‘RHONY’ Star Erin Lichy Talks the Show's Food Drama — and Shares Her Shakshuka Secrets (Exclusive)

In the next episode, Lichy finally makes the dish, with help from Jenna Lyons

The new season of The Real Housewives of New York City is only three episodes in, and has already seen drama involving cheese, caviar and the ladies' restaurant choices.

The latest culinary kerfuffle? Shakshuka.

In the second episode of season 14, which features an all-new cast, Erin Lichy hosted the other women at her Hamptons, N.Y. home. When Lichy announced that she was planning to make shakshuka, a North African and Middle Eastern breakfast dish consisting of eggs in a tomato-red pepper sauce, Jenna Lyons immediately nixed the idea, suggesting the dish was too heavy to consume before their morning workout.

In episode 3, titled “Two Truths and No Shakshuka,” Lichy lamented that Lyons “didn’t let me make my shakshuka,” and castmate Sai De Silva later complained, “Erin hasn’t fed us all weekend."

In a preview for Sunday’s episode, Lichy, 36, finally makes the dish for the group. She tells PEOPLE what viewers can expect — starting with “a lot of tears from the very spicy onions that we were cutting.”

Lichy describes shakshuka as “one of those authentic meals that breeds connection."

Her castmate Brynn Whitfield opens up about her family history during the scene, and the other ladies are prompted to share more about theirs.

“I think that's the beauty of a real, authentic cultural dish,” says Lichy. “It just incites these kind of moments between friends or between family that you open up a little bit more because, I don't know, it just gives you that warmth.”

Related: 'RHONY' 's Erin Lichy Wants Her Kids to Enjoy the 'Rich Culture' NYC Has to Offer (Exclusive)

Lichy, who grew up in Manhattan as one of five kids in an Israeli family, says the dish has “always been around” in her home. The real estate agent now has three children of her own, sons Elijah, 3, and Levi, 8½, and daughter Layla, 6, with husband Abraham Lichy.

“It's been a recipe that we've all just sort of inherently known,” she says. “Those type of dishes that are just part of your family for so many years that everyone has their own take on it.”

In the episode, Lichy makes two versions of her recipe, with and without cheese, since some members of the group don’t eat dairy. An episode 1 incident, now dubbed “cheesegate” on social media, concerned an argument over whether De Silva told Lichy it was “weird” to serve cheese at a gathering.

“It's one of those dishes that you can toss everything into,” Lichy says of shakshuka. “There have been times where I've made it with zucchini and other times where I toss some eggplant in it, which is really good. It's a homemade tomato-based sauce that you can add or keep as minimal as possible with baked eggs in. It's really very healthy and delicious.”

She adds that it can be served with pita, a baguette or crackers.

The meal is her family’s “party trick” when they need a communal dish for entertaining big groups. The key to making it turn out perfectly is cooking it “really slowly.”

“You have to cook the onions and the garlic down first,” she says. “If you rush the dish, it is not good. … Patience is key with this dish.”

Related: Jenna Lyons Fires Back After 'RHONY' Castmates Slam Her for Not Staying Overnight During Girls Trip

She also appreciates that it can keep guests full all day long — though its heaviness is what prompted the RHONY dispute over eating before exercising. ("You’ve got to be shak-s---ting me, Lyons remarked. "Who’s going to have shakshuka before working out? That would be like shak-vomiting.")

Lichy says she actually agrees with Lyons’ point.

“But I have to say, I was so afraid of this group complaining that they were hungry, because I knew that we'd be working out for a while,” she says.

“It's an hour, hour and a half, and then by the time we'd all shower and I just didn't think I'd have time to feed them. And I was like, ‘I just can't hear the complaining anymore.’ So I just wanted to feed everybody.”

In the preview for Sunday’s episode, Lyons is seen offering to help make the dish, and cutting tomatoes.

“She's the only one that helped, so I thought it was really sweet of her and it's what I would do if I were at someone's house and they were cooking,” she says.

Related: 'Real Housewives of New York' Newcomer Erin Lichy Shows Off Her Hamptons Family Home — See Inside!

Food has been a hot topic since the beginning. In the season premiere, De Silva and Whitfield bailed on a group dinner when they weren’t fans of Lichy’s New York City restaurant pick. (The spot is not identified in the show.) En route to Lichy’s Sag Harbor, N.Y. home in the next episode, Ubah Hassan said she preferred to buy a sandwich, upon learning Lichy was serving caviar.

Then, during their stay at Lichy’s house, Lyons revealed her hatred of dill and requested a special coffee roast from a local general store. In another memorable scene in the Hamptons, Hassan pilfered a can of coconut cream from the kitchen of the restaurant where they were dining, on the way to the restroom.

So, which of the women’s quirky food preferences has surprised Lichy the most?

“I was surprised that Sai didn't like the shakshuka,” she says, referring to the upcoming fourth episode (De Silva is seen expressing her distaste in the preview).

“Honestly, I don't pay that much attention to their preferences because it's just so exhausting," she adds. "I know how to feed myself, and I just continue with my day, like a normal person that eats normal meals. I don't know. It was too much for me.”

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