Scientists all over the globe agree that eating a wide range of plants each week can lead to a healthier gut, and a healthy gut is now thought to be linked to health and happiness in all areas of life.
"Nurturing our gut microbiome makes us more likely to sleep better, move more, benefit from improved mood and energy levels, and generally enjoy life more," writes professor Tim Spector in the introduction to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s latest recipe book, How To Eat 30 Plants A Week.
The book is filled with advice and recipes that will help you achieve this aim. One of the recipes that caught my eye is this exuberantly colorful and flavor-packed purple shakshuka, and this one dish will help you smash your 30-plants-a-week target, because it contains at least 12 different plant types.
Hailing from North Africa and the Middle East, shakshuka usually consists of eggs baked or poached in a tomato-based sauce with onions and peppers.
I love a bit of shakshuka for brunch or lunch, or frankly for any meal of the day, scooping up the richly-spiced sauce with bread. It feels decadent but is actually pretty healthy, and this version adds more ingredients for more benefits.
Eating the rainbow is a great dietary rule of thumb because you'll consume more phytonutrients, but when did you last eat something purple? You’ll need to go off the beaten track to find naturally purple food, and many of us skip it altogether. Certain types of beetroot have the purple end of the color spectrum covered, and with its beautiful hue and sweet, earthy flavor, it is a fantastic addition to shakshuka. The eggs and kidney beans also mean this recipe is high in protein.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s purple shakshuka recipe
Extracted from How to Eat 30 Plants a Week by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Bloomsbury, $32 hardback)
Ingredients
- Oil or fat for cooking
- 1 large or 2 medium-small red or brown onions, finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated or chopped
- 1 small red chili, or a good pinch of dried chili flakes (optional)
- ½tsp cumin seeds
- ½tsp smoked paprika, plus an extra pinch
- 1 medium beetroot, scrubbed and coarsely grated (about 150g)
- 1 red pepper, cored, deseeded and sliced (optional)
- 400g tin peeled plum tomatoes
- 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 400g tin kidney beans
- 1 small radicchio, roughly shredded
- 4 eggs
- Sea salt and black pepper
To serve
- 50g herb leaves, such as parsley, chives, coriander, chervil or lovage, roughly chopped
- Finely grated zest and juice of ½ lemon
- 1-2tsp extra virgin olive oil
- Dukka seed and spice mix
Method
- Heat a little oil or fat in a medium frying pan, or a shallow, wide, flameproof casserole over a medium heat. Add the onion(s) and fry for 6-8 minutes until soft but not colored, then add the garlic, chili, cumin seeds and smoked paprika. Cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
- Add the beetroot, red pepper if using, and the tinned tomatoes, crushing them with your hands as they go in (and picking out any stalky ends or bits of skin). Cook for 8-10 minutes until the tomatoes start to break down, helping them to do so with the back of the spoon. Stir in the extra virgin olive oil, and a splash of water if the mixture looks at all dry.
- Drain the beans, keeping a little of the liquid, then add them to the pan with the saved liquid. Stir in the radicchio and simmer gently for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until everything is tender, well combined and saucy.
- Using the back of a tablespoon, make 4 hollows in the mixture. Crack an egg into each hollow and season with salt, pepper and a pinch of smoked paprika. Turn the heat to low, put the lid on the pan and cook for 4–6 minutes until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still runny.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, dress the herbs with the lemon zest and juice, a pinch of salt, and the extra virgin olive oil.
- Serve the shakshuka as soon as it is ready, with the dressed herbs, and dukka to sprinkle over.
