Poached Turkish Eggs Recipe (Cilbir)
This Turkish eggs recipe, also known as "cilbir", is a delicious breakfast or brunch dish that can be prepared in under 30 minutes.
Servings: 1 serving
Calories: 467kcal
Equipment
- 1 ladle
Ingredients
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper (optional)
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ cup fresh dill
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1½ teaspoon harissa
- 2 large fresh basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
- Start by bringing two small pots of water to a boil, one for the eggs, and one for the yogurt. In a medium-sized bowl, combine Greek yogurt, sea salt, black pepper, and freshly minced garlic. Place over one of the pots of water, bringing it down to very low heat. As the yogurt begins to soften, stir occasionally until consistent. Once yogurt is warm, stir in freshly chopped dill and remove from heat.
- Crack one egg into a fine mesh strainer and gently rotate in a circular motion for about 20 seconds, allowing the outer albumen (the runniest part of the egg white) to drip into a small dish or ramekin.
- Reduce the heat on the remaining pot of water to low and allow it a few minutes to settle. The water should be roughly 180° F, barely bubbling. Once the excess egg white has drained, carefully transfer the egg into a ladle. Give the water a gentle swirl with a spoon before lowering the ladle into the water, keeping it there for about 10-20 seconds or until outside of egg white has begun to solidify ever so slightly.
- Carefully remove the ladle, then allow the egg to cook for roughly 2 ½ minutes. Use the ladle or a slotted spoon to gently remove the egg from the pot, then set aside on a paper towel to dry and repeat steps 2-4 with other egg.
- In a small saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Once completely melted, remove from heat and mix in harissa so it does not burn.
- Pour yogurt mixture into the bottom of a bowl, then top with a swirl of melted butter mixture before carefully arranging the eggs on top. Finish off with more dill, freshly chopped basil, a pinch of harissa, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a little bit of lemon zest.
Notes
-
- You can poach both eggs at the same time if you feel confident enough. I chose to cook them separately so I could confirm the first one was cooked properly before cooking the other.
- If you don't like your eggs super runny, you can cook them an additional 30 seconds or so to achieve a more jam-like texture.
- There's no law that says you can't crumble a little bacon into your cilbir! Pink pickled onions would also make an excellent addition.
- This Turkish eggs recipe is usually eaten warm, but it's still great around room temperature or even cold!
- Unless you intend to eat them cold, I would not recommend making Turkish eggs ahead of time. Warming up this dish without overcooking the eggs could be tricky.
- You may have a bit of the harissa-infused butter left over. Save it for dinner, then reheat and drizzle over roasted vegetables!
Nutrition
Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 467kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 398mg | Sodium: 1067mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g
