Shakshouka-style: 

Egg Poached in Tomatoes & Zucchini

I thought something bright and cheerful was in order here, after a gloomy few days of weather. 

I seem to remember my grandma used to make me a simple dish of just tomatoes and zucchini, cooked together with some oil. That's the kind of delicious dishes she used to make for me: nothing fancy, but full of flavor and love.

I had zucchini, and a can of diced tomatoes, and olive oil. I put them all in a pan, and cooked them together on medium/medium-low, stirring every so often, for about 30-40 minutes. I had other things to do in the kitchen at the same time, so this was not a problem.

When the sauce was "done" to my liking, I cracked an egg into it, covered the pan, and cooked it on medium-low/low for about 10 minutes. I know that many recipes for Shakshouka call for the egg to cook less; it's personal preference here. (Shakshouka is a North African dish of tomatoes and peppers cooked together, as a base for poaching eggs in this manner.) You can use any leftover sauce for pasta, if you like.

Plain Harcha 

(Moroccan galette or biscuit)

The recipe is from My Moroccan Food. She says that this is popular for breakfast, and often eaten with a honey-butter syrup. Unfortunately, butter is too rich for me, but I topped the warm Harchas with some coconut oil (which quickly melted), and then drizzled them with a little honey. Yum! Even the leftovers are tasty that way.

My Moroccan Food Facebook

My Moroccan Food Website, Plain Harcha/Zaatar & Black Olive Harcha

Havuç Çorbasi 

(Turkish Carrot Soup)

This is a lazy version of Havuç Çorbasi, Turkish Carrot Soup. The original recipe, from Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, calls for carrots to be cooked very well in stock with salt, sugar, and cinnamon, and put through a blender or food processor. I just cooked it very well in water.  

The next step is to separately make a bit of a white sauce, add egg yolks, and then carefully add it to the soup, to thicken it. However, I tend to just skip all this, and mix in a whole egg, right into the soup (like egg-drop soup). I'd roasted some carrots in the oven a few days ago, so I added in the last few here, along with some cilantro, and a bit of scrambled egg.

Accompanying the soup, are some Plain Harcha (Moroccan Galettes/Biscuits), made from the recipe of My Moroccan Food. The meal was light but with a nice flavor. 

My Moroccan Food Facebook

My Moroccan Food Website, Plain Harcha/Zaatar & Black Olive Harcha

Harcha (Moroccan Bread)

Throwback to: Harcha, from Morocco, made according the recipe of Cooking with Alia. I usually see these described as "bread." They remind me of English muffins, the way you can split them in half. I especially liked making an Egg McHarcha filled with scrambled egg!

Unfortunately, as I can't have butter, I did have to leave that out of this, and use oil, instead. However, now that I am experimenting with coconut oil, I should try it again, using that.

Cooking with Alia Website, 310 - Harcha - Moroccan Semolina Bread

Cooking with Alia YouTube, Harcha - Moroccan Semolina Bread - Episode 310

Harcha (Moroccan Flatbread)

This is another version of the Moroccan bread, this time from a Recettes Hindoucha / Hindoucha Wasafat recipe seen on YouTube last Dec.4: Harcha en 10 Minutes. (The video isn't in English, but does have a list of the ingredients in French, about a minute in.)

In this version, the semolina-flour batter is cooked in a nonstick frying pan on the stovetop. As I must have used a smaller pan than seen in the video, it took me about 15-20 minutes to cook the first side, and much less for the second side. It smelled so good while it was "baking"! It also tasted yummy, with wild-blueberry spread.

The harcha was thick enough to cut a slit into, and stuff with a filling, as pictured here. Good for sandwiches. Perhaps it would also make good stuffed French toast, or a savory bread pakora. I may try those ideas . . . if there's any left! 😉😄

Recettes Hindoucha YouTube, Harcha en 10 Minutes

Recettes Hindoucha Facebook

Moroccan Harcha (2nd recipe)

Moroccan Harcha, recipe from JamilaCuisine on YouTube (with English CC). This recipe wasn’t as sweet as the harchas of CookingWithAlia, so it might be better to accompany savory dishes. However I used these the same way as I did the harchas of CookingWithAlia. I missed them when they were gone. 

Moroccan Harcha (1st recipe)

Harcha, a Moroccan bread that reminds me of English muffins, made according to the recipe of CookingWithAlia, Episode 310, on YouTube.

As I can’t eat butter, I used oil instead. Also, I wasn’t sure exactly when the harchas were “done,” so I might have overcooked them a little. No matter. They were delicious, and as versatile as Alia described in her video. I also liked them, split open, filled with scrambled egg, in an Egg-McMuffin style.

I missed them when they were gone.