Eggs with Ground Meat and Parsley
Palace Eggs with (Almost) Caramelized Onions
Poached Eggs with Yogurt and Garlic Sauce (Çılbır)
Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes and Green Peppers (Menemen)
Daffodil-Like Egg Salad (Nergisleme)
In the Ottoman era, the smell of eggs was considered so disagreeable that only the white of the egg was used to make noodles. There were, however, dishes such as eggs with caramelized onions, egg-laced pilaf, and boiled eggs and rice, which were served for lunch or dinner. There were even Ottoman egg dishes similar to omelettes; the word omelette, however, only began to be used in the nineteenth century due to French influences. Interestingly, the head of the palace pantry was selected according to the quality of the eggs with caramelized onions that he prepared for the sultan. This dish was served at the iftar dinner for the sultan during Ramadan and therefore was very important.
To this day, Turkish cooks don’t fancy the smell of eggs on their own, but they do like to add vegetables, meat, and other ingredients to eggs to make egg-based dishes. Some, like meneman (similar to scrambled eggs), eggs fried with onions and ground meat, eggs with spinach, and çılbır (poached eggs with garlic yogurt sauce), are eaten at any time of day. Others are exclusively served for breakfast.
A food experience no Turk wants to miss, breakfast is actually quite a recent innovation in Turkish cuisine. Egg dishes are very popular at the breakfast table, including fried eggs with sucuk (spicy sausage) or pastırma (air-dried spicy beef). Eggs are not part of the breakfast table spread; instead they are prepared after everyone is seated around the table so they can be eaten fresh and hot.
Eggs with Ground Meat and Parsley
THIS IS a great dish: It is hearty and very satisfying. Usually, in all regions, ground meat alone is used. The addition of parsley makes a sophisticated dish out of what would otherwise be an everyday one. The preparation for this recipe is almost exactly like Palace Eggs with (Almost) Caramelized Onions (this page, and pictured with this dish on this page), except this recipe uses sautéed meat instead of onions. Onions may be added to the meat: Dice them, sauté in a separate pan in a little oil, and add to the thoroughly cooked meat.
10 ounces (280 g) mixed ground beef, veal, and lamb
2 packed cups (40 g) minced fresh parsley
In a large frying pan, cook the meat in the butter over medium heat, breaking it up with a spatula, until it is cooked through. When the meat is just beginning to release its aroma and the ground meat pieces turn golden, add the parsley along with a sprinkle of 1 tablespoon hot water to help wilt the parsley. Season with salt and pepper and cook over low heat for 1 minute, taking care to fold the ingredients together to ensure even cooking. Make six indentations in the meat and parsley mixture (no need to change pans) and break the eggs into these “cups.” To help ensure that the yolks cook as quickly as the whites of the eggs, drizzle the egg yolks with a few drops of hot water and cook for 2 minutes more (timing may be adjusted depending on how you like the eggs, but this dish is best when the yolks are still soft and somewhat runny). Serve immediately with a good sprinkle of pepper, or pass the pepper at the table (in Turkey, everyone usually seasons their own eggs).
CLOCKWISE FROM LOWER LEFT: EGGS WITH GROUND MEAT AND PARSLEY (THIS PAGE); PALACE EGGS WITH (ALMOST) CARAMELIZED ONIONS (ABOVE).
Palace Eggs with (Almost) Caramelized Onions
THE NAME of this dish is not simply a whimsical invention of my own. In the Ottoman palace, the cook who held the position of head of the pantry (kilerji başı) was determined by the quality of one dish—eggs and onions—served to the sultan. The head supervised the pantry department, the third most important department in the royal palace. (This department was eliminated in the nineteenth century by Sultan Abdülmecid when he moved the palace from the older Topkapi complex to the newly constructed Dolmabahçe Palace.) Although this dish may appear to be quite simple, like all simple dishes it requires the utmost experience and attention. In presenting this dish, I am also commemorating our invaluable researcher Zarif Ongun, who provided us with this recipe.
6 medium onions, halved lengthwise and sliced into crescents
1 teaspoon white vinegar, preferably homemade (this page), mixed with 1 tablespoon water
1¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon, cassia (see this page), or black pepper
Snipped chives, for serving (optional)
Put the onions in a large frying pan with the butter and oil. Sprinkle with salt to taste and sauté over medium-low heat until the onions are translucent and just beginning to caramelize, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. (The onions must not burn, but they must be soft and barely browned. You may need to add a spoonful of water now and then to achieve this.) Use a slotted spoon to transfer the onions to a tin-lined copper frying pan, if you have one. Sprinkle the onions with the sugar, vinegar, and pepper, and then use the back of the spoon to spread the mixture across the pan. With the spoon, make six indentations in the mixture in which to cook the eggs. Break the eggs into these “cups” and place the pan over medium heat. To ensure that the yolks cook as quickly as the whites, add ½ teaspoon hot water to each yolk. Reduce the heat to low and cook for another 1½ minutes. Remove from the heat and let the eggs sit, covered, for 2 minutes. (This will help ensure that the egg yolks are not too runny.) Uncover, sprinkle with the spice of your choice and snipped chives (if using), and serve immediately.
Poached Eggs with Yogurt and Garlic Sauce (Çılbır)
FEW TURKS know the interesting provenance of the rather strange name of this dish. Çılbır is an obsolete Turkish word meaning “tether and the rope connected to it.” Perhaps the connection between the yolk of the egg to the egg white, a quite difficult one to break, was the inspiration for this name. Çılbır is often made when a quick meal has to be whipped up at the last minute (still, it is a dish people fall in love with). In some parts of the country, yogurt is the topping; in other parts it is the base. Some old recipes omit yogurt altogether and substitute onions lightly browned in butter. Be sure that the yogurt-garlic sauce is at room temperature; cold yogurt will cool the eggs and harden the butter.
1 pound (455 g) plain Greek yogurt, at room temperature
3 large cloves garlic, crushed with a mortar and pestle
3 to 4 tablespoons (42 to 55 g) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon mild red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons white vinegar, preferably homemade (this page)
Heat the butter in a frying pan until sizzling, then add the red pepper flakes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Bring plenty of water to a boil in a deep frying pan, add the vinegar, and reduce to a simmer. Break the eggs one by one into a saucer and carefully slide each egg into the water without breaking the yolk; cook for 3 minutes (or longer if you like hard-poached eggs). With a slotted spoon, carefully transfer the eggs to individual plates. Top the eggs with the yogurt-garlic sauce and the hot butter with pepper flakes (you might need to give the butter another 30 seconds on the burner to heat through). Serve.
THIS IS A very simple dish to prepare at home (and the ingredients are all balanced for good nutrition). But somehow the best eggs and spinach are always found in the esnaf lokantası (the traditional restaurants where you can view all the dishes before making your selection). This is served directly from the pan, so prepare it in a “stove to table” dish.
2 pounds (910 g) spinach leaves, washed, dried, and finely minced
Sauté the onions in the butter and olive oil over medium heat until they turn golden. Add the spinach, salt to taste, and the parsley. Slowly fry until the spinach softens. (If the spinach is too dry, sprinkle with water to help soften it. Lowering the heat also helps because spinach will give off water during cooking.) Cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until the liquid is evaporated. (Raise the heat if there is still a lot of water and the spinach is cooked.) Make six indentations in the spinach and break the eggs into these “cups.” Continue cooking over low heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Spoon some of the spinach mixture over the egg whites to help cook them. Cover and cook for 5 minutes more. Top with black pepper or pass the pepper mill. Serve immediately.
Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes and Green Peppers (Menemen)
MENEMEN IS a popular breakfast dish that can be eaten any time of the day. While some add onions, I prefer not to. I find that without them, the dish is lighter and better as a breakfast choice. My mother always told me to keep the eggs whole, but I like to scramble them. Either way is fine.
2 long green peppers (I like to combine one mild and one medium hot)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley (optional)
In a frying pan, sauté the peppers in the butter or oil until almost soft. Add the tomatoes and salt to taste and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. (Do not cook the tomatoes so much that they stick to the bottom of the pan.) Break the eggs one by one into the pan and cook, slowly stirring. (Generally, 3 to 4 minutes is enough time for the eggs to be thoroughly cooked but not dried out.) Top with pepper to taste and the parsley, if using, and serve.
Daffodil-Like Egg Salad (Nergisleme)
THE INTERESTING name of this regional egg salad first caught my attention, and then the taste did. When placed on green herbs, cut up hard-boiled eggs certainly look like daffodil flowers. This dish reminds me of the Caliphate era’s Arab tradition of using yellow and white to enhance presentation. Some medieval Arab recipes suggest decorating dishes with egg slices to achieve this. This is a favorite picnic food in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır, where olive oil is not added. It is just as tasty to the Turkish palate without the oil.
Hard-boiled large eggs (as many as desired; see Note), cooled, peeled, and diced
1 or 2 fresh or dried hot red peppers, chopped
Toss together the eggs with enough green onions and parsley to equal the volume of the eggs, then add the peppers, season with sumac, sprinkle with dill (if using), and drizzle with just enough oil, if using, to coat the eggs. Serve at room temperature.
Note: Do not boil the eggs for more than 9 minutes; otherwise, the yolks will have a black ring.
