A tour of Turkish cuisine culminates in simple egg dish
When thinking about the world’s great cuisines—the ones that have historically influenced food and eating around the globe—there are three that come to mind.
French and Chinese are fairly obvious, but the third is a cuisine that isn’t “hot” right now; in fact, it’s not even on most people’s food radar in spite of being developed through an empire that covered three continents, ruling the world’s spice trade for 600 years. That cuisine is Turkish food.
Last month, I was able to visit Istanbul with the intention of sampling all the foods. I fought cascading waves of meat sweats, steep cobblestone streets, and the flaming Turkish sun to power-eat my way around the city, focusing all of my food-nerd energies on consuming everything from acılı ezme to zeytin piyazi.
I made my way through all the classic, must-try dishes like lahmacun, a crispy flatbread topped with seasoned minced meat, onion, parsley, and lemon juice; döner kebap, slowly cooked meat on a vertical rotisserie, then sliced and put into bread with vegetables, spices, and garlic yogurt; and balık ekmek, one of the best fish sandwiches you’ll ever eat.
Of course, I had to search out the lesser known and more unique foods within the Turkish culinary tradition, such as the shockingly delicious tavukgöğsü or “chicken pudding”, a milk pudding made with shredded chicken breast, cinnamon, and vanilla; or one of the best things I ate in Istanbul—kokoreç.
Kokoreç is made by wrapping suckling lamb intestines around seasoned lamb sweetbreads, hearts, lungs, liver and kidneys, then roasting it, mincing it, and mixing the chopped bits with oregano, sweet peppers, and onion served on a fresh, soft bun. It was a crunchy, chewy, meaty, crazy good sandwich.
But in spite of the Ottoman feast-like variety and quantity of foods I consumed, in spite of the completely new-to-me food pairings from hundreds of years of Ottoman palace cooks, and in spite of having the flavors of the world’s spice trade at my fingertips, the dish I enjoyed the most during my entire stay was menemen, or Turkish scrambled eggs.
This was not some elaborate Ottoman palace chef creation involving platypus eggs, ambergris, and the stomach of a virgin emu. This egg dish is one of the most loved, simplest to cook, and most delicious things you can eat in Turkey. Eaten alone with crusty bread or as part of a Turkish breakfast (kahvalti), menemen will satisfy you to your very core.
Menemen is made with eggs, tomatoes, peppers, garlic, onion, and a touch of chili pepper.
Although it seems like an egg dish, it’s not just about the eggs; it’s about the harmony of all the ingredients so there isn’t one dominant taste—it should just taste like menemen.
There is a vigorous debate in Turkey about whether menemen should have onions. I am firmly pro-onion, but some folks leave them out. If you’re a cheese lover, some recipes (including mine) also add some crumbled feta cheese, because who doesn’t like cheese?
A few slices of toasted, crusty bread are virtually required as an accompaniment to a pan of umami-packed, spicy-sweet, Turkish menemen. It’s simple to make, and one of the greatest things to come out of Turkey (sorry, chicken pudding).
Menemen
- 4 large eggs (the fresher the better)
- 2–3 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped
- 2 green sivri biber (or 2 small, sweet banana peppers) deseeded and finely chopped
- A handful of freshly chopped parsley leaves
- 2 tsp hot chili flakes
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp kekik (fresh oregano)
- ½ tsp dağ kekiği (fresh thyme)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil (light or regular, not extra virgin)
- Add 2 Tbsp olive oil to a frying pan and heat gently.
- Add onion and sauté until it begins to turn translucent.
- Add green pepper and continue to sauté until soft.
- Stir in chopped tomato, spices, herbs, salt, and pepper.
- Simmer over low heat until the tomato is cooked down into a chunky tomato sauce for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Crack eggs into the cooked tomato mixture and scramble until the eggs are cooked and incorporated into the tomato mixture.
- Remove from heat and garnish with parsley.
Serve alone with toasted, crusty bread or as part of a full Turkish breakfast.Note: For a richer flavor, add 2–3 Tbsp of crumbled feta cheese at the same time as the eggs.
Mike McJunkin is a native Chattanoogan who has traveled abroad extensively, trained chefs, and owned and operated restaurants. Join him on Facebook at facebook.com/SushiAndBiscuits