One of the challenges I commonly hear from parents is how hard it is to get kids to try new foods. We're certainly not immune from this challenge at The Breakfast Project, but we were excited this week when so many students who initially said they did not like spices tasted the shakshuka we made and asked for seconds. I think couscous helps, as it's so fun to look at and to eat, and the natural sweetness that comes from caramelized peppers and onions doesn't hurt either!
We talked about the African continent and how American culture tends to lump all these varied countries, each with their own cuisine, languages, and culture, into one singular idea. It was helpful to have the stark flavor contrast between the uji we made from Kenya (pale, creamy, and coconut-y) and the shakshuka from North Africa (bright, deep, and spicy) to aid our discussion. I always wish there was more time to go deeper into bridging food and larger questions the kids have about the world and welcome your ideas on how we can do that better next year.
At our opening circle, we all got to (cautiously) smell the cumin, paprika, and cayenne.
Using the garlic peeler requires a significant amount of force for a kid!
The final step of using the garlic press elicited some shouts of "Oh, cool!"
We saved all the juices from the tomatoes we diced to add to the stew.
I got this used Kaiser branded cutting board at Goodwill and it's now a highly-coveted item in our kitchen!
Cooking the onions and pepper at low heat for a long time helped to develop the robust flavors of the dish.
This student got a stool and practiced patience and care as the shakshuka cooked.
Each egg was cracked by a student. Only two all week didn't make it into the pan ;)
The finished meal, served with couscous and dots of Tunisian harissa paste.
