Turkish-style eggs with tomato and paprika sauce

Today I propose a recipe with eggs that I find delicious; a dish inspired by Turkish cuisine that is a wonderful display of flavors and aromas, with very interesting contrasts. For me, the egg is an essential ingredient and I love it cooked in every imaginable way, but I assure you that this version of çilbir or Turkish-style eggs with tomato and paprika sauce has come into my life to stay.

The çilbir is a traditional Turkish dish served for breakfast, made with poached eggs that are placed on a bed of thick yogurt and seasoned with melted butter flavored with spices. The dish is served with slices of freshly baked bread, perfect for the wonderful "sop-up" that comes from this combination.

If it's already delightful as-is, served with a cherry tomato sauce (or any other variety of sweet tomato) and a few pear cherry tomatoes sautéed in paprika butter, the dish is sublime. The trickiest part of the recipe might be poaching the eggs so they come out perfectly, but with the Stainless steel Sauté Pan with egg-poaching insert by Le Creuset preparing perfect poached eggs takes very little time and, besides, you can achieve the result you want on each occasion.

If you feel like having a divine breakfast, here is the recipe for Turkish-style eggs with tomato and paprika sauce. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3 garlic cloves finely chopped or pressed
• 30 ml olive oil
• 5 g smoked paprika
• 50 g butter
• 200 g fresh pear cherry tomatoes
• 800 g grated or crushed cherry tomato (or pear or sweet-flavored tomato)
• 100-150 ml water*
• 4 large free-range eggs
• 15 ml sherry vinegar
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve:

• Thick natural yogurt
• Fresh watercress
• 50 g finely grated Parmesan cheese

*You can use canned grated or crushed natural tomato or crush it yourself at home. If you find it contains a lot of water, you can omit the water from the recipe ingredients or use less.

Preparation

1. Heat a little oil in a low casserole type Shallow Casserole over medium heat and gently fry the chopped garlic for one minute.
2. Add the butter and smoked paprika, cooking until the butter melts.
3. Add the fresh cherry tomatoes and fry them for 5 minutes, stirring gently, until they are cooked.
4. Remove all the cooked tomatoes and reserve them until serving time.
5. Add the grated or crushed tomato to the Shallow Casserole so it cooks with the remaining butter, and add the water as well.
6. Simmer and let reduce and thicken for about 15-20 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, heat the eggs in the Stainless steel Sauté Pan with egg-poaching insert by Le Creuset to your liking.
8. Season the sauce to taste and add a splash of Sherry vinegar.
9. Add the poached eggs to the warm sauce and let them warm through.
10. Place the thick yogurt in deep plates or bowls.
11. Remove the Shallow Casserole from the heat and divide the hot eggs and the cherry tomato sauce onto each plate, over the yogurt.
12. Top with fresh watercress and the cherry tomatoes cooked with the butter and paprika that you had reserved.
    
13. Sprinkle a little grated cheese and serve with some homemade toast and season to taste.

Notes

• If you prefer, you can season the tomato sauce to your taste: with a little rosemary or powdered thyme, with fresh basil, adding more garlic or onion if you like, or sautéing some vegetables to make it like a ratatouille.
• You can also replace half of the water with white wine or cognac. If you see that the crushed tomato has a lot of water, you can omit the water from the recipe or add less.
• When you poach the eggs, you can season them with salt and freshly ground black pepper, with any other pepper, or add a bit of parsley or your favorite herb to give them a different flavor note. You can also add a bit of grated cheese so that, as it sets, the cheese flavor becomes integrated into the egg.

   

  Recipe author: Le Creuset