Menemen (food)

Turkish breakfast with Menemen (left)

Menemen is a Turkish dish which includes egg, onion, tomato and green peppers (paprika), and spices such as ground black pepper, ground red pepper, salt, oregano, and mint). Black or green olives can be included as ingredients. Turkish meat products such as sucuk (a spicy sausage) or pastırma (thinly sliced dried cured beef) can be added, although this strays from the traditional recipe. The eggs are scrambled. It is cooked with butter, although olive oil may also be used. The dish is similar to shakshouka, but the eggs are always scrambled.

Menemen is commonly eaten for breakfast and served with bread.

Preparation

Onions are sauteed with the heated butter or oil, then the green peppers. Once the onions become soft and lighter in color, the tomatoes and olives are added. Tomatoes should become very soft and also change color. Finally the eggs and spices are added, mixed with the other ingredients and cooked. The eggs should be fully cooked but not dry.

In restaurants, menemen is usually cooked and served in single-serving metal pans.