Turkish eggs with spinach, chilli & yoghurt cream
Serves 4
Softly oozing eggs combine with spinach and a tangy yoghurt cream to make an unbeatable breakfast dish. It’s important not to overcook the eggs, so the baking time will somewhat depend on the idiosyncrasies of your oven.
2 bunches spinach, stalks removed,
or 500 g frozen spinach, defrosted
50 g butter, plus extra to grease
3 large shallots, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
1 teaspoon Turkish red chilli flakes
4 extra-large eggs
Yoghurt cream
200 g Greek-style yoghurt
80 ml pure (double or heavy) cream
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF).
Blanch small batches of the spinach leaves in plenty of boiling salted water for 10 seconds. Refresh in cold water and then squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Loosen the clumps of spinach and chop it finely.
Heat the butter in a large frying pan. Add the shallots, garlic and spices and season with salt and pepper. Sauté over a medium heat until soft. Add the spinach and cook for 5 minutes, or until the spinach is soft.
Generously butter a medium ovenproof dish and spread the spinach mix evenly over the base. Make 4 little wells in the spinach and crack in the eggs. Bake for 12 minutes then check for doneness. The eggs should be starting to set, but still very runny.
Mix the yoghurt with the cream, paprika, salt and pepper. Spoon over the eggs and return to the oven for a further 3–4 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked to your liking. Serve immediately with warm crusty bread.