Chefs' Recipes

Naïm's green shakshuka

Green eggs, sans ham.

  • 30 mins preparation
  • 35 mins cooking plus cooling
  • Serves 4
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Naïm's green shakshuka recipe
In this shakshuka recipe, the traditional tomatoes have been switch out for greens: spiced wilted spinach, an avocado cream bolstered with coriander and mint. Merguez sausages add extra dimension; the just-set eggs, meanwhile, are non-negotiable. Consider this the green eggs, sans ham, courtesy of Brisbane café Naïm.

Ingredients

  • 80 gm butter
  • 3 large (120gm) shallots, finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 merguez sausages (about 200gm)
  • 500 gm baby spinach leaves
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice, or to taste
  • 8 eggs
  • Toasted challah or Turkish bread, to serve
Avocado sour cream
  • ½ avocado, scooped from skin
  • 125 gm sour cream (½ cup)
  • 30 ml olive oil (1½ tbsp)
  • 2 tsp thinly sliced coriander
  • 2 tsp thinly sliced mint
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • ¼ tsp ground cumin
  • Large pinch of coriander seeds

Method

Main
  • 1
    Melt half the butter in a small frying pan over low-medium heat. Add shallot and stir until softened (3-4 minutes), then add garlic and stir until lightly caramelised (5-6 minutes). Add 20gm butter and spices, stir until fragrant (30 seconds), then transfer to a plate.
  • 2
    Meanwhile, in a separate small frying pan, gently fry merguez in remaining butter over low-medium heat until cooked through (8-10 minutes). Slice merguez into thick rounds, reheat pan over medium-high heat and fry until lightly browned.
  • 3
    Blanch spinach until just wilted (15-20 seconds), then drain, refresh in iced water and drain well.
  • 4
    For avocado sour cream, blend all ingredients in a small blender until smooth.
  • 5
    Preheat oven to 200C. Add a quarter of the spiced shallot mixture to small ovenproof frying pans (about 18cm-diameter base, or just make one in a large pan if short of time) over medium heat. When hot add a quarter of the drained spinach and 1 tsp lemon juice and season to taste. Stir for a further 30-60 seconds until warmed through. Make 2 indents in mixture and crack eggs in. Top with merguez and bake until whites are just set (4-5 minutes).
  • 6
    Season to taste, top with dollops of avocado sour cream and serve with toasted bread.