Shakshuka

Origin is contested between Tunisia, Libya, and Yemen, but the Tunisian claim is strongest — the word likely comes from the Maghrebi Arabic shakshek, meaning a mixture or shake-up, and Tunisian Jewish cooks brought it to Israel in the 1950s after expulsion. It became Israeli breakfast canon by the 1990s. Tomatoes only entered the dish after the Columbian exchange — the pre-tomato version used pomegranate or sour grape juice as the acid.

North-African-via-Tunisia tomato-and-pepper braise with eggs poached in the sauce, brought to Israel by Tunisian and Libyan Jews mid-20th century. The eggs go in last; whites just set, yolks runny. Eaten with bread, never a fork.

Eggs poached directly into a skillet of tomato-pepper sauce, whites set, yolks still soft. The sauce is chunky — onion, red bell pepper, garlic, cumin, paprika, sometimes harissa — and stained orange-red by the long cook. Tear off crusty bread and dredge straight from the pan. The yolk should break under the bread, not the spoon.

Sauce reduction comes first — the tomato base must be cooked down until a wooden spoon parts it cleanly before eggs go in, otherwise the egg whites bleed into a watery sauce and never set right. Eggs go in cold from the fridge into hot sauce, lid on, low heat — the sauce cooks the bottoms, the trapped steam cooks the tops. About four minutes for runny yolks.