Almost Turkish Recipes

Turkish Scrambled Eggs with Vegetables (Menemen)


Menemen,
Turkish style scrambled eggs, is enjoyed both as breakfast or a wholesome meal. It is best in summer when sweet green chilis and juicy tomatoes are in abundance. Best part of menemen is whether you are a great cook or an aspiring one, you cannot go wrong with menemen; the ingredients secure the taste. Must-have traditional ingredients for menemen are eggs, tomato, peppers (preferably sweet green peppers), parsley, and the controversial "onion": People of Turkey are divided when it comes to having menemen with ot without onion. I am a lifelong member of the "no onion" camp. 

Here's how I make menemen for four:

6 eggs, well-beaten
4-5 juicy tomatoes, diced 
4 fresh peppers, finely chopped (if you cannot find sweet green chilies, you sweet Italian peppers or shishitos, banana peppers or any pepper you like)
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
salt
1/3 cup feta/white cheese, diced fresh mozzarella, cottage cheese or any kind of cheese you want to try.  
1-2 tbsp oil or butter
optional
2 tsp spicy pepper flakes
1 tsp black pepper

If you must: 1 small onion, finely chopped 

Nothing is written in stone, so you can use more or less of anything above. 

-[If you would like to try menemen with onion, in a frying pan heat oil and add onion. Cook on medium until they're soft but not browned.] 
-Add fresh peppers and cook 2-3 minutes.
-Once they're cooked, add tomatoes and salt. Wait until tomatoes change color to a dark red and cook down a little. 
-Stir in beaten eggs. Stir constantly.
-Right before eggs are cooked, add your choice of cheese and chopped parsley.
-Serve with bread.


12 comments:

  1. What a lovely, simple dish -- I think that's tonight's dinner!

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  2. Sounds very yummy and completely South Beach friendly too! Great dish.

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  3. Lovely! I will certainly be trying this one!

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  4. Anonymous5:44 PM

    Yes, what a coincidence! I noted the feta variation in yours, and will try that sometime.

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  5. Hi Burcu,
    Just coming back to let you know that I'm featuring this as part of my South Beach Recipes of the Week today, where I'm sharing dishes with eggs. I have included your photo, with a credit for you of course, and a link to the recipe.

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  6. Anonymous12:23 PM

    This is very similar to the dish prepared for me long ago by a Turkish friend (right on the beach near Adana, I think), and which I've made many times since with just a few things different from your recipe.

    Also I think he taught me (or maybe I did it myself?) that it looks better (but doesn't taste quite as good) to poach the eggs on top of the "stew" instead of mixing/scrambling them in --great presentation for a potluck though. Mine uses zucchini/summer squash (green and yellow for great color) instead of the peppers though, regular onions, and no cheese... but looks almost exactly like the photo!

    Diane B.

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  7. Anonymous12:40 AM

    My favourite breakfast...brings back memories. Great blog!!

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  8. I love this dish, I usually make it more simple just tomato, green pepper and eggs, and its sooo tasty. See u! Peace! Pablo

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  9. Nancy4:16 AM

    We call this dish shakshooka..well loved by our family

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  10. Sounds so good, will try this next week, thank you!

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  11. Sometimes I get really lazy to make dinner and make make these scrambled eggs with a touch of heavy cream at the very end, a little cheddar and dump on rice.

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  12. Oh, menemen... the taste of Turkey! I so miss Turkish breakfasts eaten by the sea. I didn't know about the onion controversy, but I've never had menemen with cheese.

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