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.

Istanbul, Part 2

As promised, I have followed up my first Istanbul posting with another Turkish recipe, this time for a fresh tomato salad. I first had this salad at Venge Kebab in the business-y, ever-so-fashionable 4 Levent neighbourhood of Istanbul. Before even arriving into town, my kind friends and hosts announced that we were going to Venge, whether I liked it or not, because, in fact, there was no way I was not going to love it. And they were correct in this assumption.

As you can tell, our table of four did a number on every plate put before us (and this was before grilled meat and dessert!). Never a group to shy away from a selection of mezes put before us, most everything in this photo has been devoured except for the roasted eggplant, crumbled bebris, the kisir (bulgar salad at the bottom/middle). What interests me here most, however, is the remnants of the tomato, walnut, and parsley salad in the middle of the table. It was a kind of fresh tomato version of acili ezme salata (spicy tomato salad). While there are many varieties of ezme salad, the version I had been used to has a paste-like consistency, a rich and intensely flavoured spread of tomato, red pepper, and parsley to be eaten alongside various smaller dishes and grilled meat or seafood in meyhane (think of Turkish tapas; the word literally means 'where alcohol is made'), all washed down with an ice cold Efes.

Venge's version was so good because it let these gorgeous tomatoes speak for themselves, and their flavour was only enhanced by the sumac, pepper, pomegranate molasses, parsley and walnuts. I couldn't wait to get home and try my hand at it. While the tomatoes at my disposal at Marks and Sparks were not anything near to what I had there, I was quite pleased with how it came out, and, actually, after leaving leftovers to macerate overnight, it tasted even better the next day alongside bulgur and lentil soup. I'm dreaming about a repeat attempt come July/August with some heirlooms...

This salad is great paired with grilled meat or fish, or with other small dishes--goat cheese croûtes or couscous, anyone?; it's vegetarian, vegan, actually, come to think of it (someone will certainly correct me if I'm wrong), and gluten-free.

Venge’s Tomato Salad (an adaptation)

4 large or 6 small/medium vine-ripe tomatoes (British Claret worked well), roughly chopped
2 shallots, minced
3 Tbs. pomegranate molasses (see note below)*
4 Tbs. good quality extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. sumac (in a pinch, substitute ½ tsp. fresh lemon juice)
1 tsp. red pepper (pul biber) (substitute chilli flakes)
½ bunch parsley, finely chopped
¼ cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped**
Salt, to taste

** I tested this recipe with pecans as well, and found that those are just as tasty

Mince the shallots and roughly chop the tomatoes. I found that discarding some of the seed membranes gave a less ‘soupy’ result. Place shallots and tomatoes in a medium-sized bowl and add pomegranate molasses, olive oil, sumac, red pepper, and salt. Let the tomatoes and shallots macerate at least 10 minutes. Fold in the parsley; top with walnuts and serve!

* A note on pomegranate molasses:
Pomegranate molasses is commonly used as a kind of salad vinegar in many Middle Eastern countries. It has the consistency of molasses and has a tangy, sweet taste. If you can manage to track some down, it is well worth it! Otherwise, dissolve 1 part sugar in 8 parts pomegranate juice (the oh so trendy PomWonderful would work here) and 2 parts lemon juice in a medium saucepan over moderate heat. Simmer for about an hour, or until it thickens to a molasses-like consistency. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.