Menemen (the stove top edition)

With little else than feta and tomatoes in the fridge on a Sunday morning, what is a girl to do?

Make menemen.

This weekend's festivities have left me feeling my age. I do realise that one's mid-twenties does still fall under the 'spring chicken' category, but two nights of boozy social events left me feeling, well, like I was too old to be feeling as badly as I did this morning.

While staring bleakly into the florescent expanse, three sad eggs called out 'menemen'. Feeling the need for a bit of a refresher on method, I turned to Google, and the results were anything but helpful. Search results varied from the truly disgusting to the city of Menemen, Turkey, to the traditional, though vague.

The menemen I had eaten and since dreamed about was always served in metallic bowls, the sucuk (spicy sausage) crispy and bubbling against the slightly browned edges. Clearly, these were finished over a high flame or a broiler. Lacking in any oven-proof pans to speak of, I decided to go at it on the gas hob.

I first combined the following in a bowl:

2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled, smashed & minced
2 medium-sized shallots, peeled & minced
1 Tbs. sumac
Turkish red pepper (pul biber), to taste

I then let this sit while whisking these:

3 eggs
2 tsp. dried parsley
1/4 c. milk
Salt and ground black pepper

I coated the pan in olive oil and threw in the tomaotes.
I let these cook on medium-high heat for a minute or so, enough time for the shallots to soften but careful not to burn the garlic.

Then the eggs went in:









A few gentle nudges with the wooden spoon ensured that the tomato mixture was equally distributed and that the eggs in direct contact with the pan would not burn.


At this point it is best to drop the heat, add the feta, and cover for about 8 minutes. Count on at least one minute per inch of pan diameter. With a bit of toasted bread and a strong coffee, I was feeling myself again.

Traditionally, mild green peppers and/or sucuk are added, but I didn't have any, so there you are! Some non-traditional additions might include goat's cheese, brie, or left over roasted vegetables. This dish will beat a boring omlette or fritata any day.