Menemen
A breakfast classic from western Asia
Ingredients
6 eggs
4 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 large tomatoes (ripe)
2 sweet red capsicums
2 sweet green capsicums
1 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (optional)
Method
Peel and dice the onion.
Peel the tomatoes with a very sharp knife and dice them, saving the juice.
Remove the seeds from the peppers and dice them.
Melt the butter in a large pan. Sauté the onion until tender and translucent. When the onions are cooked, add all the diced vegetables and spices and stir to combine.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat. Let the mixture simmer gently until the tomatoes and peppers soften and release their natural juices.
Remove the lid and continue to simmer, letting some of the liquid evaporate.
Lightly salt and beat the eggs in a separate bowl, then pour them in the centre of the pan. Don’t stir the mixture. Let the eggs travel through the vegetables on their own. You can help them by moving the pan around.
Let the mixture continue to simmer until the eggs are cooked. If the tops of the eggs still seem raw, cover the pan for a few minutes. Your ‘menemen’ should be very juicy when fully cooked. You can drizzle melted butter over the top before serving if you wish and dip crusty bread in the buttery juice.
This recipe was also published in the December 2018 edition of Border Crossings, the magazine of LCA International Mission.