What's the best yogurt to use?

You'll want to use a thick, Greek yogurt here. A plain, natural yogurt I find too runny for this dish - the eggs kind of disappear into the yogurt and I don't love the texture. Fat-free Greek yogurt is fine and works well. I also LOVE this with labneh, which is a very thick yogurt cheese that's really easy to make yourself (give my labneh recipe a go!)

What can I do if I don't have chilli oil?

You can simply heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil or butter in a small pan, then add 2 teaspoons of chilli flakes and a little salt. Aleppo chilli is the traditional one to go for - but just use what you have.

How should I serve the eggs?

This dish is a wonderful brunch and I think it's perfect with a good chunk of fresh bread or toast. I love using my easy no knead chilli cheese focaccia here, or you could serve it with flatbreads , or even crispy pita chips .

Do I have to use vinegar to poach the eggs?

I recommend using it to make the poaching a lot easier, but if you don't have any, you can also use lemon juice. You really just need an acid!

Quick Turkish Poached Eggs

Name: Quick Turkish Poached Eggs
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 3 min
Total time: 8 min
Cuisine: turkish
Ingredients: 1 cup Greek yogurt, at room temperature (or at least not fridge-cold); 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 4 free-range eggs, at room temperature; 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar; 2 tablespoons chilli oil; 2 tablespoons dukkah; Handful fresh mint leaves (or use flat leaf parsley, thyme, dill, basil or coriander); Your favourite bread, to serve (try no-knead focaccia, rosemary parmesan bread or soft flatbreads)

Description

These super easy Turkish eggs take less than 10 minutes and make an impressive brunch or quick lunch. Creamy garlicky yogurt is topped with perfectly poached eggs and then drizzled with my favourite shortcut ingredient – chilli oil!

Serve with toast, flatbreads or a wedge of fresh focaccia for a fun, delicious twist on poached eggs.

Ingredients

Scale

1 cup Greek yogurt, at room temperature (or at least not fridge-cold)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 free-range eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chilli oil
2 tablespoons dukkah
Handful fresh mint leaves (or use flat leaf parsley, thyme, dill, basil or coriander)
Your favourite bread, to serve (try no-knead focaccia, rosemary parmesan bread or soft flatbreads)

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Instructions

Mix the garlic yogurt. Get your cup of Greek yogurt into a bowl, then add the crushed garlic cloves and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Give it a mix to combine, then set aside as you get ready to poach the eggs.
Poach your eggs. Set a large saucepan over a medium heat and fill it about two thirds of the way up with water. Depending on how large your saucepan is, you may need to poach your eggs in two rounds (you don’t want them to be crowded in the pot, so just use your judgement here) Bring the water to a very gentle simmer – you don’t want a rolling boil when you’re poaching eggs or the eggs will explode in the water. You just want to see little bubbles starting to form in the water. Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar at this point. Crack your eggs into small individual cups or bowls (I like to use espresso cups). This is going to make transferring them into the water a lot easier. You want to get the cup with the egg in it as close to the water as possible, then slowly pour it into the water. Set your timer for 3 ½ minutes. While the eggs are poaching, line a plate or tray with paper towels to drain the eggs on and get ready with a slotted spoon or spatula. Once the time is up, carefully use the spatula or slotted spoon to transfer the eggs onto the lined plate or tray.
Assemble the Turkish eggs. Divide the garlicky yogurt between two bowls, then carefully transfer 2 eggs on top of the yogurt in each bowl. Finish by drizzling the chilli oil over the top of the eggs and yogurt in both bowls, then scatter over the mint leaves and dukkah. Enjoy right away, with a piece of toast or fresh bread!

Notes

Use a thick Greek style yogurt here – plain natural yogurt tends to be a bit too runny for this dish. You want the eggs to sit nicely on top of your yogurt. Fat-free Greek yogurt is fine, and for an even more luxurious dish, you can use labneh.

You can use your favourite chilli oil (though I recommend giving my quick and easy chilli oil recipe a go), or just make a quick oil using 2 tablespoons of olive oil mixed with 2 teaspoon of chilli flakes (Aleppo pepper is the traditional one to go for but any will do) and a little salt. You’ll want to heat the olive oil over a low heat, then add the chilli flakes and salt and stir for a minute, just to let the chilli release it’s fragrance.

This really is a recipe you want to make, cook and eat all at once but you can make the garlicky yogurt up to 3 days in advance if you like. Just store it in the fridge in an airtight container.

Make it dairy free by using your favourite dairy free yogurt – coconut yogurt is lovely with this.

Prep Time: 5
Cook Time: 3
Category: brunch
Method: stove top
Cuisine: turkish

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 bowl

Keywords: turkish eggs, poached eggs, chilli oil eggs