About this dish
Turkey's definitive breakfast dish — eggs scrambled directly in a pan of spiced tomatoes, peppers and onions cooked in olive oil. The debate over whether to add onion divides Turkey. Served in the pan it was cooked in with crusty bread for dipping. Simple, perfect, non-negotiable.
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Ingredients
🫒Olive oil, 3 tablespoons
🧅White onion, 1 medium, finely diced
🫑Green Turkish or Italian frying peppers, 2, deseeded and roughly chopped
🍅Ripe tomatoes, 3 large, grated on a box grater (skin discarded)
🌶️Red chilli flakes (pul biber), 1 teaspoon
🧂Salt, 1 teaspoon, plus more to taste
🫙Cumin, half a teaspoon
🥚Eggs, 3 large
🌿Fresh flat-leaf parsley, a small handful, roughly chopped
Method
Serves 21
Heat the olive oil in a small cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook gently for 6–8 minutes, stirring often, until soft and translucent but not browned.2
Add the chopped peppers and cook for another 4–5 minutes until they soften and start to smell sweet. Stir in the chilli flakes and cumin and cook for one more minute so the spices bloom in the oil.3
Pour in the grated tomatoes, season with the teaspoon of salt, and stir everything together. Let the mixture simmer on medium-low heat for 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have thickened into a rich, jammy sauce.4
Make small wells in the sauce with a spoon and crack the eggs directly into the pan. Season the eggs lightly with salt.5
Using a wooden spoon or spatula, gently fold the eggs into the tomato mixture with slow, sweeping strokes — you want large, soft, custardy curds running through the sauce. Pull the pan off the heat while the eggs still look slightly underdone, as they will continue cooking from the residual heat.6
Scatter the chopped parsley over the top and bring the pan straight to the table. Serve immediately with thick slices of crusty white bread for tearing and dipping.User Reviews
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