-just gorgeous and delicious. Skip the blimpie bagels and cliché cream cheese. Treat yourself and some friends to a zesty Mediterranean egg dish. Sunny-side up eggs poached in spicy tomato sauce with your favorite vegetables and a drizzle of your best olive oil. What could be better? Add some bowls of your favorite condiments, warm pita and a pot of strong coffee and you have New Year’s brunch under control. Now if only the rest of the year would go this smoothly!

Shakshuka

This delicious North African dish has as many variations as there are Jews in Israel and on JDate! Feel free to add your favorite veggies, cheeses and any other ingredients you like.

Olive oil

1 Spanish onion, diced

5 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

2 roasted red peppers, peeled and chopped

1 28-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes, drained and crushed-(I like to pour the tomatoes with their juices into a large bowl and crush them with my hands, they don’t end up too mushy the way canned crushed tomatoes can be)

1 5-ounce can tomato paste

3 tablespoons crushed red chilies (you can vary the amount in the recipe-I like it really zippy)

8 eggs

½ cup fresh flat leaf parsley-chopped

2 tablespoons za’atar

Salt and pepper

Optional garnishes: grated cheese, chopped scallions, chopped red onions, harissa, chopped fresh herbs (cilantro, basil), chopped kalamata olives

1. Heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Lightly coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized (about 7 minutes). Add the garlic and roasted red peppers and lower the heat to medium low and continue cooking until the vegetables are soft but not browned (about 5 minutes).
2. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste and crushed red chilies. (Reserve the juices from the canned tomatoes for another use) Stir to combine and cook over low heat until the sauce is thick. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
3. Crack the eggs into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with parsley and za’atar. Cover the pan and continue cooking over medium heat until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still soft (about 12-15 minutes). Drizzle your favorite olive oil over the top and serve.

Serve the Shakshuka immediately with warm pita