Healthy Spinach Shakshuka (Vegetarian)

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A super easy and healthy pan of green goodness with lovely soft-set eggs will make a perfect weekend breakfast or brunch! Spiced with chilli, turmeric and cumin, this is an even healthier take on a traditional Middle Eastern breakfast shakshuka! Whilst the recipe below is for two, this is a great way to feed a crowd. Make this Healthy Spinach Shakshuka for your guests staying over the festive period!

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How Is This Veggie Shakshuka Different?

This breakfast dish is far from a traditional Middle Eastern Shakshuka, but it is nonetheless the inspiration behind this recipe.

When I lived in London, Yotam Ottolenghi's shakshuka would be the ultimate breakfast treat for me and my friends to have when we met up to catch up at a trendy Islington restaurant. I've made numerous versions of shakshuka since and we enjoy this dish for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

This particular version - Healthy Spinach Shakshuka - is one of my favourites though. With a heap of spinach, a copious amount of fresh herbs and sweet garden peas, this recipe makes a lovely healthy and wholesome weekend brunch!

Ingredients and Substitutes

• olive oil: can be replaced with avocado, rapeseed or sunflower oil.
• leek: can be replaced with shallots. We don't recommend using an onion, as we find it overpowers other delicate flavours in this veggie shakshuka.
• spinach: we used baby spinach.
• garden peas: can be substituted with petit pois. Use frozen or fresh peas.
• garlic clove: peeled and thinly sliced.
• spices: ground cumin, turmeric, chilli flakes.
• fresh herbs: we used a mixture of parsley, coriander and mint, but you can add some basil or fresh thyme if you have some handy.
• eggs: we like to serve 2 eggs per portion for a filling lunch/ brunch.
• yogurt: natural yoghurt or greek yoghurt.
• harissa: can be replaced with sriracha or other chilli sauce. It adds a bit of a spicy kick to this spinach shakshuka, so if you don't like things spicy, just skip it.
• sumac: optional.
• bread: to serve. We love crusty sourdough bread with this spinach shakshuka.

Method

Start by slicing leeks and garlic, and roughly chopping herbs. You can use pretty much any herbs you have, but I tend not to skip mint. Whilst mint may seem like an odd choice to have with eggs, it complements all the greens in this recipe very well.

Fry your leeks, wilt the spinach and mix in garden peas and herbs. Mix in all the fragrant spices. You can, of course, skip the chilli flakes if you can't handle the heat.

Make grooves in your green mixture for your eggs. Carefully crack the eggs into the gaps, making sure the yolks stay intact. Turn the heat right down and cover it with a lid. Cook for 4-6 minutes. Keep checking your eggs to make sure the yolks don't go hard. They will carry on cooking slowly after you take the pan off the heat as well.

Spoon dollops of yoghurt on top and drizzle with chilli sauce for an extra kick (or not!). Our favourites to use are either Sriracha or Harissa, but I'm sure others will work just as well. To finish, sprinkle the top with some salt and sumac, which really enhances the dish with its fresh lemony flavour.

What To Serve Veggie Shakshuka With?

We love serving this Leek and Spinach Shakshuka with thick slices of freshly baked Sourdough Bread, to turn it into a healthy but very filling breakfast feast!

Other Vegetarian Breakfast Ideas

If our Healthy Shakshuka isn't quite what you were looking for, have a look at our other vegetarian breakfast recipes below:

• Turkish Eggs with Dukkah
• Bagels with Asparagus, Poached Eggs and Pistou
• Crispy Rosti with Poached Eggs and Avocado

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