Where Menemen Comes From
Menemen is a staple of Turkish breakfast tables. It is a simple dish of eggs cooked into a soft, juicy mixture of tomatoes and long green peppers, usually made in a small copper or steel pan called a sahan and served straight from the pan. It is thought to take its name from the town of Menemen near İzmir, in western Turkey, an area known for its farming and fresh produce.
Although it resembles shakshuka, menemen is different. The eggs are stirred gently into the vegetables until just set and creamy, rather than poached whole in the sauce. One of Turkey's friendliest food debates is whether menemen should include onions. Some cooks consider them essential, while others say they have no place in it. This recipe makes them optional, so you can decide.
Serves: 2 | Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil, or 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter
- 1 small onion, finely chopped (optional)
- 3 long green peppers, such as Turkish çarliston or sivri, or 1 green bell pepper, sliced
- 3 large ripe tomatoes, about 450 g (1 lb), grated or finely chopped
- 4 large eggs
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½–1 tsp Aleppo chilli flakes (pul biber) or sweet paprika
- A few sprigs of parsley, chopped
- Optional: 50 g (2 oz) crumbled white cheese such as beyaz peynir or feta
Method
- Heat the oil in a 20–25 cm (8–10 in) frying pan over medium heat. If using onion, cook it for 4–5 minutes until soft.
- Add the peppers and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until they soften and lose their raw edge.
- Add the tomatoes, salt and half the chilli flakes. Cook for 5–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is thick and jammy.
- Lower the heat. Crack the eggs directly into the pan.
- Gently break the yolks and stir slowly, folding the eggs through the tomatoes. Stop stirring while the eggs are still soft and glossy, about 1–2 minutes. They will continue to cook from the heat of the pan.
- Scatter over the cheese, if using, the remaining chilli flakes, black pepper and parsley.
- Bring the pan to the table and serve right away with bread.
Tips for Success
- Use the ripest tomatoes you can find. In winter, good canned chopped tomatoes are a better choice than pale fresh ones.
- Grating tomatoes on a box grater is a quick way to get pulp without skins; just discard the skin left in your hand.
- Do not overcook. Menemen should be soft and slightly runny, not dry like scrambled eggs on toast.
- If you prefer distinct whites and yolks, swirl the eggs only lightly, leaving streaks.
- A small, heavy pan holds heat well and lets you serve straight from it, which keeps the eggs warm at the table.
Variations
Sucuklu menemen adds slices of sucuk, a spicy Turkish beef sausage, fried in the pan before the peppers. You can also stir in a spoonful of Turkish pepper paste (biber salçası) with the tomatoes for a deeper colour and flavour.
Try adding melted kaşar cheese, a handful of spinach, or a few fresh herbs such as dill or mint. For a dairy-free version, simply leave out the cheese and butter.
If you cannot find Turkish peppers, Anaheim, cubanelle or banana peppers are good substitutes because they are mild and thin-skinned. Some cooks like to add a pinch of dried mint or a little cumin for extra warmth. For a heartier dinner, serve menemen over toasted bread or alongside a bowl of lentil soup.
How to Serve
Menemen is traditionally eaten by tearing off pieces of crusty bread and scooping directly from the pan. It is part of a larger Turkish breakfast spread that may include olives, white cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, honey, clotted cream (kaymak), jam and simit, a sesame-crusted bread ring.
Serve it with glasses of strong black Turkish tea. It also makes a quick weekday lunch or light dinner.
Menemen is best eaten as soon as it is made, while the eggs are still soft. It is easy to double: use a wider pan and allow a few extra minutes for the tomatoes to reduce before adding the eggs, so the result is not watery.
