Season 1, Week 8

Shakshuka & NYC's best pizza

🗽 What I’m Ordering

New Yorkers love to fight over where to find the best bagels and the best pizza. Today, I’m here to announce my vote for the latter. New York City’s best pizza comes from the original Patsy’s in East Harlem. I recently had a pie there to make sure I was still right. I was.

🔪 What I’m Cooking

Shakshuka is largely thought to have originated in Northern Africa before being brought to Israel by North African Jews in the 1950s. It is the quintessential eggs-for-any-meal dish as it’s somehow light enough for breakfast but heavy enough for dinner. Simply sauté and season some bell pepper, onion, and garlic, simmer canned tomatoes, and crack a handful of eggs into wells in the sauce. You’ll have a one-skillet meal that serves a few. Be sure to sop it up with some crusty bread.

✔️ Tip of the Week

Canned tomatoes, like the ones in my shakshuka recipe, are a solid pantry staple. I usually keep some on hand for pastas and soups, whenever the mood strikes, but not just any will do. The best are San Marzano tomatoes, which come from southern Italy and are protected by region in the same way that champagne must come from Champagne or else it’s not champagne. Following me?

👇 More Details Below

• More on Patsy’s

• My full shakshuka recipe

• How to identify region-protected foods

Patsy’s Pizzeria

What have I told you about cash-only places (see also: here and here)? You can find the name Patsy’s all over New York — this pizza spot was franchised across multiple families, and it also shares a name with an unrelated Italian restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen — but East Harlem is home to the original pizzeria, one of the city’s first. Now nearly a hundred years in business, these coal oven slices and pies are my absolute favorite. I’m no dough expert, but my understanding is the magic of the crust is in the temperature of the oven, which gets hot enough to crisp up the thin crust such that it doesn’t bend when you lift up a slice or fold it. Anyway, don’t overthink this one — bring a $20 bill, get an Original Pizza pie all for yourself, and channel Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone.

Shakshuka

A luxurious elevation of the humble tomato and egg, shakshuka is a meal that rarely disappoints. Plenty for a hearty breakfast and just enough for a light dinner, here’s my full recipe:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil

• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• 1 tsp. ground cumin

• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika (optional)

• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper

• 1 28-oz. can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes

• Salt and black pepper, to taste

• 4–6 eggs

• Feta cheese, crumbled (to taste — 1/3 to 1/2 cup)

• Fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Serves 2-4

1. Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium. Add the onion and bell pepper with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until soft and lightly browned, about 8–10 minutes.

2. Stir in garlic, cumin, red pepper flakes, and smoked paprika. Continue cooking for 1-2 minutes.

3. Pour in the can of tomatoes with juices. Use a wooden spoon to crush them gently in the pan (or break them up with your hands before adding).

4. Let the sauce simmer, uncovered, for 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened and jammy. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

5. Make small wells in the sauce with the back of a spoon and crack eggs into each. Cover with a lid and cook until whites are set and yolks are still soft — about 5-7 minutes.

6. Garnish with feta cheese and parsley.

Protected Designation of Origin

The European Union protects certain region-specific foods like San Marzano tomatoes against impostors. Some brands like “San Merican” try to fool you into believing they’re the real deal (though I’ll admit that San Mericans, while not authentic, are pretty good). If you’ve ever seen food labels like DOP (Italy) or AOC (France), you can rest assured that the food you’re buying is indeed from that protected region. Other familiar examples include Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, Prosciutto di Parma, and Beurre D’Isigny (mentioned in my first ever post on this very Substack).