Gather all your ingredients, ready to go.
Place a large cast iron skillet (mine is a Lodge 30cm circumference) over a medium heat. Add the butter and continue to cook until it smells nutty and is golden brown in colour.
Add the lemon juice and capsicum liquid to the pan to deglaze it. This will stop the butter from continuing to brown. Add the spices and cook for a minute or two, before adding the chopped fennel. Salt the fennel well (this will draw out the moisture so you don’t need to add any) and cook for 5 or so minutes until it has softened.
Add the roasted capsicum and chopped preserved lemon. Stir to combine before adding the tinned tomatoes, passata, tomato paste, sugar or maple syrup (if you’re using it) and a bit of chilli. Stir well and allow to cook for 10 or so minutes until some of the liquid has evaporated. Taste and adjust for salt, pepper and chilli, before adding the haloumi cubes.
Turn the heat off the shakshuka and smooth over the top. I like to do this with the heat off because the mixture is settled and not bubbling around.
Use a spoon to make 4 little dents in the surface of the shakshuka to hold your eggs. They need to be reasonably wide and have a little bit of depth so that the egg whites don’t run all over the shop.
Gently crack the eggs into their respective dints, and then return the heat to a low one. Slow and steady means you won’t end up with hard boiled eggs. Use a lid to cover the shakshuka and bake until the egg whites are opaque but still jiggly. Keep in mind that the eggs will continue cooking even after you take them off the heat.
Bring the shakshuka to the table and serve with buttered sourdough, herbs, extra seasoning/chilli flakes, labne or yoghurt and maybe a little lemon wedge each.