Turkish Menemen with Peppers, Tomatoes and Eggs

A bubbling, gloriously messy Turkish breakfast classic — silky scrambled eggs swirled through a vibrant, spiced tomato and pepper sauce. It's chaotic, comforting, and absolutely the kind of thing you want to eat straight from the pan with a big hunk of crusty bread. This version uses goat butter for a gorgeous richness, and we're keeping it traditional with a luscious, custardy egg texture that'll make you want to move to Istanbul.

Recipe details

Yield
4 people
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook time
20 minutes
Total time
30 minutes total

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons goat butter (or sheep butter — both work beautifully)
  • 3 large green Italian frying peppers (or cubanelle peppers), deseeded and diced (long, mild, thin-walled — not bell peppers if you can avoid it)
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, deseeded and diced
  • 1 medium white or yellow onion, finely diced (traditional but optional — some Turkish cooks skip it)
  • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 4 large ripe tomatoes, roughly grated or finely chopped (grating on a box grater gives the best silky texture)
  • 8 large eggs (free-range if you can — the yolks make it)
  • 1 teaspoon Turkish red pepper flakes (pul biber / Aleppo pepper) (or use ½ tsp regular chili flakes for more heat)
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon, plus more to taste salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
  • a generous handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped (for garnish)
  • 60g (about ½ cup) crumbled goat cheese or white sheep feta (optional but highly encouraged — scatter on top to serve)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil (alongside the butter)

Instructions

  1. Deseed and dice 3 large green Italian frying peppers and 1 medium red bell pepper. Finely dice 1 medium onion and thinly slice 2 garlic cloves. Grate 4 large ripe tomatoes on the coarse side of a box grater (hold each tomato cut-side against the grater and press — the skin stays in your hand, the pulp goes into the bowl). Set everything aside.
  2. Place a wide, heavy skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons goat butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil. While the butter melts and foams, keep the heat at medium — you want to sweat, not burn.
  3. Add the diced onion to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4–5 minutes until softened and just turning translucent. While the onion cooks, roughly chop a generous handful of flat-leaf parsley and set it aside for the end.
  4. Add the diced green and red peppers and the sliced garlic to the softened onion. Stir well and cook over medium heat for 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are completely tender and sweet. Don't rush this — soft peppers are the heart of the dish.
  5. Add 1 tsp Turkish red pepper flakes, ½ tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp salt, and ½ tsp black pepper to the pan. Stir and let the spices toast for 30 seconds until fragrant.
  6. Pour in the grated tomatoes. Stir to combine everything, then let the sauce simmer over medium heat for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have reduced slightly and the sauce is thick, glossy, and fragrant. Taste and adjust salt.
  7. Reduce the heat to medium-low — this is the key step for silky menemen. Crack 8 large eggs directly into the pan, spacing them out. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold and swirl the eggs through the tomato sauce in slow, lazy strokes. You're not scrambling aggressively — you're barely disturbing them, letting big, soft, custardy curds form.
  8. Stop cooking while the eggs still look slightly underdone and glossy — they'll finish cooking from residual heat. The total egg cooking time should be about 2–3 minutes. Remove from heat immediately.
  9. Scatter the chopped parsley over the top. If using, crumble 60g goat cheese or sheep feta over the surface. Serve immediately, straight from the pan, with crusty bread for scooping.