METHOD:

Combine all the ingredients for the tofu “egg” in a standing blender** and blend until smooth. I usually use a tamper to push down the contents towards the blades to help it blend but if your mixer doesn’t have one you might need to pause a couple of times to scrape down the sides with a spatula and then blend again until smooth.

Transfer the tofu mixture to a bowl and set aside in the fridge while you prepare the sauce.

Peel and dice the onion. Also peel and finely chop the garlic. Remove the top and seeds from the pepper and chop it into bite sized pieces. Remove any woody bits from the tomatoes where they’ve attached to the vine and dice them.

Heat the oil in a skillet, roughly 23 cm in diameter, over medium heat. Once nthe oil is warm tamper the cumin seeds in it for aminute or two. Allow them to go a slightly deeper brown, become very fragrant and start shimmering in the oil.

Next add in the onion and sauté them for 4-5 minutes or until they are translucent.

Add in the chopped bell pepper and sauté another 7-8 minutes or until it’s softened nicely and caught a little colour here and there.

Sprinkle in the garlic and stir through for a minute, until fragrant. Then add the tomato paste and stir that through for another minute or two to cook off the raw tomato flavour.

Add the ground spices and chili flakes and stir them through the onions and pepper. Then add in the diced tomato, stir them through to combine and season generously with salt and black pepper. Also turn the heat down to medium low.

Simmer the sauce for 15-30 minutes, stirring once in a while. The time varies depending on how juicy your tomatoes are as you are aiming for quite a thick tomato sauce without any “water” bubbling at the surface.

Once the sauce has reduced and thickened create five or six little wells on the top of it and dollop the tofu mixture into each of them. You could do this one well at a time if you find it easier.

Cover the pan with a lid and allow it to simmer and steam for 10 minutes. This will allow the corn starch to thicken the tofu mixture somewhat. Remove the lid and simmer another 5 minutes to remove any water that might have gathered and dropped into the sauce from covering with the lid.

Take off the heat and dust the tofu “eegs” with a little ground turmeric if you wish to emulate the yellow colour of an egg yolk. It won’t change the taste of the dish itself but gives it a more dynamic and colourful look.

Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley and serve immeadiately along side some fresh bread.

* You can make a delicious shakshuka using canned whole or chopped tomatoes as well. I would use 1,5 – 2 cans for this dish and cook it down the same way I do with the fresh tomatoes. Most likely you will only need to cook it down for the shorter amount of time as canned tomatoes are usually less “watery”.

** You could use a stick blender if you don’t have a standing blender or if you find it easier. Simply blend until smooth in a bowl or jug.