Three Things a Good Shakshuka Needs
An article about a family shakshuka restaurant in Jaffa, and a recipe for shakshuka for two.
Tap any word to hear it · dotted words have a definition in the glossary
Text 1
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The Pan That Started It All
1In a street in Jaffa, there is a small restaurant with only eight tables. Every morning, people wait in line outside, sometimes for an hour. They are all waiting for the same dish: shakshuka, eggs cooked in a tomato sauce and served in the pan.
2The restaurant belongs to the Hadad family. Grandfather Nissim came to Israel from Tunisia in the 1950s with almost nothing, except his mother's . He opened a tiny kitchen and sold shakshuka to workers from the . Today his grandson, Rami, runs the place.
3Shakshuka is popular in North Africa, especially in Tunisia, Libya and Morocco, and brought it to Israel. Every family has its own version. "Some people add cheese or eggplant," Rami says. "We don't. My grandfather said that a good shakshuka needs only three things: tomatoes, good eggs and ."
4The secret, Rami explains, is to cook the sauce slowly, for at least half an hour, before adding the eggs. "If you are in a hurry, make a sandwich," he laughs.
5Rami has had offers to open more restaurants, but he always says no. "My grandfather cooked every pan himself," he says. "I want to do the same."
Text 2
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Easy Shakshuka for Two
1Preparation time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: about 35 minutes.
2You will need: 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 red pepper, 5 tomatoes (or one can of crushed tomatoes), 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika, half a teaspoon of cumin, salt, 4 eggs and some fresh parsley.
3Step 1: Heat the oil in a wide pan. Cut the onion and the pepper into small pieces and fry them for about five minutes, until they are soft.
4Step 2: Add the garlic, the paprika and the cumin, and for one minute.
5Step 3: Add the tomatoes and a little salt. Cook on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the sauce is thick.
6Step 4: With a spoon, make four small holes in the sauce and break an egg into each one. Cover the pan and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the egg whites are .
7Step 5: with chopped parsley and serve hot, straight from the pan, with fresh bread.
8Tip: If you like your shakshuka , add a chopped chili pepper in Step 1.
📘 Glossary
- narrow - not wide
- spicy - hot-tasting, with a strong flavor
- recipe - instructions for cooking a dish
- port - a place where ships load and unload
- immigrants - people who move to live in a new country
- ripe - ready to eat; fully grown
- patience - the ability to wait calmly
- stir - to mix with a spoon
- firm - hard, not runny
- sprinkle - to drop small pieces over something
Questions
Finding details · Text 1
1. Why do people wait in line outside the restaurant?Finding details · Text 1
2. What is shakshuka, according to paragraph 1?Finding details · Text 1
3. Where did Grandfather Nissim come from?Finding details · Text 1
4. Who were Nissim's first customers?Reference words · Text 1
5. In paragraph 3, the word "it" in "immigrants brought it to Israel" refers to…Finding details · Text 1
6. According to Rami's grandfather, what THREE things does a good shakshuka need?Making inferences · Text 1
7. What does Rami mean when he says, "If you are in a hurry, make a sandwich"?Making inferences · Text 1
8. Why does Rami refuse to open more restaurants?Purpose and structure · Text 2
9. Text B is…Finding details · Text 2
10. What can you use instead of fresh tomatoes?Finding details · Text 2
11. How do you know that the eggs are ready?Word meaning · Text 2
12. Copy the word from Step 5 that means "drop small pieces on top of something".Finding details · Text 2
13. What should you do if you like your shakshuka spicy?Comparing texts
14. How long does the tomato sauce cook in Step 3 of Text B? Would Rami from Text A agree with this? Explain.
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