Menemen (Turkish-Style Scrambled Eggs With Tomatoes, Onions, and Chilies) Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What does menemen mean in Turkish? ›

Menemen is a Turkish breakfast staple. It's their version of scrambled eggs. It's eggs cooked with non spicy green chilies and tomato. There are of course variations of it that use Sujuk which is a Turkish sausage, Pastrima which is a cured beef cold cut and even versions with onions.

Shakshuka typically has a deeper, more intricate flavor from the blend of spices used, with whole, runny eggs that mix into the sauce. Menemen, in contrast, showcases the freshness of its primary ingredients, with less emphasis on spices.

Menemen is a popular traditional Turkish dish that includes eggs, tomato, green peppers, and spices such as ground black and red pepper cooked in olive oil. Menemen may be made with onions, but the addition of onions is often debated and is more common when menemen is eaten as a main dish, rather than at breakfast.

Divide the warm creamy yogurt between two shallow bowls, top each with a poached egg, pour the peppery butter around and slightly over the yogurt, scatter the chopped dill on top, and eat dreamily, dipping in some thick well-toasted bread as you do so.

If you're a cheese lover, some menemen recipes also contain some crumbled beyaz peynir (Turkish white cheese or feta cheese) or grated kaşar (similar to Cheddar cheese).

Accordingly, a classic Turkish breakfast is generally comprised of black and green olives, cucumbers, cured meats, dips and sauces, eggs, fresh cheeses, fresh tomatoes, fresh-baked bread, fruit preserves and jams, honey, pastries, and sweet butter.

Sucuklu yumurta, or eggs with sausage, is the Turkish person's answer to "I have nothing in my fridge," or "I burned dinner into oblivion." It's also a breakfast favorite, and the best part is dipping little pieces of pide bread into the spicy oils left behind from frying the sausage.

Turkish menemen is very similar to shakshuka, but there's a lesser-known Turkish eggs recipe that's incredibly delicious too. This, called cilbir, involves poaching eggs, then laying them on a swirl of garlic-infused yoghurt, topping with a nutty chilli butter and fresh dill fronds.

The takeaway? It's safe to cook tomato- and wine-based sauces in cast iron, but you should save the vinegary pan sauces for stainless-steel pans—or dilute the vinegar (or citrus) with water or stock.

Where did menemen originate from? ›

Menemen originated in both Greece and Turkey. Menemen is the name of a place in Izmir, Turkey, and in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Turkey eggs are absolutely safe to eat. As with any type of egg, it is best to cook, or at least pasteurise them first, to kill harmful bacteria. In fact, turkey eggs are actually pretty good for you. They're a great source of protein, as well as iron, folic acid and vitamin B12.

Turkish dishes with high-calorie values should be eaten in minimal portions to avoid putting your health at risk. Some of them are; Falafel above 350g, Dips too, which have a high-calorie value that's unspecified, Lamb Kebab 584g, Pide 492g, Baklava 576g, and Honey filled deserts.

Turkish Şakş*cka is often served at room temperature or cold as a meze (appetizer) or a side dish alongside other Turkish dishes. Israeli Shakshuka is commonly served hot, straight from the pan, with the poached eggs nestled in the tomato sauce.

Put the egg and milk into the jug an blend until frothy. Add sugar and vanilla and blend until all the sugar dissolves. Pour into cup an enjoy! You can add extra sugar if it isn't sweet enough.

Bake them on a sheet pan.

Just crack them onto a sheet pan over a bed of greens, like Healthy Nibbles and Bits, and bake them in the oven. Fifteen minutes later, you've got perfectly runny sunny-side-up eggs, with zero time spent slaving over the stovetop.

Menemen is thought to have originated in the Aegean region of Turkey, where it was first made by shepherds who cooked eggs with vegetables that were readily available to them, such as tomatoes, onions and peppers.