Turkish Menemen

(Turkish Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes)

What Is Turkish Menemen

Menemen is a traditional Turkish dish that is mostly served as a hearty breakfast. It is a simple one-pan dish with eggs, tomatoes and green peppers. This simple egg dish gets its name from a Turkish town called Menemen, which is located in Izmir. It is said that this egg dish was made first by the Cretan Turks who moved to this town.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 green peppers, chopped (Turkish peppers or any sweet green pepper)
• 4 tomatoes (1 cup peeled and diced)
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp paprika
• 4 eggs
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes
• parsley for garnish

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a pan.


2. Cook chopped peppers in it for 2-3 minutes.


3. Add in tomatoes.


4. Season with salt and paprika and cook over medium low heat until tomatoes are tender, stirring occasionally. Now reduce the heat a bit.


5. There are two options after this step:


• First Options: In a bowl, beat the eggs and pour it all over the tomatoes. Give it a gentle stir so that the beaten eggs can spread everywhere. Cook it uncovered until the eggs are set. It takes no longer than 3-5 minutes. Don't overcook.


• Second Options: Using a spoon, make rooms for each egg and break eggs into those hollows. Let it simmer uncovered until the eggs are slightly cooked for 8-10 minutes. Help egg whites cook well with a spoon. If you like the yolks hard, cook longer.


6. Sprinkle black pepper and red pepper flakes over it. Garnish with herbs like parsley or chopped green onions and serve.


7. Serve it with your favorite crusty bread.