Name: Merguez Shakshuka
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Tunisian
Ingredients: 6 merguez sausages; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion, sliced; 2 red peppers, sliced; 4 garlic cloves, sliced; 2 tbsp harissa, or more to taste; 1 tbsp tomato purée; 1 tsp ground caraway; 1 tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp sweet paprika; 700 g ripe tomatoes, chopped, or 800 g tin chopped tomatoes; 1 tsp caster sugar; 1 tsp fine sea salt; 6 eggs; 100 g feta, crumbled; A large handful of coriander and parsley; Warm flatbread

Merguez Shakshuka

Merguez browned first, then eggs poached in a tomato and pepper sauce built on harissa and caraway. Hotter and spicier than the northern versions.

1 hr 5 min to 1 hr 10 min total 1 hr 5 min to 1 hr 10 min start to finish Serves 4 servings Easy

Build the Meal Around Merguez Shakshuka

Warm flatbread
Harissa on the side
Mint tea or a cold beer

How to Make Merguez Shakshuka

Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.

Brown the merguez whole in the olive oil in a wide, deep frying pan for 6 minutes, turning, until the fat has rendered and the skins are dark. Lift out and slice thickly.
Cook the onion and peppers in the spiced fat for 12 minutes until soft and beginning to colour.
Add the garlic for 1 minute, then the harissa, tomato purée, caraway, coriander and paprika, and fry 2 minutes until the pan smells strongly of spice.
Add the tomatoes, sugar and salt and simmer 20 minutes, uncovered, until thick enough to hold a trench when you drag a spoon through it.
Return the sliced merguez and cook 5 minutes more.
Taste and adjust the harissa — it should be properly hot.
Make six wells in the sauce with the back of a spoon and crack an egg into each.
Season the eggs, cover the pan, and cook on low heat for 6 to 8 minutes until the whites are set and the yolks still soft.
Scatter with feta and herbs and serve straight from the pan with flatbread (if using).

Related guide: Ingredient substitutions.

Something wrong or unclear in this recipe? Report a problem with this recipe.

A Few Notes

Cook the sauce in the merguez fat. That is where the flavour is.

Thick sauce before the eggs go in, or they spread and toughen.

Cover the pan for the eggs — the steam sets the tops while the yolks stay soft.

Changing the Recipe

An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Storing and Reheating

The sauce keeps 4 days refrigerated and freezes 3 months. Poach fresh eggs each time.