Ready in 30 minutes, crammed with nourishing veggies and spices, and served with fresh bread, my vegan chickpea shakshuka makes a perfectly delicious and comforting brunch or supper. Add potatoes or grains on the side, and a green salad, and you have a hearty, filling dinner.
Heat the oil in a large skillet, and then sauté the onions, chillies, and sugar over a medium heat for 5 mins or so, until the onions start to brown.
Add the garlic, and continue to sauté until the raw garlic smell has gone.
Stir in the passata, water, chopped tomatoes, and the tomato purée. Bring to the boil, then immediately reduce the heat.
Mix in the cumin, paprika, cayenne, salt, black pepper, chickpeas, and olives, and give everything a good stir.
Check the seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, and/or cayenne if desired.
Simmer for 10 minutes, then stir in the parsley and coriander.
Place the tofu rounds on top of the shakshuka, and gently press down so that they're partly submerged.
Cover the skillet, and simmer for another 7-10 mins, until the tofu is warmed through.
Finish with few grinds of black pepper and some torn coriander leaves.
Serve immediately with fresh bread.
Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the 'fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
You can use as many chillies as you like!
I don't bother to de-seed chillies, or remove the veins, as you lose a lot of the flavour - I'd rather keep that flavour, and just use fewer chillies.
Instead of passata and fresh tomatoes, you could use canned chopped tomatoes.
If you don't have smoked paprika, use the same amount of regular paprika + 1 teaspoon liquid smoke.
Carefully slice the block of tofu in half lengthways, so that you have two flatter blocks. Using a glass or cookie cutter, cut out two rounds from each block. Use leftover tofu in Asian soups, smoothies, etc.