• Turkish breakfast: Menenmen

I am always on the look out for a different way to cook eggs for breakfast.  I love eggs poached in tomato, eggs concotte (when I am relaxed enough to wait for them to slow cook) and of course the staple poached eggs.  So when my friend offered to have me over for brunch to taste Menemen before I went away, I thought it would be an opportunity to try something new.

Menemen is a traditional Turkish dish with eggs, tomatoes and onions.  You can also add capsicum and other vegetables if you prefer.

Ingredients
3 tomatoes
3 small brown onions
3 garlic cloves
5 eggs
3 small red chillies
Olive oil for cooking


Method
To peel the tomatoes, place them whole in a large bowl.  Add boiled water and allow to sit until you can see the skin pulling away (this should only take a minute or so).  Remove the tomatoes from the hot water and let them sit until they are cool enough to peel.  You should easily be able to pull away the skin with your fingers.  Once peeled, chop the tomatoes.

Cut the chillies into fine slices.  Peel and chop the onions and garlic and place into a frying pan with some olive oil.  Cook the onions and garlic on a medium heat until the onion start to become transparent and fragrant.  Add the chopped tomatoes and chilies and stir until all the ingredients are cooked.


Crack in the eggs one at a time.  Leave the eggs whole to cook without scrambling them or mixing the yolk.  Then the egg whites are no longer clear, the dish is ready.


We enjoyed this dish with toast, cheese, cucumber, olives and, of course, tea on the side.