Menemen

Menemen takes its name from the small Aegean town of Menemen, a fertile agricultural district near İzmir on Turkey's western coast. The region has been known for centuries as a producer of Roma tomatoes, bright bullhorn peppers, and free-range eggs — the three pillars of this simple dish. By the early 20th century, the combination had spread across the whole country as the definitive village breakfast.

The dish sits at the centre of a passionate national debate: should it contain onions or not? Traditionalists insist onions are strictly forbidden, while others swear by a slow-fried onion base that sweetens the sauce. In Cappadocia — the region in central Anatolia that gave our café its name — menemen is made without onions, letting the tomatoes speak for themselves over a generous heat.

At Cappadocia Café we stay true to the Aegean style: Roma tomatoes and bullhorn peppers are sautéed until jammy, eggs folded in just until softly set, finished with a blanket of melted mozzarella and served with thick-cut toasted Turkish bread to scoop every last bit from the pan.