Sweet Potato Shakshuka with Homemade Berbere & Garlic Naan

A sweet potato shakshuka spiced with the homemade Ethiopian berbere spice blend that I made last weekend for Ethiopian lasagna. The sweet and spice flavours play nicely with tangy tomatoes and fresh cracked eggs. It's complemented by a side of homemade garlic butter naan to scoop it all up with.

It's a strange and surreal world we find ourselves in right now and it's only getting stranger by the day. Both Bogdan and I were working from home this week, doing our part to stem the spread of the virus.

I've spent the better part of the week set up in the kitchen, the dining table rotating between its dual roles as home office and home.

One of the positive aspects of this widespread quarantine is that many people are spending more time with their families and are spending more time cooking.

Bogdan and I have been able to eat more meals together, sometimes green smoothies for a quick breakfast and other times, more indulgent meals like this one.

Using what we have is a principle I've been applying to my cooking for some time, for example like this recipe for Romanian green pea stew made with fridge and pantry odds and ends. But making do has taken on a new meaning during these trying times.

We had some sweet potatoes that were sitting in the pantry for a very long time so I figured, in the spirit of quarantine cooking, we should find a good use for them.

Add some spices, an onion, tomatoes, and eggs and it was a perfect meal.

Garlic Butter Naan with Cumin Seeds & Fresh Herbs

For the naan, I used my homemade garlic naan recipe but instead of chilli flakes I used cumin seeds.

The dough is simple to make. It's just 4 cups flour, 2 cups water, 2 teaspoons of instant yeast and 1 teaspoon of salt. I mixed it all up in a bowl until just incorporated (as in the first picture above) and then moved onto the shakshuka. Once the sweet potatoes were simmering, I started back on the naan - shaping it, frying it and topping it.

For the toppings I used 3 tablespoons of melted butter, 1 crushed garlic clove, 2 teaspoons of cumin, and 1 tablespoon each of fresh or 'fresh' frozen parsley and cilantro (described below).

You could also use chilli flakes or fresh chilli like my original recipe - it's very good too.

'Fresh' Frozen Herbs

For this recipe I used what I like to call 'fresh' frozen herbs. It's herbs that are washed, dried thoroughly and then frozen like fresh. You can see how fresh they look in the first picture below. They're frozen solid like fresh.

Preserving herbs by freezing isn't new. This particular method of drying the herbs thoroughly is something I picked up from my mother-in-law because it keeps the herbs much fresher than if you freeze them right after washing or even in ice cubes as I've seen done before.

I have to say I was impressed by how well the leaves held up to freezing. I don't think they would last months, but it's a great way to stretch fresh herbs and also makes it more convenient to use them since they're ready to go whenever I need them.

If you like food-saving tip you may also like 7 Waste-Reduction Kitchen Tips for Quarantine & Beyond.

Sweet Potato Shakshuka

For the sweet potato shakshuka I used two medium sized sweet potatoes, 5 medium sized tomatoes on the vine, 1 large yellow onion, 5 eggs, 3 teaspoons of homemade berbere, one tablespoon each of 'fresh' frozen parsley and cilantro, and ½ teaspoon of salt.

I sliced the sweet potatoe into disks, mostly because I wanted to see if it would stay intact enough to do a scalloped potato meets shakshuka type of thing. I then added the onion, garlic, spices, salt and 1.5 - 2 cups of water. Bring to boil on high then reduce heat, add tomatoes, cover with a lid and let it simmer while you make the naan.

The sweet potato didn't hold up. In fact they did the opposite - they totally fell apart.

That ended up being a good thing though because I was able to smush them down with the back of a large wooden spoon and turn them into a smooth and creamy thickener and a heartier shakshuka.

If you happen to also want a tasty, hot and fresh dessert to go with the sweet potato shakshuka then consider reserving some of the naan dough and instead frying it in some hot oil then tossing it with a bit of powdered sugar and cinnamon - instant donuts.

That's it for now,

Cristina

Recipe

Sweet Potato Shakshuka with Homemade Berbere & Garlic Naan

A sweet potato shakshuka spiced with homemade Ethiopian berbere spice blend. The sweet and spice flavours play nicely with tangy tomatoes and fresh cracked eggs. It's complemented by a side of homemade garlic butter naan to scoop it all up with.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Stovetop

Cuisine: Stovetop

Keyword: Stovetop

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 5 servings

Author: Cristina

Ingredients

Sweet Potato Shakshuka

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 medium sized sweet potatoes slices into disks or cut into small cubes
• 5 medium sized tomatoes cut into cubes
• 1 large yellow onion finely diced
• 3 cloves of garlic crushed
• 3 teaspooons of berbere homemade or store bought
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 5 eggs
• 1.5 - 2 cups of water
• Garnish with feta red onion, and fresh (or 'fresh' frozen) parsley and cilantro (optional)

Naan

• 4 cups of all purpose flour 600 grams
• 2 cups of warm water 440 grams
• 2 teaspoons of instant yeast 7 grams
• 1 teaspoon of salt 3.5 grams
• Olive oil
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 1 clove of garlic crushed
• 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon each of fresh or 'fresh' frozen parsley and cilantro

Instructions

• Start the naan. Add the warm water and yeast to one bowl and the flour and salt to another. Once the yeast has bloomed (foamed up a bit) mix all of the dough ingredients in a large bowl until just incorporated. Set aside at room temperature lightly covered.
• Make the shakshuka base. Prepare all the ingredients for the shakshuka. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sweet potatoes and saute until they're browned and softened. Then add the onion, garlic, berbere, salt, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium, add the tomatoes and simmer while you cook the naan keeping an eye on it that it doesn't dry out too much. If it seems too dry, add more water, adjust the temperature or both.
• Prepare the naan. Knead the dough for a few minutes until it's smooth (maybe 3-5 minutes). Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and use a knife to cut it into approximately 10 pieces. Drizzle the dough liberally with olive oil.
• Prepare the garlic butter. Add 3 tablespoons of salted butter, 1 crushed garlic clove and 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds to a microwave safe bowl. Cover and microwave for 1 minute until the butter is melted and the garlic is aromatic. Then add 1 tablespoon each of diced fresh (or 'fresh' frozen) parsley and cilantro. Set aside with a basting brush ready to brush the cooked naan.
• Cook the naan. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat (closer to high but not too high). Take each piece and stretch it into a naan shape and then lay it onto the hot skillet, cooking it for 2-3 minutes per side or until browned. Use a basting brush or teaspoon to spread the garlic butter on each side.
• Add the eggs to the shakshuka. When you are about halfway through cooking the naan, crack the eggs into the shakshuka. They should cook until the whites are set - about 10-15 minutes.
• Garnish the shakshuka. If you like, you can garnish the shakshuka with fresh cut red onion, feta, and more fresh (or 'fresh' frozen) parsley and cilantro.

Notes

If you don't have berbere you can substitute any other spice blend you like. Curry would go well but also smoked paprika with a bit of oregano.