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CILBIR - Turkish Breakfast Eggs
I love eggs, and I’m always keen to find new ways of enjoying them.
The first time I came across Cilbir was in a quaint little street café in the Turkish city of Izmir.
I had just strolled over their amazing produce market (selling leeks the size of a toddler) and really wanted a hearty breakfast rather than the usual sweet dishes they serve, like chocolate acme or pancakes.
The owner suggested I try Cilbir, and I am so glad I did.
What is Cilbir?
Of course I had no idea, what I was getting myself into, as the only information I was given was ’Cilbir is Turkish breakfast eggs’.
So, let me share my since acquired knowledge with you: Cilbir, also known as ‘Turkish eggs’, is a popular breakfast dish from Turkey. It consists of poached eggs served on a bed of thick, creamy yogurt with dill, and drizzled with a hot ‘Aleppo Butter’ sauce made with melted butter and red pepper flakes.
Cilbir is usually served with a crusty bread (try my super easy soda bread) or a pita.
Poaching the egg
Cilbir is so easy and quick to make that it will soon become a staple in your home. It shouldn’t take you much longer than 15 minutes to prepare and serve.
If you are unsure or a bit anxious about the prospect of having to poach an egg, I have written a super easy guide on how to do that. Just head over to my article and follow the step by step instructions for a perfect poached egg.
Related Posts
Afiyet Olsun - that's Turkish for 'bon appetit'.
Have you had Cilbir before? If so, where? I would very much like to know what you think of my recipe - please comment below. Time to get cooking: let's get our aprons, I'll see you in the kitchen.
Xoxo Rena
Cilbir - Turkish Eggs
A delicious and easy breakfast dish consisting of poached eggs on a bed of herby yogurt and topped with spicy melted butter.
Fact Sheet
Category: breakfast Cuisine: Middle Eastern Gluten free Low calorie Low carb Vegetarian European under 1 hour under 30 minutes Breakfast Cooking Method: poaching Diet: Gluten Free Vegetarian Low Carb Preparation Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 15 minutes Servings: 2Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 450g (1 3/4 cups) Greek yogurt
- 1 bunch dill, chopped (approx 3-4 TBSP)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 TBSP butter
- 1 1/2 TBSP olive oil
- 1 TBSP vinegar (or lemon juice, for poaching the eggs)
- 1 tsp Aleppo pepper flakes or chilli flakes
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preparing the yogurt:
- Mince your garlic and drizzle with 1/2 TBSP olive oil. This will help extracting the aromatics (if you add plain garlic to the yogurt it will otherwise take a much longer time to release its flavour).
- Mix garlic-oil, salt, chopped dill and yogurt.
- Preparing the 'Aleppo-butter' / spicy butter sauce:
- In a small sauce pan, heat butter and olive oil until they melt but do not boil - skim the milk solids as they rise to the top. Then add pepper flakes and paprika and let sit in the pan on low heat while you poach the eggs.
- Poaching the eggs:
- One or two at a time, poach the eggs until the yolk has the consistency you prefer. Drain excess water off with a kitchen paper.
- Serving
- Ladle yogurt into a bowl, place the poached egg(s) on top and spoon the still warm Aleppo butter over it. Garnish with some additional dill or fresh herbs and serve with fresh bread.
