Recipe of the Month

Spring Shakshouka from Chef Hrant Arakelian at Holland House Bar & Refuge, Nashville

Ingredients

(Yields 2 Servings)

• 2 large farm eggs (or one per person)
• 1 cup loosely packed sliced mixed mushrooms (any will do but oysters, shiitake or a mix of wild mushrooms will be best)
• 2 cups sliced kale a mix of curly, red and Siberian is nice
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons Greek yogurt
• 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
• ½ of a lemon’s worth of zest
• 1 yellow onion caramelized
• 1 Tablespoon hazelnut dukkah spice (recipe follows)
• A drizzle of hot sauce
• A couple of slices of crusty bread or crackers per person

Instructions

1. In a medium cast iron or heavy bottomed pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat, add the garlic and toast for a minute or until it becomes lightly brown.
2. Add onions and mushrooms and cook for another minute or until the mushrooms soften a bit. Add kale and cook until wilted. Add cream, yogurt and lemon zest and stir to combine to melt the yogurt. Continue to heat the sauce until it starts to bubble a bit. Make a well in the sauce and crack an egg in for each person, cover with a lid or inverted saucepan. You want the cover loosely placed so that steam can escape. Once the egg whites are cooked and the egg yolk is set remove from the heat and drizzle the hot sauce on top followed by the hazelnut dukkah spice.
3. Serve with the bread. This makes a great appetizer or a vegetarian dinner.
4. This recipe adapts to other ingredients well – spinach, mustard, young turnip greens, and any type of mushrooms. You can also use dried mushrooms that have been rehydrated in hot water if you can’t find any fresh ones.

Hazelnut dukkah spice

• ½ cup toasted hazelnuts
• 8 Tablespoons white sesame seeds
• 4 Tablespoons whole coriander seeds
• 3 Tablespoons whole cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Toast the whole spices until they become fragrant. In a grinder pulse the spices until smooth, then in a food processor combine all the ingredients and pulse until the nuts are broken down but still slightly chunky. This stores well in an airtight container for about a month. Great sprinkled on eggs and vegetables.