Turkish eggs recipe: light, refreshing and unbelievably tasty
23/10/2024
Translation: Katherine Martin
Çılbir is a refreshing and incredibly tasty breakfast. Haven’t tried it yet? Here’s an easy recipe you can use to whip up your own plate of Turkish eggs.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an insatiable case of «brunchitis». I just can’t get enough of warm «Butterzopf» bread with jam, scrambled eggs and bacon. Seriously, I could eat breakfast at any time of day. And now, I’ve added yet another dish to my breakfast repertoire.
I had Çılbir (or Turkish eggs) for the first time when I went on holiday to London, and it’s been a must-have at my brunch table ever since. Here’s a simple recipe you can use to make it yourself.
For one portion, you’ll need:
- 1 egg
- a little vinegar (to poach the egg)
- 125 grammes of Greek yogurt
- ½ clove of garlic
- 40 grammes of butter
- 8 grammes of dill
- salt
- chilli flakes
- 2 tsp of olive oil
- bread
Optional:
- pinch of sumac
Method
First off, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Then, melt the butter in a frying pan on a low heat. Add some chilli flakes and a teaspoon of olive oil. Meanwhile, finely chop the dill and mix it in a bowl with the yogurt, pressed garlic, sumac and salt.
Dab two slices of bread with olive oil and warm them in the oven for five minutes until they’re golden brown and crispy.
Now, here comes the fiddly part. Add the vinegar to almost-boiling water to poach the egg. If you poach the egg right, you can breathe a sigh of relief at this point. Then, dip the egg into the yogurt sauce. To finish off, top it with the butter chilli sauce.
Source: Shutterstock
When I dip the crusty bread into the Çılbır, I love how the creamy, dill-infused yogurt makes the dish light and fresh. The melted chilli butter adds a certain spiciness, while the soft egg yolk makes the sauce even creamier. If you ask me, Turkish eggs perfectly combine hearty flavours with zingy ones. It’s a taste sensation you really ought to try.
Header image: Shutterstock
Painting the walls just before handing over the flat? Making your own kimchi? Soldering a broken raclette oven? There's nothing you can't do yourself. Well, perhaps sometimes, but I'll definitely give it a try.