Yemeni Shakshuka Is A Warm, Aromatic, Scrambled Delight

Some of Hawa Hassan's earliest sense memories are the smell of burning tires and the sound of crackling gunfire.

At age 4, she and her family are living in Mogadishu, Somalia, "and the city of my childhood is no longer a bustling and burgeoning metropolis but a vacant and violent war zone,” she writes in her new cookbook.

Hassan's family escapes - first to a refugee camp just across the Kenyan border, then to an apartment in Nairobi, and finally to Oslo. But before that last move, Hassan separates from them, moving at age 7 to Seattle to live with a family friend for "more opportunities,” as her mother tells her. And she finds them, ultimately landing a modeling gig and traveling the world before turning her attention to founding a sauce company (Basbaas) and writing cookbooks ("In Bibi's Kitchen” and the new "Setting a Place for Us”).

While Hassan hasn't lived in Africa since her childhood, "Setting a Place for Us” isn't about cooking in the diaspora. Instead, it's about the foodways of people who still live in eight countries that, like the Somalia of her childhood, have been subject to war. "It's about people who've never left home, because they have placed it on themselves to be the caretakers of their land,” Hassan said when I interviewed her for an event at Politics and Prose Bookstore in DC.

The book includes profiles, essays and recipes from Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, El Salvador, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia and Yemen. And despite the difficult context - and the timeliness of the book's arrival amid massive US protests of the Trump administration's immigration policies and actions - "Setting a Place for Us” carries a message of resilience. Or, as Hassan put it in our interview, "This book is joy, it's celebration, it's community, it's love.”

The recipe I wanted most to try, the one I share here, is for a Yemeni Shakshuka that's unlike any other shakshuka I've made or eaten: Rather than poach whole eggs in a spicy tomato sauce, you stir beaten eggs right into the sauce. The dish reminds me of all the ways eggs and tomatoes get combined around the world, such as the Chinese classic stir-fry as well as the migas of Spain (with bread) and Texas (with tortillas). But what also sets it apart is the use of the incredible Yemeni spice mixture hawaij, whose combination - black pepper, cumin, turmeric, cardamom, coriander and clove - is by turns earthy, warm, sweet and a little spicy.

In Yemen, shakshuka is eaten as a breakfast, with flatbread on the side, but it would (and has, in my household!) make a satisfying light supper, too. Whatever time of day you serve it, the aroma alone will draw your diners to the table, or maybe right to the stove.

As Hassan writes, "Food is a perfect Trojan horse and a welcoming gateway into culture.” And it's true that as soon as I started reading "Setting a Place for Us,” my eye was drawn to the connections - and not only those across the communities she features.

The El Salvador chapter includes a recipe for quesadilla, but unlike the griddled cheese-filled tortillas I know so well from Mexico, these are sweet-savory squares of a cake made from rice flour, sugar and grated hard cheese. Egyptian ta'amayeh are similar to falafel, made from soaked and ground fava beans, but they are also coated in sesame seeds. (Fava beans show up in many of the book's chapters.)

Those kinds of little discoveries can lead to bigger ones, such as one of the most important of all: that our differences are worth celebrating. We can unite at the table over the things that we share in common, while our curiosity about where we differ can drive us to want to learn more. "I think that food invites empathy,” Hassan said at Politics and Prose. "I think you can go to a table and very quickly make a friend.”

Pouring eggs into the sauce for Yemeni Shakshuka. (Photo by Scott Suchman/For The Washington Post)

This vibrant Yemeni dish transforms scrambled eggs into a fragrant, spiced meal good for breakfast or a light dinner. Unlike the more common version in the Middle East and North Africa, in which the eggs are poached in the sauce, here they are lightly scrambled with a tomato sauce spiced with a Yemeni blend called hawaij and a touch of heat from jalapeño. Serve with warm flatbread, for scooping.

Servings: 3-4 (makes about 3 cups)
Total time: 25 minutes
Substitutions: To make it spicier >> use serrano instead of jalapeño, or leave the seeds in the jalapeño. To make it gluten-free >> use gluten-free flatbread. Yellow onion >> white or red onion. Spices >> 2 1/2 teaspoons spice blend, such as hawaij, baharat, ras el hanout or garam masala. Parsley >> cilantro or mint.
Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days.

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion (6 ounces), chopped
4 plum tomatoes (about 1 pound total), chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
3/4 teaspoon fine salt, divided, plus more as needed
3 garlic cloves, finely grated or pressed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
Tiny pinch ground cloves
6 large eggs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for serving
Flatbread, for serving

DIRECTIONS

In a large (12-inch) nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, jalapeño and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes release their juices, 3 to 4 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reduces and thickens, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the garlic, tomato paste, black pepper, cumin, turmeric, cardamom, coriander and cloves. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is very fragrant and thick, 1 to 2 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt until well combined. Pour the eggs into the skillet and stir until softly set, 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove from the heat and let rest for a few minutes. Garnish with the parsley and serve warm.

Nutritional information per serving (3/4 cup), based on 4: 246 calories, 17 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 11 g carbohydrates, 481 mg sodium, 279 mg cholesterol, 10 g protein, 3 g fiber, 5 g sugar.

This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian's or nutritionist's advice. Adapted from "Setting a Place for Us” by Hawa Hassan.

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