Menemen
Quick · 25 min · Serves 2 · Middle Eastern
Dietary: vegetarian, pescatarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free
Turkish eggs scrambled softly and folded through onion, green pepper and tomato cooked with tomato paste, oregano and Aleppo pepper.
Ingredients
For 2 servings
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin: 1 tbsp to cook, the rest to finish
- 0.5 onion, yellow, chopped
- 0.5 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped; Anaheim works too
- 1 tomato, vine-ripe, chopped
- 1.5 tbsp tomato paste, or Turkish red pepper paste
- 0.25 tsp dried oregano
- 0.5 tsp aleppo pepper, plus more to finish
- 2 egg, large, beaten
- 0.5 tsp salt, kosher, to taste
- 0.25 tsp black pepper, to taste
- 0.25 tsp red pepper flake, to finish, if you like it spicy (optional)
Steps
- Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a 25 cm (10 inch) skillet, ideally cast iron, over medium heat. Add the onion and pepper, season with a pinch of salt, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until softened. Don't let the onion brown.
- Add the tomato and tomato paste and season with a little more salt, the black pepper, oregano and Aleppo pepper. Cook over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring now and then, until the tomato has softened but still holds its shape.
- Push the tomato and pepper mixture to one side of the pan and lower the heat to medium-low. Pour the beaten eggs into the cleared side and cook them briefly, stirring gently with a wooden spoon, until just set. Don't linger: menemen eggs should be moist and pillowy, never dry.
- Fold the tomato mixture into the eggs, and as soon as the two are combined take the pan off the heat. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Finish with the rest of the olive oil, a little more Aleppo pepper, and the pepper flakes if you want more heat. Serve immediately, straight from the pan, with thick slices of bread.