Jamie: Fast & Simple
Meliz’s halloumi spiced scrambled eggs
With tomato, Turkish sweet red pepper paste & dried mint
25 mins
Not Too Tricky
serves 4
About the recipe
Bestselling cookbook author Meliz Berg is all about using her Turkish-Cypriot heritage and London upbringing to create easy-to-follow recipes with exciting flavours. Adapted from her book Meliz's Kitchen for Jamie: Fast & Simple, this recipe heroes Turkish store-cupboard staples. It’s tangy, spicy, herby and light all at the same time! Oh-so good.
Recipe From
Ingredients
6 large free-range eggs
4 large ripe tomatoes
200g hellim (halloumi cheese)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and very finely chopped
2 large Turkish green peppers, such as charleston, or 150g padron peppers, chopped into rounds
¼ teaspoon sea salt flakes
1 tablespoon Turkish sweet red pepper paste (tatli biber salçasi)
¼ teaspoon dried mint (reserve a little for garnish)
½ teaspoon coarse black pepper (reserve a little for garnish)
optional: pul biber, for garnish
optional: extra virgin olive oil
1 large lemon, cut into 4 wedges
fresh parsley, for garnish
Top Tip
Meliz uses her mum’s trick of rubbing a little lemon juice on the chopping board before chopping onions, to prevent the tears from rolling!
Method
- Crack the eggs into a large bowl and leave to one side. Do not whisk them.
- Cut the tomatoes in half and grate them, flesh-side down, into a large shallow dish, discarding the skins and hard cores. Leave to one side.
- Wash and pat dry the hellim and cut most of it (175g) into 2cm cubes – reserve the remaining (25g) for finely grating over the finished dish. Pat the individual hellim cubes dry.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium-sized frying pan over a medium heat, and once hot, add the hellim cubes and fry them on all sides until golden and crispy. Remove to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain, retaining as much of the oil in the pan as possible.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the same pan, still over a medium heat. Add the onion so it initially sizzles, then turn the heat right down for it to slowly soften (but not burn around the edges) and cook for 12 to 15 minutes until jammy and caramelised.
- Add the peppers to the pan, sprinkle in the salt, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until they soften and the edges start to char. Add the sweet red pepper paste, stirring well for a couple of minutes for everything to combine fully, then add the tomatoes, most of the dried mint and black pepper, and bring the mixture to a simmer for a couple of minutes.
- Pour the eggs straight from the bowl into the pan and quickly break them up by swirling them through with a wooden spoon. Allow the eggs to just cook through, then remove the pan from the heat.
- Divide between your serving bowls, top with the fried hellim cubes, finely grate over the remaining hellim, sprinkle over a little pul biber, if using, and a little more dried mint and coarse black pepper, drizzle over a little extra virgin olive oil (if you have some to hand), and squeeze over the lemon juice and sprinkle with parsley to serve. A side of your favourite fresh bread is a delicious addition for dipping.
Recipe adapted from Meliz's Kitchen by Meliz Berg, published by Ebury Press in 2022.
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