Menemen is the Turkish breakfast dish that combines eggs with tomatoes and green peppers.
To prepare menemen, cooks soften peppers and tomatoes in oil before adding beaten eggs. The mixture is gently stirred until the eggs set, producing a soft, spoonable dish usually served in the pan. Salt, black pepper, and sometimes chili pepper are common seasonings.
Menemen is named after the town of Menemen in İzmir Province, although its exact culinary history is discussed in Turkish food writing. It is commonly eaten with bread, which is used to scoop up the eggs and tomato mixture.
Onions are a point of regional and personal preference. Some cooks include them, while others argue that a traditional menemen should omit them. That variation does not change the dish’s defining combination of eggs, tomatoes, and peppers. Menemen is different from shakshuka, although both are egg dishes cooked with tomatoes and vegetables.