Green Shakshuka

Halve the tomatillos and place them cut-side down in a dry, ungreased heavy skillet (cast iron is ideal) over high heat. Do not stir. Let them char for 4-5 minutes until the cut surfaces are deeply blistered and black in spots, and the skins have softened and wrinkled. The sugars at the cut surface caramelize and char, converting tomatillo's raw, astringent sourness into something deeper, slightly sweet, and smoky. When a tomatillo releases from the pan easily when nudged with a spatula, it has charred correctly. Transfer them to a bowl — they will continue to soften from residual heat. The juices that leak into the bowl are precious: add them to the sauce.

In the same pan (leave any tomatillo char — it adds flavor), heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion and the chard stems (chopped into 1 cm pieces) and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes until the onion is soft, translucent, and starting to turn golden at the edges. Add the sliced garlic and jalapeño and cook for 2 more minutes until fragrant. The garlic should turn golden at the edges but not brown — once it smells like roasted garlic rather than raw, you're there. Add the cumin and coriander and stir them directly into the oil for 30 seconds — this dry-blooms the spices in the fat and intensifies their fragrance by an order of magnitude. The pan should smell like a Moroccan kitchen.

Add the charred tomatillos (and all their juice) to the pan, pressing them with the back of a spoon to break them into rough pieces. Add the chard leaves (torn large) and the baby spinach — the pan will look impossibly full. Add the water and a generous pinch of salt. Cover and cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until the greens have completely wilted and collapsed. Remove the lid and stir everything together, breaking the tomatillos further into the sauce. Cook uncovered for 3-4 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened slightly and the greens have fully integrated. Taste and season generously — greens can absorb a surprising amount of salt. The sauce should be vivid green, slightly chunky, pleasantly sour from the tomatillo, and deeply savory.

Using the back of a large spoon, make six shallow wells in the green sauce, pressing down to the bottom of the pan. Crack an egg into a small cup first — this gives you control and prevents shell fragments. Slide each egg from the cup into its well. Scatter the crumbled feta around the eggs and into the sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover the pan with a lid or foil, and cook for 5-8 minutes, checking frequently. The whites should be just set — opaque and firm when you press the edge with a spoon — while the yolks remain visibly liquid and trembling. Remove from heat while the yolks still look underdone: residual heat continues cooking them for 1-2 minutes after the pan comes off the stove. Scatter the fresh cilantro over the top and serve directly from the pan with bread.

Scatter the fresh cilantro generously over the finished pan — the heat of the shakshuka will wilt it slightly on contact, releasing its fragrance. Serve the shakshuka directly from the pan at the table, with warm pita or crusty bread for tearing and dragging through the sauce. The protocol for eating: tear bread, drag through sauce capturing both green and white egg, ensure the final bite has yolk. The shakshuka is at peak quality for approximately 5 minutes after coming off the heat — the egg continues to cook from residual heat and firm progressively. Serve without ceremony.