In my Istanbul edition of The Dish, I shared my recipe for lamb chops with bulgur that I made here in the tiny kitchen of our Istanbul apartment near Taksim Square. Today I’m making scrambled eggs with sucuk sausage for Weekend Eggs. It’s not a traditional Turkish dish, but it’s Turkish-inspired.
When I made the lamb chops with bulgur, there were some vegetables involved – eggplant and bell peppers or capsicum – and astute observers would have noted that I suggested that you grill up more than you need to use in the recipe I’m sharing with you now for my Weekend Eggs series.
Scrambled Eggs with Sucuk Sausage Recipe – Weekend Eggs from Istanbul
But first, a few words on Turkish breakfasts. When we first visited Turkey more than a dozen years ago, we used to love the simplicity of the typical local breakfast that they serve in hotels and hostels: boiled eggs, white cheese, cucumber, tomato, olives, maybe some bread and jam.
It’s great – for a week or two! Then we discovered there’s more to breakfast in Turkey, hence my scrambled eggs with sucuk sausage recipe. Since I’ve made this recipe we have other Turkish eggs recipes on our site, such as this poached eggs recipe that makes ‘cilbir’.
It’s no secret that I enjoy taking local meat products and combining them with eggs. One thing I love about Turkey is its sucuk, a spicy local sausage that you can find in a vacuum pack in every Turkish supermarket.
One classic local breakfast eggs dish uses the sausage sliced and placed over two eggs cracked into a sahan, a very pretty Turkish skillet. It’s fine but it’s often overcooked, and you won’t find the skillets in too many holiday rentals.
My favourite Turkish breakfast eggs dish, also prepared in the sahan, is menemen – featuring tomatoes, peppers and chilis. It’s delicious and if your going to try one dish for brunch in Istanbul, try menemen. It’s particularly good if you’ve had too many Rakis the night before.
But back to my leftovers dish…
Tips for Scrambled Eggs with Sucuk Sausage Recipe
I always grill more eggplant and peppers that I need for lamb chops with bulgur in case some people are more hungry than others and it never goes to waste. If you have any leftover bulgur as well you can put it on the side of the plate with the scrambled eggs. It’s all good!
To get the eggs nice and creamy, butter is essential. Finishing with crème fraiche or cream (and you can use sour cream as well, but only right at the end) adds to this creamy texture.
The dish is unapologetically spicy, goes great with Turkish coffee, and it’s one that’s perfect for a casual, hearty brunch.
Which is just what you want when you’re staying in a holiday rental and don’t have to run down to a hotel buffet breakfast.
It’s also way more substantial than the boiled eggs and salad we ate on our earlier trips to Turkey.
Scrambled Eggs with Sucuk Sausage Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Sucuk sausage sliced and diced
- 1 eggplant sliced and grilled — and then diced
- 1 bell pepper grilled and diced
- 4 free-range eggs
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 bunch parsley
- 1 tbsp of crème fraiche or cream
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the Sucuk sausage to a non-stick pan over medium heat.
- Once the sausage is browned, add the eggplant and peppers and reduce heat. Add some parsley to the mix.
- Break the eggs into a saucepan over moderate heat and add the blob of butter.
- Stir the eggs. The eggs will start to solidify as you mix. If you see they’re cooking too fast just take them off the heat, but keep stirring. You should take them on and off the heat a few times until the eggs come together.
- When they’re almost cooked, add the yoghurt or crème fraiche — this will help halt the cooking process. Season to taste.
- Mix the scrambled eggs with the eggplant, peppers and sausage.
- Serve with a little parsley sprinkled over the top.
Nutrition
Thank you for the recipe. …photo do look delicious to me.
Thanks, Sarah, we’re glad you like them!
Thanks for visiting!
Yum! I love meals like this. Will definitely try it (and sub Mexican chorizo for the Turkish sausage. I also love the creme fraiche idea!
Excellent, it’s a great dish!
Definitely another recipe I’m adding to the list of those to make.
Looks and sounds divine.
That’s what we love to hear, Scarlet. Let us know how it turns out.