Turkish Menemen Recipe: Easy & Homemade
How to make traditional Turkish menemen: tomatoes, green peppers, and eggs cooked together in a pan, with an optional onion. A simple breakfast in one skillet.
Menemen is a Turkish breakfast dish of tomatoes, green peppers, and eggs cooked together in one pan. You soften the peppers and onion in oil, cook down the tomatoes until soft, then stir in whisked eggs and salt until just set.
First prepared by Cretan Turks in Izmir along Turkey’s Aegean coastline, menemen derives its name from the specific district where it was first created. The main ingredients of menemen are simply tomatoes, peppers, and eggs, so it’s little wonder that it has survived from Ottoman times until today. It’s hard to imagine a Turkish breakfast table without menemen, as all love its flavor. Also, due to its high nutritional value and ease of preparation, it is cooked regularly in almost every Turkish home.
Whether the recipe should include onions or not is a source of contention between menemen lovers. Although it is known by most as a breakfast food, it can also serve as an evening meal. With this consideration, many agree that breakfast should be without onions, while dinner recipes include onions. Read more about the funny discussions over menemen recipes here.
Whenever the question ‘What shall I cook today?’ is asked, especially during financially challenging times, menemen always makes a budget-friendly, delicious and nutritious meal.
Why not enjoy a Turkish breakfast at home by giving our menemen recipe a go. Do not forget to brew Turkish tea for your breakfast either. If you would rather eat it out, see where to find the best menemen in Istanbul, or browse the full Turkish recipes collection for more to cook at home.
Menemen recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 small green peppers, diced
- 3 tomatoes, peeled and diced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
Method
- Heat the oil in a pan, and add the diced onion and peppers. Cook until the onion is soft and transparent.
- Add the tomatoes. Cover the pan with a lid and leave until the tomatoes are soft and cooked.
- Break the eggs into a separate bowl and whisk briefly. Add them to the pan with the cooked tomato mix.
- Add the salt and any other spices – if you prefer it spicy add some red pepper flakes.
- Mix the eggs through the tomato and pepper mixture until the eggs are cooked. Serve hot!
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