Ispinakli yumurta – Turkish skillet-baked egg with spinach

In Turkey life evolves around food! And it’s not simply delicious, it’s fantastic there! I was blown away trying this skillet-baked spinach-packed treat while visiting Istanbul in April. I recommend it for all spinach lovers! And what I especially love about Turkish food is widely used yogurt and its variety. Also wonderful flavors of dishes coming from spices, like a touch of heat from the red pepper flakes. NUTS and dried fruit! Tahini helva!! (sesame halva). Pekmez – a syrup that reminds molasses, tahini by itself (sesame paste), and a combination of both. Turkish cuisine is impossibly rich (!), so I can mention only some tiny, special to me things:)
Concerning ispinakli yumurta – instead of spiced butter, you can make an alternative topping by mixing creamy yogurt, minced garlic, herbs and salt. Enjoy!:)
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

5 bunches (1 pound) fresh regular spinach, stems removed
2 large eggs
2 scallions, chopped (white & pale-green parts)/or 1 onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
Spiced butter
2 tablespoons butter
pinch of paprika
1/4 teaspoon chili powder (Turkish kirmizi biber)
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan, stir in scallions and sauté about 3-4 minutes over medium heat until translucent. Add chopped spinach and lemon juice, cook, frequently stirring, until all the spinach is just wilted, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and more lemon juice if needed.

Transfer the spinach to 2 baking dishes/skillets (without excess liquid). Hollow out 2 nests in skillets with spinach and gently crack an egg into each. Place in the oven until eggs set, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile melt butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add chili powder, paprika and cook for a minute. Add oregano and cook up to 1 minute more. Remove from heat. Top baked spinach with eggs with the spiced butter. Serve immediately!

Afiyet Olsun!

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