Menemen is a traditional Turkish breakfast dish with eggs, peppers and tomatoes. What sets this dish apart from any other scrambled egg is the taste of fresh tomatoes and pepper. Menemen is served with bread (I prefer toasted) to dip in to all the juices and can be enjoyed directly from the pan, family style.

Turkish people take breakfast very seriously. Having a breakfast spread in Turkey is in itself a multi-hour activity. Some common things to have on the table are olives, various cheeses, honey and jams, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, bread and some kind of eggs like menemen. And of course let’s not forget the tea. Turkish breakfast is really a good reason to get your butt up in the morning and start the day.

Menemen is my dad’s favorite breakfast dish, and it is probably one of the only things he knows how to make really well. If I smelled the frying peppers in the morning, I knew my dad was making menemen. There are two key things in making great menemen: never skip the peppers and peel your tomatoes. I personally like having a little bit of heat so that’s why I chose anaheim peppers but feel free to try other sweeter green peppers if you’d like.

Yields: 2 servings Time: 20 minutes

Pair it with: Freshly toasted bread and black tea.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 anaheim pepper (or 5-6 shishito peppers), diced

3 tomatoes, peeled and diced

4 eggs (3 eggs if you prefer a less eggy end result)

Salt to taste

Red pepper flakes to taste

Slices of toasted bread (for serving)

Preparation

1. Peel the tomatoes. Then, dice all the tomatoes and the green pepper.

2. In a frying pan over medium-high heat, cook the peppers in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.

3. Reduce the heat, add tomatoes and salt to taste, close the lid and cook, stirring occasionally for 10 to 12 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and they released all of their juices. Do not overcook the tomatoes, we want the tomatoes to stay juicy.

4. Add in the eggs, fold them gently into the tomato mixture. Be careful not to stir too much. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the egg whites are barely opaque. Remove the pan from heat, the eggs will continue to cook with the heat of the pan.

5. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and serve with toasted bread, Enjoy directly from the pan, family style.