The argument about menemen is always over the same two points: does onion go in, and are the eggs stirred. This version has no onion and the eggs barely stirred, so nothing gets in front of the taste of the tomatoes, and the eggs are cooked enough not to run but not dried out.
Ingredients
For the menemen
Method
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Cook the peppers
Heat the butter and olive oil in a pan. Cook the peppers over a medium heat for 4–5 minutes, turning, until the edges darken slightly.
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Add the tomato
Add the grated tomato. Cook for 4–5 minutes, until it has released its liquid and taken it back up; there should be no pool left in the pan.
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Season
Add the salt and black pepper. Salting after the tomato has reduced keeps the vegetables from releasing more liquid.
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Crack in the eggs
Turn the heat down and crack the eggs straight into the pan. Without breaking up the yolks, stir roughly 3 or 4 times with a spatula.
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Off the heat
Turn the heat off once the whites have set, while the middle still looks slightly wet. The heat of the pan finishes the cooking.
Tips
- If peeling the tomatoes feels like too much work, grate them instead: the skin stays in your hand and never reaches the pan.
- Stir the eggs right through and it becomes an omelette; do not stir them at all and it becomes fried eggs. Menemen sits between the two, and 3 or 4 movements is enough.
- If the tomatoes are tasteless in winter, cook 1 dessert spoon of tomato paste with the peppers.
Nutrition
Values are per serving and approximate.