Shakshuka sprinkled liberally with feta is one of my favorite versions of the tomato-y North African egg dish. But since feta isn’t in my stockpile at the moment, I tried it with mozzarella, and it was just as appealing. What it lacked in salty funkiness, it made up for in stretchy gooeyness.
To make it, start by sautéing a couple of sliced red onions in a few tablespoons of olive oil until they get very soft. If you have a bell pepper (red, yellow or orange), you could substitute it for one of the onions. And if you don’t have red onions, use 2 to 3 cups of whatever onion-type vegetable you do have. Leeks and shallots are great here.
[For a similar recipe, see Melissa Clark’s shakshuka with feta.]
Add a few sliced garlic cloves to the pan, and let it cook until the room smells sweet and garlicky and your child asks what smells so good (always a happy moment).
Stir in a teaspoon each of ground cumin and sweet paprika, or whatever savory spices you like, a large pinch of salt and a small pinch of cayenne, and let it toast for a few seconds to bring out the flavors. Now add the contents of a 28-ounce can of tomatoes. Whole plum tomatoes are best but diced or puréed are good, too. If you have plum tomatoes, use kitchen shears to cut them up in the pan. (Or before you dump them into the pan, stick a perpetually washed, squeaky clean hand into the can and squish the tomatoes through your fingers to break them up; it’s so satisfying.)