Menemen
Menemen: soft-scrambled eggs with green peppers and tomato, straight from the pan
Sunday breakfast in Turkey rarely passes without a sizzling pan of menemen set in the middle of the table, crowded by olives, cheese, cucumber and glasses of tea. Mild green peppers are softened in olive oil, ripe tomatoes are cooked down to a jammy sauce, and then the eggs are broken in and gently stirred so they set into soft, juicy ribbons streaked with red. Everyone eats from the pan, tearing bread to scoop it up. Whether onion belongs in it is a national argument; here it is optional. Chef's tip: let the tomatoes bubble until almost all their liquid has gone before the eggs go in, or the menemen will be watery.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Warm 2 tbsp olive oil and ⅓ oz butter in a 22–24 cm frying pan over a medium heat until the butter foams. If you are using 1 onion, add it now and cook for 3 minutes until soft and see-through.
3 minStep 2: Add 5 ½ oz long green peppers (sivri or çarliston) and cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring now and then, until they collapse and smell sweet but have not browned.
5 minStep 3: Stir in 14 oz ripe tomatoes and ½ tsp salt. Turn the heat up a little and let it bubble for 5–6 minutes, stirring, until the sauce is thick and jammy and the oil starts to show round the edge. A spoon dragged through it should leave a clear path.
6 minStep 4: Turn the heat to low. Crack in 4 eggs and break the yolks with a wooden spoon. Stir slowly and lightly, 3 or 4 times only, folding the egg through the tomato so you get streaks of yellow and red.
Step 5: Cook for 1–2 minutes more, folding once or twice, and take the pan off the heat while the egg still looks glossy and slightly runny; it keeps setting in the hot pan. The most common mistake is stirring hard and cooking on, which leaves dry crumbs sitting in tomato water.
2 minStep 6: Sprinkle over ½ tsp Aleppo pepper (pul biber), ¼ tsp ground black pepper and 1 ⅜ oz Turkish white cheese (beyaz peynir) or feta if using, and take the pan straight to the table with fresh bread.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 14 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 23 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does menemen take?
- About 20 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of ripe tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
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