Turkish Eggs: The beginning of the how to series..
Here at KIN+ILK we aren't afraid to share our recipes. Combining garlic yoghurt, perfectly poached eggs, burnt chilli butter and sourdough, our Turkish eggs is a firm customer favourite and one of our best sellers
This dish originated from the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. During Ottoman era, çilbir was a generic term for poached eggs. Over centuries cooks tried many different ways of serving these eggs, but this variation with spiced butter became a firm favourite of the early 20th century.
Çilbir (pronounced Chill-ber), is often known as Turkish comfort food. Traditionally, the spiced butter is infused with Aleppo Peppers which can be substituted for cayenne pepper. Although çilbir isn't a very popular dish in Istanbul, it is a staple in Eastern areas of Turkey as well as KIN+ILK in Cardiff.
I think one of the best parts of çilbir is that you can find most of the ingredients in your fridge! All you need is eggs, butter, garlic, yoghurt, chilli flakes and bread.
We will be separating the burnt butter and çilbir into two different recipes as the burnt chilli butter is a great staple and a perfect accompaniment for many other dishes.
Now let’s get to the recipe…
Burnt Chilli Butter Recicpe: Also known as a Chilli Beurre Noisette
1x Stick of Salted butter
1x Handful of chilli flakes or cayenne pepper or paprika
How to Cook?
Place your butter into a pot on a medium to low heat. Whisk frequently as the butter starts to melt.
Once the melted butter has melted it will begin to foam up the pot and then subside. Make sure you watch carefully as lightly browned specks will begin to form at the bottom of the pot. As the butter begins to turn you should be able to smell a sweet, vanilla and nutty aroma.
Once you smell this aroma and notice that the fat solids have split, take it off the heat,. Then add some chilli flakes or other spices. We call our butter burnt butter but please make sure you do not burn it. If the butter begins to turn black take it off the heat and begin to cool asap.
Storing: At KIN+ILK we pour ours into a metal dish to store in freezer over night - the next day we will cut up the block into small cubes to use for each dish.
Çilbir
Ingredients: (Serves 1)
2 Eggs
Tablespoon of natural or greek yogurt
Quarter garlic clove (add to taste)
Chilli Burnt Butter
Chilli Flakes
Chives
Sourdough - or bread of choice
Recipe:
Slice and dice your garlic, we recommend a small amount like quarter of a clove as raw garlic can often be overpowering. In a bowl mix together your garlic and your tablespoon of yogurt. Yes, garlic yoghurt is that simple!
Grab a deep pot and fill with boiling water, we recommend 10% vinegar and NO salt in the pot for perfect poached eggs every time (tip: try and drop the eggs as close to water without burning yourself) . Poach Eggs for 3 mins
Place your poached eggs onto the garlic yogurt - heat up the cubes of your burnt chilli butter and pour on top.
Topp with Chives and Chilli Flakes - some people like to add Dill!
Serve with lightly toasted bread of choice
Tuck in and Enjoy!
