Turkey · Breakfast · Easy
Menemen
Turkish soft-scrambled eggs in a pan of peppers and ripe tomatoes
Eggs stirred into soft curds through green peppers and fresh tomatoes cooked down in butter and olive oil, seasoned with pul biber. Reducing the tomatoes until jammy before the eggs go in keeps the menemen creamy rather than watery.
- Energy
- 320 kcalper serving
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 18 min
- Protein
- 15 g
How was it?
Equipment
- Sahan (Turkish two-handled pan) or a 22–24 cm frying pan
- Box grater
- Wooden spoon
Before you start
- Take the eggs out of the fridge 15 minutes ahead.
- Halve the tomatoes and grate them on the coarse side of a box grater, cut side against the grater, until only the skin is left in your hand.
- Cut the peppers into thin rings.
- Have the bread ready: menemen waits for no one.
Method
-
Heat the fat
20 g butter1 tbsp olive oilPut the butter and olive oil in the pan over medium heat for about 1 minute.
Done when The butter has melted and foams lightly, but it has not turned brown.
-
Soften the peppers
150 g long green peppersAdd the peppers and cook over medium heat for 4–5 minutes, stirring now and then.
Done when The peppers are soft and bright green with a few lightly golden spots, and smell sweet.
-
Cook down the tomatoes
400 g ripe tomatoes2 g fine saltAdd the grated tomatoes and the salt. Cook over medium-high heat for 8–10 minutes, stirring often, until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Done when The tomato has turned from watery pink to a thick, deep red sauce, and a spoon drawn through it leaves a trail that slowly closes.
Tip This is the step that decides the result. Add the eggs to watery tomatoes and the menemen turns into soup.
-
Add the pepper flakes
1 tsp pul biber (Aleppo pepper flakes)Stir in the pul biber and cook for 30 seconds.
Done when The oil at the edges turns a brighter red and the flakes smell warm and fruity.
-
Add the eggs
4 eggsTurn the heat down to low. Crack the eggs straight into the pan.
Done when The whites start to turn opaque at the edges as soon as they touch the sauce.
-
Stir into soft curds
4 eggsBreak the yolks and stir slowly with the wooden spoon over low heat for 2–3 minutes, folding the eggs through the sauce. Take the pan off the heat while the eggs still look a little wet.
Done when The eggs form large, soft, glossy curds streaked with red and yellow, with no runny white left.
Tip Remove from the heat just before you think it is ready: the hot pan keeps cooking the eggs. Stir less for streaky menemen, more for an even one.
-
Season and serve
to taste black pepperGrind over black pepper and serve straight away in the pan.
Done when The menemen is creamy and steaming, and a little red butter pools at the edges.
Common mistakes
The menemen is watery.
Fix The tomatoes were not reduced enough. Cook them until thick and jammy before adding the eggs.
The eggs are dry and rubbery.
Fix The heat was too high or they cooked too long. Turn the heat to low before the eggs go in and take the pan off while they still look slightly wet.
The sauce tastes sour and flat.
Fix The tomatoes were under-ripe. Use very ripe tomatoes, or in winter replace half with good canned chopped tomatoes.
Serving
Serve in the pan in the middle of the table, with crusty Turkish bread (ekmek) or simit for dipping, plus white cheese, olives, cucumber and black tea for a full Turkish breakfast. The bread contains gluten.
Storage and reheating
Best eaten immediately. Leftovers keep up to 1 day in the fridge, covered. Reheat gently over low heat, stirring, until steaming hot; the eggs will be firmer.
Make ahead
Grate the tomatoes and slice the peppers up to 1 day ahead and keep them covered in the fridge. The tomato and pepper base can be cooked a day ahead and reheated before adding the eggs.
Variations
With onion
Cook 1 small finely chopped onion with the peppers for an extra 3 minutes before adding the tomatoes. Whether menemen has onion is a well-known debate in Turkey; both versions are common.
With sucuk
Fry 80 g of sliced sucuk (spiced beef sausage) in the pan before the peppers, then cook the vegetables in its fat. It is no longer vegetarian.
With white cheese
Crumble 50 g of beyaz peynir or feta over the eggs at the end of step 6. Reduce the salt, as the cheese is salty.
Vegan
Use 3 tablespoons of olive oil instead of butter and replace the eggs with 300 g of crumbled firm tofu mixed with a pinch of turmeric and black salt; heat through for 3 minutes.
