When winter hits, only hearty meals make you feel amazing. This traditionally North African dish is made up of eggs poached in a spiced up tomato sauce.

When you look at it, it may look like it takes hours to prepare but on a whim, I decided to make it and it didn’t take me longer than 45 minutes. Obviously I took my time because I wanted to get some nice shots in.

In my fridge, I added egg plant which is not traditionally used in this dish but I love egg plant as it adds volume to a dish that would need bread to consume. The egg plant fills you and for someone opting for a low carb dish, egg plants your bestie.

Bacon. You may see bacon in the photo which is definitely not in a traditional shakshuka. I really craved it and put it on the side as not to ruin the tomato sauce.

Avocado. It’s winter here in South Africa which means that avocado is in season. Not sure how avos are priced where you are but here, they’re super pricey except in winter so I’ll be adding avo to every meal until it costs an arm and a leg.

I hope you enjoyed my breakdown of my typical shakshuka. What are the variants you like? Do you think egg plant is a good or bad idea? I’ve seen people adding cheese to it. What do you think?