Turkish Breakfast on a Toast (Fırında Domates ve Peynirli Ekmek)

When I was a kid I loved having freshly baked steaming hot bread, but then who wouldn't. Also, having hot bread every morning in Turkey was and still is possible. People usually know when their neighborhood bakery takes out the new batch of bread. We went to the bakery around that time and they used to wrap the really hot bread in old newspapers. We would and still do cut the bread lengthwise and spread as much butter as it could hold and eat it. But then for mom the biggest challenge was to come up with creative ways to use stale bread. This recipe was my mom's way of making us consume stale bread. It was family favorite for breakfasts, brunches, or afternoon tea-times. Everything you expect from a Turkish breakfast is here on a slice of bread: tomatoes, feta cheese, olives, parsley, banana peppers, and eggs.

Must-haves of this recipe are stale "real" bread (never ever use any kind of wanna-be breads such as sliced toast bread variety or freshly baked "real" bread, since they both get really soggy with tomato juice. I prefer baguettes), fresh tomatoes, banana peppers, feta cheese, parsley, and an egg. The rest is up to you; you can add, remove, or modify the ingredients.

1 French baguette, sliced any way you want (I use French bread, because it tastes more Turkish to me than any other bread; however, you can also use sourdough, whole wheat, whole grain, etc.)
2 medium fresh tomatoes, petite diced
1 banana peppers or sweet Italian peppers, chopped (never use bell peppers)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup black olives, pitted and chopped (Turkish olives would be great but Kalamata would work just fine. No canned olives)
1 egg
1/3 bunch parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp crushed pepper (optional)
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tbsp olive oil
salt (how much salt you will use depends on what kind of feta cheese you have; if it's a really salty one you may not even need salt)

-Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Place the tomato mixture on bread slices with a spoon. If the bread is "really" stale, use the juice from the bottom of the bowl to wet the top of the bread slice. Place the bread slices on a broiler tray
-There will be some juice left in the bowl. Put some on top of each slice
-Broil 6-7 inches below heat until slightly brown. Approximately 8-10 minutes

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