Cooking : Quick, Light & Refreshing Mushroom Stew (slow cooker Shakshouka Spin-off)

This is gonna be a quick one. Gotta run, gotta run, gotta run....

Anyway, this shashouka recipe's been sitting on my desk for some time and I just didn't think anything of it despite the video looking absolutely epicurean. I took it from Food Wishes which also has a Youtube Channel.

I have to admit that I sometimes I watch Food Wishes videos to sleep because 'Chef John' is hilarious and snarky. And I like his chilled out vibe, his laid-back attitude of 'If you want salty, put more salt. I'm not there to stop you' and his don't-overthink-this-shit mentality to cooking.

Trust me, it makes cooking less stressful.

So, I bought a packet of fresh mushrooms from the store without knowing what to do with them (yet) when I was there a few days ago (we keep doing this, don't we? LOL) so, when I saw the recipe again, ah well, time to get off my laurels.... XD

I skipped the eggs not because I don't like eggs, but because I have leftover roast chicken. Throwing things away is also NOT my thing. It's edible for a couple of days if kept in the fridge properly, folks.

So, went ahead and modified this Shakshouka recipe.

Shakshouka is a dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, chili peppers, and onions, often spiced with cumin. Its present egg and vegetable-based form originated in North Africa. It is popular in the Middle East and North Africa

We ALLLLLLLL know the wonders and panacea of benefits of consuming turmeric because it's like the IN-thing right now. How can you miss it? It's like right up there with avocado.

Cumin, in fact, has many health benefits too and is just as adaptable.

The health benefits of cumin include its ability to aid in digestion, improve immunity and treat skin disorders, insomnia, respiratory disorders, asthma, bronchitis, anemia, boils, and cancer

You can watch the video for the recipe or print out the simplified version of the Shakshouka recipe here. Whatever it is, just go with your own taste buds. They know best.

And oh, BTW, I used a stove AND slow cooker because...well, you know...life has to happen on the other side of the kitchen as well.

Happy cooking, people!
XOXO
Marsha

p.s. For some reason, my kids had raving reviews about this dish even when I didn't think too much about it at first.

Quick, Light & Refreshing Mushroom Stew (slow cooker Shashouka spin-off)

I wanted something light for lunch and had some mushroom. There was also this Shashouka recipe staring at me so, I fried the mushrooms, added some simple spices and threw it into the slow cooker for less than 2 hours. Give it a shot too! I did not have a can of crushed tomatoes; instead, I had leftover tomato paste and some fresh tomatoes so, I modified using both instead and I preferred it to be a little sweeter (sweet tooth be damned!) so, added some honey/syrup. Traditionally, it has eggs in it. We served with leftover roast chicken.

Ingredients

3 persons

1. 2 tbsp cooking oil
2. 1 diced onion
3. 1 bag fresh mushrooms, sliced
4. 1 bell pepper (whatever color you want, as far as I am concerned. I used green here)
5. 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced
6. 1 tsp cumin powder
7. 1/2 tsp paprika
8. 1 tsp turmeric powder
9. 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
10. 1 tsp chicken/mushroom seasoning
11. to taste salt and black pepper
12. 1 tbsp soy sauce
13. 1 can crushed tomatoes
14. 2 medium sized tomatoes, quartered
15. 1 tbsp honey
16. 1/2 cup water
17. 2 tbsp crumbled feta cheese

18. Method

    1. Heat oil in a pan and saute onion and mushrooms, until onion is a little translucent
    2. Sprinkle salt until the mushrooms starts to water. Toss in jalapeno pepper and bell pepper to soften them up.
    3. SLOW COOKER : Add the cooked above ingredients at the bottom, topped with the rest of the ingredients with water. Set on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours. Stir once or twice after a while.
    4. We ate it for dinner with leftover roast chicken thighs.
    5. For those who wish to add eggs into the dish, when the vegetables have softened, make depression marks into the concoction in the slow cooker, gently crack an egg into the indentation, season with a little salt and pepper, close the lid and cook for another hour or so (check the eggs to see if it's to the consistency that you like)
    6. Happy cooking!

Credit:

1. Organic Facts
2. Youtube
3. Wikipedia
4. Cookpad