A Riff On Shakshuka Sauce

There was a certain amount of serendipity involved in this recipe - I had excellent tomato sauce hanging out in my freezer, I had a mess of vegetables in my fridge with which to play, and I needed to think of something hearty for my friends and me to eat before we set out for today's Hands Off march.

I have transcribed the vegetables and cooking methods for them that I used below, feel free to use whatever you have in your hydrator or feel like eating. Also, you could make this recipe at any time of the year and adapt the vegetables to what is available seasonally. I am already thinking of an early summer corn and okra version. A can of chickpeas could be nice in this too. Please also note that I state quite clearly in the title that this is a Riff on Shakshuka sauce NOT a completely authentic recipe.

Since this was a brunch, I cooked eggs in this sauce so it was even more a Shakshuka of sorts, but this would be delicious over pasta or couscous, or even on its own as a stew, served with crusty bread for sopping up the juices.

This made about 8 servings of sauce.

3 cups of your favorite tomato sauce

2 small baked sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 small steamed Chinese eggplants, cubed

2 roasted red peppers, peeled and cubed

1 box of baby spinach leaves

1 medium red onion, peeled, halved and sliced into thin half moons

1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp harissa paste

Salt to taste

1 Tbsp olive oil

Heat the oil in a large skillet.

As soon as it shimmers, add the onion, cumin, ginger, harissa and a bit of salt to the pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the onion starts to soften.

Add the sweet potato, eggplant and red pepper to the pan. Stir to combine.

Pour in the tomato sauce and 1/3 cup of water. Lower the heat and bring to a gentle simmer.

Stir in the spinach leaves. Continue to simmer gently, stirring often, until the spinach leaves have wilted into the sauce.

Serve as mentioned above. My finished Shakshuka is illustrated below.