Turkish Eggs (Çılbır)
Around the World in 80 Eggs: day 1
Turkish eggs, aka çılbır (pronounced as chil-bir) should be one for your Sunday brunch plans.
This Turkish classic features some soft poached eggs served with a savoury garlicky yogurt and finished off with a chilli butter.
This recipe only requires a few ingredients and minimal fuss. Perfect for those mornings when you hit snooze one too many times. The most difficult part is arguably the poaching of the eggs. The yogurt base is like a perfect vehicle to transport all the savoury flavours that is the perfect match for the yolky eggs. To mop it all up, I'd suggest they're best served with some toasted sourdough bread.
Despite it being traditionally a breakfast item, they are also ideal for a quick lunch, a protein-packed snack, or even a light dinner.
Ingredients
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 200g natural Greek yogurt, room temperature
- 50g unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp Aleppo pepper flakes
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Salt to taste
- Fresh dill or mint for garnishing
Pair it with
Instructions
- Poach the eggs: Fill a saucepan with 3/4 full of water and bring it to a simmer. Crack each egg into a small bowl. Once the water is simmering gently, gently swirl the water with a spoon to create a vortex. Carefully slide each egg into the centre of the vortex in the pan.
Poach the eggs for 3-4 minutes, or until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and set onto some kitchen towel to remove any excess water. You might want to poach the eggs in batches until all eggs are poached. - Make the chilli butter: In a small frying pan, melt the butter on a low heat and once melted add in the pepper flakes. Stir to combine and remove from heat to set aside.
- Make the yogurt Sauce: In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, minced garlic, and salt. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
- Assemble and serve: Spoon the yogurt between two serving plates and two poached egg on top of each sauce bed. Drizzle the chilli butter and garnish with fresh dill and/or mint before serving immediately with a side of toasted sourdough bread.
Tips:
- Cold eggs will take longer to cook and may result in harder yolks so opt for room-temperature eggs if possible.
- To help the egg whites hold its shape, you may want to add a splash of white vinegar into the poaching water.
- Leftover yogurt sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- Toasted pita bread is also a great alternative to sourdough bread.
Video demonstration
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