Turkish Menemen
A silky, softly scrambled Turkish breakfast of eggs folded into olive-oil-sautéed green peppers and juicy tomatoes, finished with warming Aleppo pepper. Serve it straight from the pan with crusty bread for scooping.
- Prep
- 12 min
- Cook
- 17 min
- Total
- 29 min
- Makes
- 2 generous servings (one 10-inch skillet)
Steps
Before you start
- Use ripe, in-season tomatoes if you can; they provide most of the sauce's flavor. Out of season, use canned whole tomatoes (see substitutions).
- Have the bread, plates and any sides ready before you add the eggs. Menemen keeps cooking in the hot pan and should be served right away.
- Crack the eggs into a bowl and lightly beat them before you start cooking so you can add them quickly at the right moment.
- Use a 10-inch (25 cm) skillet or traditional shallow pan so the tomato mixture is not too deep and the eggs cook gently.
Prep the vegetables
- Stem, seed and dice the green peppers into ¼-inch (6 mm) pieces.
- Core the tomatoes and cut them into ½-inch (1.25 cm) dice, working over the board or a bowl so you keep their juices.
- Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them lightly with a fork, just until the yolks and whites are combined with a few streaks remaining.
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Ready when: Peppers are in even small dice and tomatoes are in chunky pieces.
Tip: Do not over-beat the eggs; streaks of white and yolk give menemen its characteristic soft, varied texture.
Soften the peppers
- Heat the olive oil in a 10-inch (25 cm) skillet over medium heat for 1 minute.
- Add the diced green peppers and a pinch of the salt.
- Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
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Ready when: Peppers are bright green, glossy and tender when pressed with a spoon, with no browning.
Tip: Keep the heat at medium; browned peppers turn bitter and change the flavor of the dish.
Cook down the tomatoes
- Add the tomatoes with all their juices, the remaining salt, the Aleppo pepper and the sugar if using.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a lively bubble.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes.
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Ready when: The tomatoes have collapsed into a thick, jammy sauce and a spoon dragged through the pan leaves a trail that closes slowly, with no pool of watery liquid.
Tip: If the sauce is still watery, cook 1–2 minutes longer; excess liquid makes the eggs soupy and pale.
Add the eggs
- Reduce the heat to low.
- Spread the tomato mixture evenly in the pan and pour the beaten eggs over the top.
- Let them sit undisturbed for 20 seconds, until the edges just start to turn opaque.
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Ready when: Edges of the egg look opaque and set while the center is still liquid.
Tip: Low heat is essential. High heat makes the eggs rubbery and dry.
Fold gently
- With a wooden spoon or spatula, slowly fold the eggs into the tomato mixture in large, gentle strokes, pushing from the edges toward the center.
- Do this for 1½ to 2 minutes.
- Stop while the eggs still look slightly wet and creamy, then remove the pan from the heat.
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Ready when: Eggs form soft, large, glossy curds with some loose, runny bits; they should reach about 160°F (71°C) after resting.
Tip: The eggs continue to cook from the pan's residual heat, so pull it off while they still look a little underdone.
Season and serve
- Let the pan stand off the heat for 30 seconds.
- Season with freshly ground black pepper and taste; add a pinch more salt if needed.
- Sprinkle with a little extra Aleppo pepper and bring the skillet to the table with the bread for scooping.
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Ready when: The menemen is creamy, loosely set and glossy with oil and tomato.
Tip: Serve immediately. Menemen left in a hot pan keeps cooking and turns dry.
Good to know
Tips
- Cook the tomato sauce until thick before adding the eggs; this is the biggest factor in great menemen.
- Keep the heat low and stop stirring while the eggs are still glossy and soft.
- For extra richness, crumble 2 oz (55 g) white cheese such as feta over the top, but reduce the salt.
- Serve in the pan at the table, with everyone scooping directly with bread.
Make ahead
"The pepper and tomato base can be cooked through step 3 up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Reheat in the skillet over medium heat until bubbling, then continue with the eggs."
Storage & reheating
"Best eaten immediately. Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 day; reheat gently in a skillet over low heat with a splash of water, stirring, until just warm. Not recommended for freezing once the eggs are added."
Substitutions
- ripe tomatoes → 1 can (14 oz/400 g) whole peeled tomatoes, drained slightly and crushed by hand. Good out of season; cook 2–3 minutes longer to thicken.
- Aleppo pepper (pul biber) → ½ teaspoon sweet paprika plus ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes. Approximates Aleppo's mild heat and fruity flavor.
- Turkish green peppers (or Anaheim or Cubanelle peppers) → 1 small green bell pepper plus 1 small jalapeño, seeded. Use if Turkish-style peppers are unavailable.
- extra-virgin olive oil → unsalted butter. Widely used in Turkey; gives a richer, creamier result.
