Start to finish: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
1 small red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus lemon wedges to serve
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
6 large eggs
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more to serve
1½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
3 teaspoons ground sumac, divided
4 sheets lavash or 4 rounds pita bread or naan (see note)
¼ cup chopped fresh mint, plus ½ cup lightly packed fresh mint, torn
Flaky salt, to serve (optional)
Yeralma yumurta, which translates simply as potato egg from the Azerbaijani language, is a popular street food in Tabriz, in northwestern Iran. Smashed potatoes and eggs are spread onto flatbread, which is rolled up for easy eating. For our version—inspired by a recipe from Naz Deravian’s new cookbook, “Bottom of the Pot”—we soft-cook the eggs so the yolks stay moist and rich, and perk up the flavors and colors with lemon-pickled red onions, ground sumac and fresh mint. Thin, rectangular sheets of lavash are the best choice for bread, but if it’s not available, use pita bread or naan instead; these types of bread are thicker than lavash and are especially good when warmed before topping.
Don’t steam your eggs for longer than 9 minutes. Soft, barely set yolks add richness and a creamy texture to the dish. If you’d like your yolks very soft and rather runny, steam them for as little as 7 minutes. Don’t mash the potatoes until smooth; leave them chunky so they add toothsome texture.
In a small bowl, stir together the onion, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside. Fill a large saucepan with about 1 inch of water. Place a folding steamer basket in the pan, cover and bring to a boil over medium-high.
Meanwhile, fill a medium bowl with ice water. Add the eggs to the steamer basket, cover and cook for 9 minutes. Immediately transfer the eggs to the ice water and let stand until cooled. Crack and peel the eggs, then cut each one lengthwise into 4 wedges.
While the eggs cook, in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high, heat 2 tablespoons of oil until shimmering. Add the potatoes in an even layer and cook, stirring once halfway through, until well browned, about 5 minutes. Reduce to medium and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until a knife inserted into the largest pieces meets no resistance, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl.
Using a potato masher or fork, roughly mash the potatoes with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, 2 teaspoons of sumac, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon pepper; the mixture should remain quite chunky. Stir in the chopped mint. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Spoon the potato mixture onto the bread, dividing it evenly. Place the egg wedges on top, then scatter over the torn mint and the pickled red onion. Sprinkle with additional kosher salt or flaky salt, if using, and the remaining 1 teaspoon sumac, then drizzle with additional oil.