Menemen
A crowd-pleasing Turkish breakfast built around canned chopped tomatoes and flat-leaf parsley — roughly 60 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. Below: the ingredients split into pantry staples and a quick shopping list, a built-in serving scaler, and the method in 6 steps.
You'll mainly reach for frying pan / skillet and pan. At medium difficulty across 6 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, it's meat-free.
What you'll need
Shopping list (2)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
🔁 Unit converter
How to make it
- Warm the olive oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat, add the finely chopped onion and sliced green peppers, and cook for about 6 minutes until soft and beginning to colour.
- Stir in the tomato paste, paprika and red pepper flakes and fry for 1 minute until fragrant, then add the canned tomatoes and a pinch of salt.
- Simmer the tomato mixture for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it thickens and most of the liquid has cooked off.
- Lightly beat the eggs with a little salt and pepper, then pour them over the tomato base and let them sit for a few seconds before gently stirring.
- Cook over low heat, folding slowly, for about 3 minutes until the eggs are just set into soft creamy curds but still glossy and not dry.
- Scatter over the chopped parsley and serve straight from the pan with plenty of crusty bread.
You'll use: Frying pan / skillet · Pan · Saucepan
Ingredient substitutions
- Eggs
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce (baking) · 1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water per egg
What to serve with Menemen
- Corba Side
- Kumpir Side
- Turkish rice (vermicelli rice) Miscellaneous
- Imam bayildi with BBQ lamb & tzatziki Lamb
Tips & common questions
How long does Menemen take to make?
About 60 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 6 steps and 10 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of eggs?
Try ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce (baking). See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Menemen vegetarian?
Its ingredients contain no meat or fish, so it's suitable for vegetarians. Check any cheeses for animal rennet if that matters to you.
Related recipes
Menemen is an original Turkish recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Menemen, İzmir, Turkey.jpg by Ahmet Gürsakal, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top — how we source recipes.