MENEMEN
MENEMEN
#SIAintheKitchen
Whenever I travel to a new place, I try as much food as I can. I completely immerse myself in the culture. I have a little rule that wherever I go, I have to try all the food that is local to that country or place - no exceptions! Very rarely do I stray away from that, nor do I ever crave food from back at home. I always know that I am gone for a temporary amount of time - might as well indulge with all the authenticity as much as I can, right?
It was my last day in Turkey and there was one thing on my mind: menemen. I really wanted to indulge in a full Turkish breakfast, but I was just so full from eating every two hours that I went with something small and good that is menemen, Turkish scrambled eggs with tomato and peppers.
The sweetness from the pepper, spiciness from the chilies, the creaminess from the eggs… Oh my god. Pure heaven. Some people like to compare menemen to shakshuka but I think that menemen is 10x better. The creaminess of the whole dish is so much better - one of the few ways I will enjoy scrambled eggs moving forward.
Serve this with bread, dried oregano and additional chili flakes for a complete breakfast.
MENEMEN - serves 4 - 6
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 roma tomatoes, diced
1 Hungarian green pepper, diced
1 tsp dried red chili flakes
4 eggs, beaten
salt + pepper
dried oregano and dried red chili flakes, to serve
Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high. Add in the onion and garlic to the pan and saute for a few minutes until it begins to brown. Add in the Hungarian pepper and saute for an additional minute.
Add in the tomatoes and cook until the juices begin to release. Slowly swirl in the eggs and turn off the heat. This is to keep the eggs nice and creamy. Stir until the eggs are mixed in with the vegetable mixer.
Remove from heat and top with dried oregano and chili flakes. Serve with bread.