Green Egg & Chook
White shakshuka; baked eggs with spinach, artichoke and chicken
Servings: 2
Equipment
- Medium frying pan; approx. 25cm diameter
- Large lid able to fully cover the frying pan
Ingredients
Shakshuka
- 4 Large eggs Preferably fresh free-range
- 8 Artichoke hearts Jarred/canned in oil; keep the oil
- 1 Can chickpeas Drain and keep the liquid aside
- 1 Brown onion
- 1 Cup Stock Use the chickpea liquid or if you have it, chicken stock or broth
- 1-2 Cups Leftover roast chicken
- 2 Cups Spinach; raw You can also use frozen; check the recipe for the notes on this
- 2 Spring onions
- 2 Stalks fresh parsley
- 1 Lemon Zested, then reserve the juice
- 2 Tbsp Olive oil If not using the reserved artichoke oil
Potato Salad (Optional)
- 2 Cups Small salad potatoes Pre-cooked
- 6-8 Asparagus stalks Medium thickness
- 1 Banana shallot
- 2 Fresh thyme stalks Or 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 2 Tbsp Olive oil or oil from your artichokes
- 1 Tbsp Apple cider or red wine vinegar
- Fresh herbs Optional
Instructions
Potato Salad (Optional)
- Halve the shallot lengthways and slice into fine strips. Remove the wooden ends of the asparagus and slice each stalk across the middle into two or three segments, keep the the ‘spear’ tips from the ‘middle’ sections. If needed, slice the potatoes in half into more bite-size pieces.
- Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil, add the asparagus ‘middles’ and thyme stalks, and gently cook through until softening. If using thick stems, you may add a little stock to help soften them more quickly. Add the ‘spear tips’, potatoes and season with salt and pepper and toss for 1-2 minutes until the potatoes have a little colour and the asparagus is cooked.
- Move the salad into a serving bowl and gently toss with olive oil, vinegar and any fresh herbs if desired, and set aside to cool.
Shakshuka
- Dice onion into roughly 1cm pieces and finely chop or mince the garlic. Strain the chickpeas,reserving the liquid and chop the artichokes, chicken and spinach, if using fresh, into ½-1” pieces – you want a lot of texture in this dish and so don’t worry about cutting every element into perfectly measured squares!
- Heat olive oil over medium heat and cook the onions until transparent; add garlic and cook for 1minute more. Add the artichoke, ½ cup of stock, a large pinch of salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes, stirring until you have a chunky ‘sauce’.Add more stock by 1-2 tbsp. if needed for a little extra liquid while you stew down the artichoke.
- Add the majority of the fresh spinach and stir through. If you are using frozen spinach, note that this will release extra water into your pan, so add all of the spinach in one go and ensure to cook off the extra liquid.
- Next, add your chicken, any remaining spinach and roughly half of the chickpeas and stir to incorporate. Check the seasoning and adjust with extra salt and pepper if needed, and add a splash or two of your reserved lemon juice.
- Create a little nest foreach egg in your artichoke mix, leaving a thin layer across the bottom of the pan (without this your eggs will cook too quickly). Gently pour or crack your eggs into each nest, cover the pan with the lid and cook for 4 minutes.
- During this time, finely chop your spring onion and parsley toppings if you’re using them. Zest the lemon if you haven’t already and set aside, ready to plate up.
- After 4 minutes,check the firmness of your egg whites by gently pressing with your finger.We’re essentially looking for poached eggs – if the egg white is still watery,you can replace the lid and cook for another minute or two. If the eggs are perfectly cooked, remove the pan from the heat.
Plating
- This dish is best served directly in the pan, rustic style.
- Top the eggs with any herbs or lemon zest for an extra splash of colour, salad to the side, and watch it all disappear!