menemen — Menemen, Turkey

Menemen is an egg dish built on green peppers and tomatoes cooked down in olive oil until soft, into which eggs are stirred so they set in loose, creamy curds rather than a firm omelette. It sits close to a number of other regional egg-and-vegetable dishes but is generally recognised by its own name and its specific pairing of pepper, tomato and soft-set egg. It is reported from the town of Menemen, in Turkey, and beyond that from Turkish home cooking more broadly, where it is most often eaten at breakfast, though it can also appear later in the day as a quick, light meal, typically shared straight from a single pan at the table. To prepare it, chopped green peppers, and often onion, are softened in olive oil, then tomatoes are added and cooked down until they release their juices and thicken slightly. Beaten or whole eggs are poured in and stirred gently over low heat so the curds stay soft and slightly runny rather than setting hard, a point cooks watch closely since a few extra seconds on the heat can turn the eggs firm. What marks a given plate is largely a matter of degree: how much chilli or paprika is added, whether the eggs are beaten first or broken directly into the pan and left in looser curds, and whether a little cheese or spicy sausage is folded in — the dish is usually brought to the table still in the pan, with plenty of bread for scooping it up rather than being plated individually.