Heka Saucery Egyptian Tomato Sauce Guarantees Perfect “Zip” to a Classic

(Gerry Furth-Sides) Look what just arrived in the mail! Generous 25.8-ounce jar.bottles of Heka Saucery Egyptian Tomato Sauce! And in such sleek, luxurious wrappings it was tempting to leave them in the box.

But, as new aficionados of tomato sauce, we were eager to try it!

We also have long admired, co-founder Natalie Wiser-Orozco, as the creative social media writer of The Devil Wears Parsley (dvlwearsparley). All of this showed in the thoughtful ingredients, packaging, wealth of beautifully presented recipes and background information. 

And we were immediately fascinated with co-founder, Iman Mossa, originally from Cairo, Egypt. We instantly starting doing research and her restaurant and the food it is named for, Koshery!

The sauce proved to be as lush and elegant as its packaging. At the same time, a heartfulness permeates each bottle, part of the founders’ intentions to share ” Our Egyptian Tomato Sauce steeped in family tradition, passed on lovingly from Mother to Daughter…” and to inspire cooks to create their own dishes to become a tradition in their family.

Visions of our favorite dishes already danced in our heads for this prepared sauce!

What is so different is the “tingle” of tangy flavor from the layering of bright vinegar and spices permeating a base of onions, green peppers and the finest tomatoes. This “middle eastern zip” is what makes it unique.

This glorious Egyptian tomato sauce is made with clean, fresh ingredients. Even the packaging for shipping stands out. Egyptian partner in Heka is Iman Moussa, originally from Cairo. The tomato sauce is based on her mother’s recipe. 

Will the real Shakshouka please stand up!  This dish immediately came to mind as soon as we saw the Heka Saucery Egyptian Tomato Sauce!  It turned out to be as lush and filled with tomato flavor as it was simple to make!  And proved to be as easily eaten from a skillet at home as it such a novelty at restaurants!

This Maghrebi (North African) dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion and garlic, and commonly spiced with cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper is a favorite — and we have used our very own Faye Levy’s clear, delicious recipe from Feast from the Middle East. 

Side note: another cookbook favorite,  Joan Nathan wrote that the dish originated in 16th-Century Ottoman North Africa after Herman Cortes introduced tomatoes to the region as part of the Columbian exchange.   So it honors Heka Saucery’s Natalie Wiser-Orozco Latin family background and Iman’s heritage of Egypt in North Africa.  

How can we ever think tomatoes and not think Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage, which we make a supply of just about every week with chopped tomatoes.   And speaking of Joan Nathan, it is her recipe from King Solomon’s Table.

Heka Saucery Tomato Sauce stood in for fresh chopped tomatoes and we used only 1/4 the sweet onions, peppers (still valued for color) white wine vinegar and salt.  So much simpler!  Thank you, Heka Saucery! 

The dish turned out to be a little bit more “salsa” than slaw and as pretty!  And so we topped the cabbage dish with  melissa’s Produce prize pine nuts, toasted and added before serving.  We checked to see if this was proper, and it seems that pine nuts are the latest “secret surprise” ingredient to red cabbage slaw! 

We love to feature something Spanish in our dishes with Heka Saucery Tomato Sauce. Here is a simple (purchased) toast point, a sliver of Basque cheese and a teaspoon of sauce pared down a tiny big in a pan. The fresh sardine is form the Culver City farmers market.

Heka Saucery guarantees the fresh taste of tomatoes, onions and green peppers seasoned to a tangy, Egyptian perfection. it will always be in my pantry.

What is so different is the “tingle” of bright vinegar and spices permeating a base of onions, green peppers and the first tomatoes. This “middle easter zip” is that makes the sauce so unique.

A Spanish flair comes so easily when a tomato is involved, especially in a sauce seasoned and Heka Saucery has done all the shopping, chopping, seasoning and cooking? We simply put together shrimp, potatoes, olives, peas, corn and peas, and then topped the dish with a tapenade and toasted pine nuts.

The tomatoes are already in the most marvelous sauce already seasoned for you in a jar from HekaSaucery.   s and a green olive tapenade.  We simply first steamed another favorite from Melissa’s Produce, 6 Baby Dutch Potatoes and then grilled them with 2/3 each of peas and corn.  Meanwhile the tomato sauce was gently heating on low.  The sauce then made a bed for the ingredients, topped with black olivePerfect for a main dish at dinner or lunch, along with a salad of greens. 

For more details and the story , please see: www.hekasaucery.com, follow them on Facebook and on Instagram!