Shakshuka is a delicious combination of eggs, tomatoes, and spices popular across the Middle East and North Africa. Shakshuka comes in many shapes and sizes. The dish is likely of Tunisian or Yemini origin, and the name is thought to originate from either Arabic or Amazigh (Berber) for "mixture." Now that Google is out of the way, I can tell you about this! Let me start by saying that Trader Joe's is a very nice place to shop! I must say that occasionally their frozen options don't live up to the quality standards I expect, but this is NOT one of those times. I had no idea what to expect, but as you may have guessed from other posts, I LOVE BREAKFAST! I bought only one of these because my wife, a.k.a."Turkey", isn't much for spicy foods. One of the things I like about Trader Joe's is the wide variety of foods from many cultures and lands, that I can buy-and-try with a huge commitment to ingredients/spices/herbs that I don't have on hand. All I had to add to this were 2 (eggs which I cooked perfectly of course). Most recipes call them poached, and in the strictest sense they are, but really they were cooked in the sauce and steamed to a runny perfection.
I didn't need another egg dish, but I am sure glad I tried this one. The runny yolks blended with the sauce and spices perfectly. It was reminiscent of my salsa poached eggs with a Mediterranean twist. I would certainly eat this in a restaurant, but probably won't but this or the ingredients because there are too many egg recipes and so little time!
(This is another in my Low-Carb Reposts)
Before
I married my lovely wife, (a.k.a. "Turkey"), more than 40 years ago, I
had never eaten an artichoke (in fact, I had tried to avoid foods with
the word 'choke' in them).
One
of our wedding gifts was a Presto Deluxe pressure cooker in the lovely
70's color of Avocado Green and stenciled with animals, vegetables, and
kitchen implements (shown at the bottom). A pressure cooker was also
something I was unfamiliar with. Our kitchen growing up didn't have one,
but my lovely wife knew just what to do —
read the directions, follow the recipe guide — things I rarely do! One
of the first and best uses of the new device is artichokes! We used to
eat these regularly as our daughters grew up, and they loved them too.
Don't confuse these with the canned or bottled stuff in the grocery
store. These take real work to cook & real work to eat them right,
but man, are they worth it.
If
you have never eaten a whole artichoke, a brief anatomy lesson is on
the right, alongside the required bowl of melted whole butter required
to enjoy each petal. One may say that anything dipped in a bowl of
butter is good, and I won't argue with that, but the act of peeling,
dipping and then scraping the bit of artichoke flesh dripping in butter
left on the petal is unique. I am a bit of a purist and butter is all I
need, but my wife does like a bit of lemon on hers. And once you devour
all of the petals, remove the thin purply covers, you get to the choke,
which is aptly named, but once you remove it you are left with the
heart.
Yes,
the heart is what every one wants, bottles, or cans, and there is a
reason—It is like butter coated smoothness, and then it is gone😒.
In
the past, I have recommended frozen artichoke hearts, and they are
fine, but the experience of eating them freshly cooked by my wife is
light years bond those! Obviously, you can't have hers, but try them in
your pressure cooker or instant pot or even in a steamer basket!
