Carbonara-Style Corn Shakshuka Recipe

Shakshuka is a Middle Eastern egg dish we've come to know and love over the past few years ever since it started popping up on the brunch menus of every trendy bistro in town. The classic version is made with tomatoes, but every so often chefs like to experiment with something slightly different such as tomatillos, instead. Here, however, we're giving the standard shakshuka quite a makeover by replacing the tomato sauce with corn and adding a few other extras.

Developer Jessica Case calls this recipe "a fun and unique way to make shakshuka using corn." She suggests that it can make for "a perfect end of summer meal when corn season is about to end," but allows that you can actually prepare it in the middle of winter as well since frozen corn makes an acceptable substitute for the fresh kind. In addition to eggs and corn, Case also incorporates pecorino Romano cheese and pancetta into the shakshuka, telling us that "This idea comes from cooking pasta carbonara."

The main ingredients for this dish are corn, pancetta, pecorino Romano, and, of course, the eggs without which no shakshuka would be complete. Additional ingredients needed to make it include olive oil, salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and basil.

If you're making this dish with fresh corn, you'll first need to cut the kernels off the cobs. Case says to do so by running a knife down the sides of each ear and rotating the cob until you get all of the kernels off. While you could work on a cutting board, she instead suggests, "Use a bundt pan so the corn doesn't fly everywhere."

You'll also need to pre-cook the pancetta to crisp it up and remove the grease. Brown it in the oil for 5 minutes over medium heat, then drain it on paper towels.

The leftover pan grease from the pancetta can be used to fry the corn kernels, which you should now season with salt and both black and red peppers. Cook the corn for about 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring it every so often. Once it's looking somewhat brown, stir in half of the cheese along with the pancetta.

Make a well in the top of the corn to accommodate each egg, then crack the eggs into these wells. Cover the pan and cook the eggs for anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes depending on whether you want your yolks soft or hard or somewhere in between. When the eggs are done, sprinkle the dish with the rest of the cheese and the basil (plus more pepper, if you wish), then, in Case's words, "Dig into this meal for brunch, lunch, or dinner."