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Türkiye · Breakfast
Turkish Menemen
Local name: Menemen
A classic Turkish breakfast of tomatoes, green peppers and softly scrambled eggs cooked in olive oil.
- Servings4
- Prep15 min
- Cooking24 min
- Total time39 min
- DifficultyEasy
🌱 VegetarianContains glutenContains dairyContains egg
About this dish
Menemen is a Turkish egg dish made with tomatoes, green peppers and eggs, named after the town of Menemen in İzmir Province. It is eaten mostly for breakfast with fresh bread, and often served in the same pan it was cooked in.
Onions are famously debated in Turkey: for breakfast many cooks leave them out, while they appear more often when menemen is served as a main dish. This recipe is the classic breakfast version without onion, with tomatoes cooked down until soft and eggs left tender and slightly runny.
Ingredients
Tick the ingredients off like a shopping list.
Menemen
To serve
Method
Remove the stems and seeds from the peppers and chop them finely.
Score the tomatoes with a cross, soak them in hot water for 1 minute, peel, and dice finely.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a wide pan (ideally a sahan) over medium heat.
Add the peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft.
Add the tomatoes and cook until the liquid evaporates and you have a thick, soft sauce.
Stir in the salt, black pepper and pepper flakes, and taste.
Crack the eggs straight into the pan, lower the heat and stir very gently with a wooden spoon; the eggs should stay slightly runny.
If using, sprinkle the cheese on top and let it warm through briefly.
Remove from the heat and serve hot in the pan with fresh bread.
💡 Tips
- Do not add the eggs until the tomatoes are really soft, or the menemen will turn watery.
- Take the pan off the heat while the eggs are still a little runny; they keep cooking in the hot pan.
- Stir the eggs only lightly so you still see streaks of yolk and white.
- Bring the pan to the table and scoop it up with pieces of bread.
🛒 Can't find it abroad?
- Long green peppers — Use green bell pepper, adding a little fresh green chili if you like heat.
- Fresh tomatoes — Out of season, use 400 g canned diced tomatoes and cook until the liquid has reduced.
- Aleppo pepper — Use mild red pepper flakes or a small amount of sweet paprika.
This recipe was prepared with the help of AI, following the traditional home-style method; quantities, times and steps were checked automatically for consistency. Ovens and stoves differ, so check doneness by eye.
