This Canned Soup Shortcut Makes A Comforting Mediterranean-Style Breakfast In Half The Time

When the weekend comes knocking and you want a delicious brunch without all the effort, just one can of tomato soup may be all you need to make shakshuka. Essentially, shakshuka is eggs cooked in a spiced tomato sauce typically simmered down from scratch with onion, garlic, peppers, olive oil, and some spices. The dish has roots in North Africa and is common in cuisines along the southern Mediterranean coast. Luckily, shakshuka can easily be started from tomato soup instead. If you think about it, tomato soup starts from a very similar place: Both involve tomatoes cooked down into a seasoned sauce. You're basically just skipping the first steps of flavor-building involved with using canned tomatoes or fresh tomatoes, which makes this a really useful shakshuka shortcut.

You'll still need to do a little work to pull it off, as canned tomato soup will be smoother and perhaps sweeter than the can of chopped tomatoes you might otherwise pull out of the cupboard for this job. The right spices should help the dish feel more recognizable as shakshuka, although you can also sauté a little onion, garlic, or bell pepper in olive oil before adding the soup to give the whole thing more texture and a more "home-cooked" flavor. 

The first thing to do is assess the consistency of your soup. If it is very thin, let it bubble uncovered for a few minutes to thicken up, while thicker soup will need less time. A plain tomato soup will work better here than a creamy variety, and if the soup is quite salty, taste it before adding any seasoning, especially if you plan to finish the dish with salty feta cheese. 

Adding spices is an important step in turning a can of soup into a shakshuka-appropriate tomato base. Add some cumin for warmth and nuttiness, sweet paprika for fruitiness and color, coriander for earthiness, and chili flakes or cayenne for a little heat. You don't necessarily need all of them, but they will definitely shift the flavor in the right direction as cumin, paprika, and coriander are all part of the traditional seasoning profile associated with North African shakshuka. If you're looking to upgrade your shakshuka breakfast even further, some fresh cilantro and parsley added at the end go a long way.

Finally, it's the eggs that will turn it from a plate of seasoned tomato soup into a real shakshuka. Once the tomato base is thick enough, make little wells with a spoon, crack the eggs into them, then cover the pan and cook until the whites are set but the yolks stay jammy. Now you have the perfect excuse to put that forgotten can of soup in your pantry to work making a surprisingly impressive breakfast.