Turkish eggs, or çılbır, are something I make all the time. Traditionally they are made with poached eggs, but I often use soft-boiled eggs instead.
I rarely make mine exactly the same way twice. I change the herbs and spices depending on what I have to hand. In this version I used dill and garlic from my garden, along with chillies I grew and dried myself.
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 2–4 eggs
- 200g thick Greek yoghurt
- 1 small garlic clove, finely grated or crushed
- 2 tbsp chopped dill, mint or parsley, or a mixture
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed
- ¼ tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp harissa paste
- Pinch of dried chilli flakes
- Extra fresh herbs, to serve
- Toasted pitta bread, to serve
Method
- Cook the eggs. For soft-boiled eggs, cook them to your liking so that the whites are set but the yolks remain lovely and soft. Cool briefly, peel and halve. Alternatively, poach the eggs for a more traditional çılbır.
- Prepare the yoghurt. Mix the yoghurt with the chopped herbs and season with salt and pepper. Just before serving, stir through the garlic. I always add the garlic at the last minute because its flavour becomes stronger the longer it sits in the yoghurt.
- Make the spiced harissa butter. Melt the butter and olive oil together in a small frying pan over a gentle heat. Add the cumin, crushed coriander and fennel seeds and fry gently until fragrant.
- Add the harissa and chilli flakes and stir everything together, allowing it to warm through without burning the spices.
- Divide the yoghurt between two plates or shallow bowls. Arrange one or two eggs per person on top and spoon over the warm spiced harissa butter.
- Finish with a scattering of fresh herbs and serve immediately with warm toasted pitta bread.
A little note from me: I make this regularly and don’t think you need to be too precious about the exact combination of spices or herbs. Use what you enjoy and what you have. Dill, mint and parsley all work beautifully, and you can make the harissa butter as mild or as fiery as you like.
