Turkish “Green” Eggs Served For Dinner

Like other busy women, sometimes I just need a simple meal to prepare for dinner.

Some days I run errands all over Istanbul and by the time I get home, I don’t have enough time to make the dish I originally planned before hubby gets home. So onto plan B.

I looked in the fridge and found a half kilo of fresh spinach from the Turkish pazar that I needed to use. Just add some eggs and voilà - dinner!

An American friend (who is married to a Turk and lived here for 30 years) shared this simple Turkish recipe for yumurtalı ıspanak (eggs with spinach) with me. I understand sometimes rice is added to the spinach too, but I didn’t because I’m trying to cut down my carb consumption.

I served this simple meat-free dinner with a large side salad filled with greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, a little Parmesan cheese, dressed with nars ekşilli sos and Turkish olive oil. It’s a meal full of protein, vitamins and a healthy dose of veggies.

Afiyet olsun!

Turkish Yumurtalı Ispanak (Eggs with Spinach)

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp.  olive oil

1  small  onion, diced

1 head fresh spring garlic, diced

1  lb. (500 grams) fresh spinach, cleaned and rinsed

To taste salt, freshly ground black pepper

4 each eggs

Optional  pul biber (Turkish red pepper flakes)

1. In large stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes until softened.

2. Then, add the spinach and spices. Cover the pot with a lid to allow the spinach to steam and wilt - about 3 minutes. The spinach will reduce in size considerably.

3. Finally, make 4 small holes for eggs in the spinach mixture. Carefully, break the eggs into these holes.

4.  Cover the pot with the lid and cook just until the egg whites are set. This takes about 3 minutes if you want “runny” eggs otherwise continue cooking a bit more to set the egg yolk.

This dish also could be served for brunch or lunch. Serve with toast if you like to dip it into your runny eggs. Another Turkish recommendation is to serve the eggs with a side of yogurt, of course, because yogurt goes with everything!