Menemen Recipe
By Ed Smith
-
Easy
A superb Turkish dish, these loose and creamy scrambled eggs are sweet, gently spiced and fruity. Another meal that, once you’ve made it once, is likely to become a staple brunch (or supper) dish. There are a handful of ingredients and spices to collate, but it’s quick to come together once you have them. This is heavily based on a menemen recipe by the cookbook writer Meliz Berg, as I’ve found her method can’t be bettered – also, her garnish of fried halloumi is a cracking touch.
This recipe is extracted from Good Eggs by Ed Smith (Quadrille, £22), Photography by Sam A Harris
TRY: Check out Ed Smith's recipes for Savoury Eggs Bread & Tamagoyaki!
Ingredients for Menemen
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve
- 30g butter
- 300–400g green peppers, diced (ideally Turkish sivri biber)
- 1 heaped tablespoon sweet red pepper paste (tatlı biber salası)
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp sweet smoked paprika
- ½ tsp pul biber (Aleppo pepper flakes), plus extra to serve
- 1⁄3 tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 350g tomatoes, coarsely grated
- 6 medium eggs, cracked into a bowl but not beaten
- A handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
- 1 lemon wedge
- 150g halloumi, diced and fried in olive oil at the last minute (optional)
- Flaky sea salt
- Bread, to serve
How to make Menemen
- Assemble and prepare all the ingredients before beginning to cook.
- In a medium-large saute pan, gently soften the onion in the olive oil with a big pinch of salt for around 10 minutes without colouring.
- Add the butter and peppers, and cook for 4–5 minutes, then stir in the red pepper paste, spices, oregano and teaspoon flaky salt.
- Pour in the coarsely grated tomatoes and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs to the pan, quickly piercing and stirring them with a wooden spoon. Cook gently so that the eggs dissipate among the tomatoes and peppers, removing from the heat before the eggs seize. Keep stirring for 1 minute more as the residual heat thickens the dish.
- Garnish with parsley, a squeeze of lemon juice, a glug of olive oil, a sprinkling of extra pepper flakes plus the fried halloumi (if using). Serve immediately, with fresh bread for dipping and scooping.
- ALSO CONSIDER: Garnishing with crumbled feta instead of fried halloumi.
About the author
Ed Smith, an award-winning food writer and former lawyer, now crafts recipes, consults, and writes after training as a chef. He's active on social media and has authored cookbooks like 'Crave,' awarded Cookery Book of the Year in 2022, 'On the Side,' 'Good Eggs' and 'The Borough Market Cookbook.' His work frequently appears in outlets such as Waitrose Food, BBC Good Food, and The Sunday Times Magazine.
