This is a disclaimer, if you are extremely offended about quiche bashing, please close this blog. Ok all joking aside I love a quiche just as much as the next person, however I was pretty sure if I had to eat another quiche for Christmas breakfast/brunch I may throw something. Don't get me wrong usually mimosas can help with my aggression, but this year we wanted to do something a little difference.



So my Mom found this recipe in Sunset magazine for Green Shakshouka and the rest is history. If you are as unfamiliar with Shakshouka as I was up until yesterday let me tell you a little bit about it. Shakshouka, which can also be spelled shakshuka or chakchouka is a Middle Eastern or North African dish with poached eggs in a sauce of tomatoes, chili peppers and onions. However, this recipe, according to Sunset was of the North African variety.

For our Christmas brunch, this was truly the perfect dish as we had at least two vegetarians at the table and we wanted something easy, flavorful and lets be honest...we wanted some good comfort hangover food because our big celebration is on Christmas Eve. Somehow, I got elected to be the chef. Thankfully my Mom was a lifesaver yet again...story of my life...as she had prepped everything for me and I just had to cook.

To begin with, preheat the oven to 375 degrees (for the record my Mom even turned on the oven for me). Chop the chard, keeping the leaves and stems separate. As a side note, we used a combination of chard, spinach and kale from my Moms garden because she can grow stuff whereas I did not get that gene and I kill everything.





Next, toast the fennel, cumin and coriander seeds in a frying pan until fragrant. The recipe says 1-2 minutes, however I found that it took a little bit longer for me. I am not sure if my heat was lower, my sniffer was bad or it just took longer.

Grind the seeds using a mortar and pestle and add the smoked paprika, chile flakes, pepper and cardamom. Set aside. Set a 9x13 pan in the pre-heated oven to heat.

Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add onion and chopped stems, cook until golden brown, approximately 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, jalapeno and spices. Add half the greens and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Repeat with the rest of the greens.

Stir in tomato sauce, chicken broth and salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and cook, partially covered, 5-7 minutes or until greens are tender.

Set aside 3 T feta cheese, 1T parsley and 1T cilantro. Stir the rest into the greens.

Arrange greens in preheated pan. Nestle eggs into greens. Bake until egg whites are just set. The recipe says 12-18 minutes, however we found it to be closer to the 18 minute mark. Scatter with feta, cilantro and parsley.

Here is the actual recipe:

1 3/4 pounds mixed winter greens (such as kale, spinach, and Swiss chard), rinsed well, water shaken off

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon each coriander and fennel seeds

1 teaspoon each smoked paprika and red chile flakes

1/4 teaspoon each freshly ground pepper and cardamom

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 large jalapeño chile, seeded and diced

1 1/4 cups (12 oz.) tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 teaspoon kosher salt

7 ounces feta cheese, coarsely crumbled

1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, divided

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves, divided

12 large eggs

Preheat oven to 375°. Remove stems and large ribs from greens and finely chop; set aside. Coarsely chop leaves and set aside.