Soft eggs folded through tomato, green pepper and olive oil, served bubbling in the pan. Here is what menemen is, the great onion debate, and where to eat it in Darlinghurst.
Ask anyone who grew up in Turkey what a weekend morning tastes like, and there is a good chance the answer is menemen. It arrives at the table still bubbling in its pan, a soft tangle of eggs, tomato and green pepper glossed with olive oil, and it is eaten slowly, with bread, with tea, and with no particular hurry. It is comfort food in the truest sense.
It is also one of the easiest Turkish dishes to fall for, because there is nothing intimidating about it. If you like eggs and you like tomato, you already like menemen. You just do not know it yet.
So what actually is menemen?
Menemen is a Turkish egg dish built on a simple base: ripe tomatoes and long green peppers softened gently in olive oil, with eggs stirred through at the end until just set. The result sits somewhere between scrambled eggs and a light stew, soft and a little saucy rather than dry. It is seasoned modestly, usually just salt and sometimes a pinch of chilli, because the whole point is to taste the vegetables and the eggs, not a cupboard of spices.
The name is thought to come from the town of Menemen near Izmir on Turkey's Aegean coast, a region known for its tomatoes and peppers. Whatever its exact origin, it long ago became a breakfast fixture in every corner of the country.
Menemen is not shakshuka
Menemen gets confused with shakshuka constantly, and the two are genuinely related, but they are not the same dish. The clearest difference is the eggs. In shakshuka the eggs are cracked in whole and poached in the sauce, so you get distinct yolks. In menemen the eggs are stirred through until soft and creamy, folded into the tomato rather than sitting on top of it.
The seasoning differs too. Shakshuka, which has North African and Levantine roots, leans on cumin and paprika. Menemen keeps it quiet, letting the sweetness of the tomato and the grassy bite of the green pepper carry the plate. One is bold and spiced, the other is gentle and clean.
The onion question
No conversation about menemen lasts long before someone brings up onions, because this is the single most argued point in Turkish breakfast cooking. One camp insists menemen must never contain onion, that it dilutes the pure tomato and pepper flavour the dish is built on. The other camp adds finely diced onion at the start and considers it essential.
Neither side is going to win. Both versions are made in homes and cafes across Turkey every day. If you are ordering menemen for the first time, it is worth knowing the debate exists, if only to appreciate how seriously Turks take a plate of eggs.
How it is made properly
Good menemen is a lesson in patience. The tomatoes and peppers are cooked down slowly so their water reduces and their sweetness concentrates. Rushing this step gives you watery eggs. Only when the base is soft and jammy do the eggs go in, and they are stirred gently over low heat so they stay silky rather than turning rubbery.
The classic building blocks are few:
- Ripe tomatoes, peeled and softened
- Long green peppers (sivri biber), for a mild grassy bite
- Good olive oil, generously
- Eggs, stirred in at the end and taken off the heat while still soft
- Salt, and a pinch of chilli or pul biber if you like a little heat
It is then carried straight to the table in the pan, so it keeps cooking gently in front of you and stays hot to the last scoop.
How to eat it like a local
Menemen is a sharing dish as much as a solo one. Put the pan in the middle, hand everyone a fork and a lot of bread, and go in together. It is not eaten neatly. The bread is your spoon, and mopping the last of the tomato and oil from the pan is the best part.
What to drink with it
Turkish tea, without question. A tulip glass of çay cuts through the richness of the eggs and oil and resets the palate between mouthfuls. It is the pairing menemen was made for, and it is how it is served across Turkey.
Where to try menemen in Sydney
At Cappadocia Cafe on Stanley Street in Darlinghurst we make menemen the traditional way, cooking the tomato and pepper down slowly in olive oil and folding the eggs through until just soft. It comes to the table in the pan, with bread for scooping and a glass of Turkish tea alongside.
It sits on our breakfast menu next to the full Turkish breakfast board and our other egg dishes, so whether you want the whole spread or just one very good pan of eggs, we have you covered.
Come and scoop it straight from the pan. We are on Stanley Street, Darlinghurst, open for breakfast through dinner.
Or order online for delivery:
