Author Notes
Turkish menemen is a dish for anyone and everyone. All you need is a handful of vegetables (preferably picked from your garden, but hey, that's a dream we can't all fulfill) and some eggs. You can use as many or as few eggs as you like and it easily serves a crowd. It's a meal that satisfies you to your very core. The eggs' richness pairs beautifully with the slight tang of the white cheese, and the smattering of parsley lends a note of freshness and some lovely contrast. You can even go completely off course and eat it with some crusty ciabatta! —Liv
Continue After Advertisement
Ingredients
-
2 tablespoons
olive oil
-
1 tablespoon
butter
-
1
small white onion, diced
-
3
green, mild Turkish peppers, seeded and chopped (or substitute 1 red bell pepper and 1/2 green bell pepper)
-
1/2 teaspoon
good-quality red pepper flakes, ideally a medium-spicy Turkish or Aleppo variety
-
1
clove garlic, minced
-
4
large tomatoes, chopped
-
5
eggs, room temperature
-
salt and pepper to taste
-
Parsley, chopped
-
Turkish simit or other crusty bread
-
Optional: fried sujuk (garlic sausage) and beyaz peynir (brined Turkish cheese similar to feta), to sprinkle on top
Directions
-
Place a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and butter.
-
Once the butter has melted into the oil, add the onion and peppers, a pinch of salt ,and the red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, for around 5 minutes or until both onions and peppers have softened and smell fragrant.
-
Add the garlic and allow to fry briefly before adding the chopped tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have lost some but not all of their liquid and everything is coming together. This will take between 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the juiciness of your tomatoes and how thick or liquidy you want the end result to be.
-
While the tomato mixture is cooking, lightly beat the eggs together in a bowl. Slowly add the beaten eggs to the skillet, folding gently into tomato mixture but take care not to stir too much. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the egg whites are barely opaque. The eggs will continue to cook once they're off the heat and it’s important to remove the pan at this point to prevent the mixture from drying out. Again, it's a personal decision: If you like very soft, wet eggs, take the mixture off the heat immediately after incorporating the eggs into the tomatoes.
-
To serve, spoon into individual bowls and top with chopped parsley, fried sujuk, and beyaz peynir. Menemen is traditionally served with simit, a Turkish sesame bread ring, but feel free to substitute that with any bread of your liking.
See what other Food52ers are saying.