Shakshuka that isn’t soupy – Eggs poached in spicy tomato sauce

Instructions

1. Peel and chop the garlic. Slice the onions and pepper. Pour a film of olive oil into a wide pan over medium heat. Put in the pepper slices and most of the onion slices, reserving the onion greens for garnish. Don't put in the garlic yet.
2. Stir the vegetables for a couple of minutes. If you're using whole cumin and fennels seeds like I did, stir them in and let them toast for a minute. Stir in the garlic and let it cook for a minute. Stir in the tomato paste and let it cook for a minute. Before the tomato paste burns, deglaze with the juice from your can of tomatoes.
3. With the juice out, reach into the can and squish the tomatoes with your hand before stirring them into the pan. This is when I stir in the paprika and pepper (since both tend to burn if toasted in hot oil) and a pinch of salt. Boil the sauce, stirring near-constantly to keep it from sticking and burning.
4. When the sauce seems about half done, stir in the drained can of chickpeas. Keep stirring and cooking until the sauce is very thick. Turn off the heat and taste for seasoning — add more salt if it needs it.
5. If you're going to finish this under the broiler (grill) as I did, now is a good time to get it heating to the max.
6. Make a little well in the sauce for each egg and crack them in. Top with chunks of whatever cheese you're using. Turn the heat back on, and you could just cover the pan with a lid and steam the eggs until they're done to your liking.
7. Or you could do what I did and cook uncovered until you can see the bottom of the eggs are half-cooked, then put the pan under the broiler. Cook for a couple of minutes until the top is brown and the eggs are done to your liking — just touch or wobble them to see how to set the yolks are.
8. Take the pan out, garnish with the reserved onion greens and fresh herbs. Consider eating it straight out of the pan, family-style — it looks pretty ugly when you scoop it onto individual plates.