I am not 100% certain of the origin of the magical dish known as shakshuka! I am told it means mixed up in Arabic and its prevalence in Israel has something to do with the influx of Jews from Arabs lands.
I am told it is made from roasted peppers of various kinds, tomatoes and spices reduced down to make a sauce that is then cooked with eggs and eaten with bread. This is at least how Idan makes it!
I sometimes crave it, despite me dislike of tomatoes. When looking for a proper recipe I found this funny article that sums up why I might be a bit confused:
What he intended to make, he said, was shakshuka.
Almost instantly, a flurry of sighs and grunts rose to the air.
“A Greek? Making shakshuka?” said Tzachi, a short and temperamental man with warm brown eyes and a hairy chest. “Please, that’s Moroccan food, leave it to us.”
“Moroccan?” came a voice from the other end of the tent. “How dare you, punk?” It was Danny, and he wasn’t happy. Shakshuka, he said, originated from Tripoli, and was brought to Israel by Libyan Jews. Greeks and Moroccans, he said, have no right to claim it.
As you can see just about any culture that naturally has these ingredients seems to have come up with a variant or localized version of the dish. Selective pressure in action!
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I am big on Israeli and mid-east food in general and a while back learned to do shakshuka from a Moroccan. I worked as cook at a summer camp in California last year and it went over so big you had all these Vus-Vus Americans eating it and going nuts over it so that since it has been on the menu regularly. It is great stuff.