![]() Turkish breakfast with menemen (left) | |
Course | Breakfast |
---|---|
Place of origin | Turkey |
Region or state | Menemen, İzmir Province [1] [2] |
Main ingredients | Eggs, tomato, green peppers, and spices such as ground black and red pepper, salt and oregano, onion, garlic, chili powder |
~120 kcal | |
Similar dishes | Shakshouka |
Menemen is a popular traditional Turkish dish [3] that includes eggs, tomato, green peppers, and spices such as ground black and red pepper cooked in olive oil.
Menemen may be made with onions, but the addition of onions is often debated and is more common when menemen is eaten as a main dish, rather than at breakfast. The dish is similar to Egyptian dish shakshouka also found in other Arab countries.
Menemen is commonly eaten for breakfast and served with bread. [4] Its name originates from a small town in Izmir Province. [5]
This dish is also similar to Hungarian Lecsó and Serbo-Croat Sataraš which might have descended from Menemen during the Ottoman imperial period.
The tomatoes are typically finely diced or may be grated. Grated and diced tomatoes can also be mixed together, depending on the cook's preferred texture. If onions are being used, they may be added to the pan with the green chili peppers and sautéed with heated butter or oil. Aleppo pepper may be added. [6] The addition of onions is often debated and is more common when menemen is not eaten at breakfast but as a main dish. [7] Some Turkish cooks like Saniye Anne insist that a proper menemen cannot be made without onions. [8] In 2018, Turkish food critic Vedat Milor launched a Twitter poll to resolve the discussion about onion within menemen. The poll became widely popular, with 437,657 people voting. The vote proved inconclusive, as the onion faction only had a narrow victory, with 51% of the vote. [9]
Sucuk , a dried salami-like sausage, can be added to the pan after the peppers have softened. [10] This adds some flavor to the oil; the sucuk can be removed from the pan before the tomatoes are added to avoid overcooking, but this is not necessary. The tomatoes become very soft and the mix not be too watery when the eggs are added. The eggs may be beaten together with salt, pepper and any desired fresh herbs or added directly to the pan. [11] If pastırma is being used, it is added to the pan with the eggs. [12] Kaşar cheese or white cheese may optionally be added on top of the eggs just before they finish cooking, along with a garnish of fresh herbs or scallions. [10] It is usually served in the pan in which it is cooked, a double-handled cooking pan known as sahan , together with fresh bread. [13]
Some variations may include mushrooms or minced lamb. [14] [15] Different spices may be added according to taste including cumin, paprika, mint, and thyme. [16]
Turkish cuisine is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, Seljuk cuisine and the Turkish diaspora. Turkish cuisine with traditional Turkic elements such as yogurt, ayran, kaymak, exerts and gains influences to and from Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Eastern European cuisines.
Scrambled eggs is a dish made from eggs, where the whites and yolks have been stirred, whipped, or beaten together, then heated so that the proteins denature and coagulate, and they form into "curds".
Moussaka is an eggplant (aubergine)- or potato-based dish, often including ground meat, which is common in the Balkans and the Middle East, with many local and regional variations.
A cabbage roll is a dish consisting of cooked cabbage leaves wrapped around a variety of fillings. It is common to the cuisines of Central, Northern, Eastern and Southeastern Europe and much of Western Asia, Northern China, as well as parts of North Africa. Meat fillings are traditional in Europe, and include beef, lamb, or pork seasoned with garlic, onion, and spices. Grains such as rice and barley, mushrooms, and vegetables are often included as well. Fermented cabbage leaves are used for wrapping, particularly in southeastern Europe. In Asia, seafoods, tofu, and shiitake mushrooms may also be used. Chinese cabbage is often used as a wrapping.
Sujuk or sucuk (/suːˈd͡ʒʊk/) is a dry, spicy and fermented sausage which is consumed in several Turkish, Balkan, Middle Eastern and Central Asian cuisines. Sujuk mainly consists of ground meat and animal fat usually obtained from beef or lamb, but beef is mainly used in Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
Czech cuisine has both influenced and been influenced by the cuisines of surrounding countries and nations. Many of the cakes and pastries that are popular in Central Europe originated within the Czech lands. Contemporary Czech cuisine is more meat-based than in previous periods; the current abundance of farmable meat has enriched its presence in regional cuisine. Traditionally, meat has been reserved for once-weekly consumption, typically on weekends.
Sarma is a traditional food in Ottoman cuisine – nowadays, Turkish, Greek, Levantine, Arabic, Armenian, etc. – made of vegetable leaves rolled around a filling of minced meat, grains such as rice, or both. It is commonly marketed in the English-speaking world as stuffed grape leaves, stuffed vine leaves, or stuffed cabbage leaves. The vegetable leaves may be cabbage, patience dock, collard, grapevine, kale or chard leaves. Sarma is part of the broader category of stuffed dishes known as dolma, and has equivalents in Eastern European cuisines from the northern Baltic through Romania.
Shakshouka, also spelled shakshuka or chakchouka, is a Maghrebi dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion, and garlic, commonly spiced with cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper. Shakshouka is a popular dish throughout North Africa and the Middle East.
Stuffed peppers is a dish common in many cuisines. It consists of hollowed or halved bell peppers filled with any of a variety of fillings, often including meat, vegetables, cheese, rice, or sauce. The dish is usually assembled by filling the cavities of the peppers and then cooking.
Israeli cuisine primarily comprises dishes brought from the Jewish diaspora, and has more recently been defined by the development of a notable fusion cuisine characterized by the mixing of Jewish cuisine and Arab cuisine. It also blends together the culinary traditions of the various diaspora groups, namely those of Middle Eastern Jews with roots in Southwest Asia and North Africa, Sephardi Jews from Iberia, and Ashkenazi Jews from Central and Eastern Europe.
Kesme or erişte is a type of egg noodle found in various Central Asian countries. It is also found in Turkish cuisine and is called erişte and “kesme” in modern standard Turkish. The word itself is a nominalisation of the verb to cut or to slice, referring to the slicing of the dough involved in preparing the noodles. The term may refer to the noodles themselves, or the prepared dish made with them. Kesme is traditionally a homemade dish, and not often found at restaurants or cafés. In Turkey, kesme is also known as "erişte", and eaten generally in winter. It is made from flour, egg, water, salt and milk. These ingredients are worked into a dough, which is rolled out, cut, and dried in the sun or an oven after dried for a day.
Smyrna meatballs, known as soutzoukakia Smyrneika or İzmir köfte (Turkish), is a Greek and Turkish dish of spicy oblong meatballs with cumin and garlic served in tomato sauce. This dish was brought to Greece by refugees from Asia Minor.
A meatball is ground meat (mince) rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are many types of meatballs using different types of meats and spices. The term is sometimes extended to meatless versions based on legumes, vegetables, mushrooms, fish or other seafood.
Şakşuka is a Turkish side dish or meze made of vegetables cooked in olive oil. The particular vegetable may vary from region to region, but eggplant is a common choice. In Balıkesir şakşuka is made with green tomatoes. The dish sometimes includes potato and peppers as well.
Soğan kebabı is a Turkish kebab dish made with ground lamb kofte baked inside sliced onions, peppers and pomegranate sauce.
Kuzu haşlama is a Turkish dish of bone-in lamb that is boiled with vegetables like onions, potatoes and carrots. Some variations include zucchini, celery root, or chickpeas.
Saniye Anne Yemekleri is the YouTube channel of Saniye Karataş, which has over 570,000 subscribers. The videos for her channel are filmed by her son Süleyman Karataş. Karataş, who lives in İzmir, Turkey, turned 77 in 2018. She insists that a proper menemen is made with onions.
Kuzu şiş is a Turkish lamb kebab made with the thigh of the lamb, and served with onion and tomato garnishes.
Şevketibostan yemeği is a dish cooked and consumed in Aegean region of Turkiye. Ingredients include Şevketibostan, lamb chunks, onion, juice of half a lemon, flour, butter, and salt.