Poached Eggs in Herby Yogurt with Merguez and Chilli Drizzle

I thought about creating this recipe last year a few months after coming back from a holiday in Istanbul (before the pandemic). One of my favourite brunch restaurants called Cuma makes one of my favourite brekkie dishes- a poached egg+ garlic yogurt dish called Cilbir which is a very popular breakfast item in Turkey.

Inspired by the dishes I ate in Istanbul I decided to put together a dish reminiscent of my holidays. A special breakfast dish for a great morning.

After several tries I finally nailed exactly what I wanted. It’s creamy, herby, fresh, and the merguez really adds a special touch. This dish was mopped up real quick after I made it.

Tip: If you can’t get merguez, you can sub it for sujuk or any spiced beef/mutton/lamb sausage. Or, simply leave the meat out and make it a veggie dish.

Serves: 2 people

prep/cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients

125g Merguez (or any other spicy beef/mutton based sausage)

35g fresh Parsley

10g fresh Dill

3g Fresh Chives

1 garlic clove

1 tbsp olive oil

250g greek yogurt (my favourite is Fage)

15g butter, melted

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

4 eggs

Fresh bread, to eat with

Method

1. Cut the merguez casing open and remove the sausage meat, discard the casing. In a small dry pan on medium high heat, cook the sausage meat breaking it up with a spatula until fully cooked. The meat should look like mince. Set aside.

2. In a food processor or blender, add all the herbs, garlic and olive oil. Blend until the herbs and garlic have been minced. Add the yogurt, and blend until the mixture goes green and no big bits are left. Season with salt, and set aside.

3. In a small bowl, add the melted butter, paprika and chilli flakes. Either microwave it until the butter slightly bubbles, or put it in a pot on medium heat until the butter just starts to foam. Take it off the heat.

4. In a medium pot, add enough water to fill it 3/4 full. Add the vinegar, and put it on medium high heat.

5. Meanwhile, crack one egg at a time into a strainer and tip it into a ramekin or small dish. Do this with all the eggs, it removes the thin runny whites and makes for a cleaner poached egg.

6. When the water comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and gently pour the eggs into the water. Make sure to space them out so they don’t stick to each other. Simmer the eggs in the water for 2-3 mins, until the whites are cooked and the yolk is still runny, don’t let the water come to a boil. Using a slotted spoon, remove the poached eggs and place onto some kitchen towel to drain the extra water.

7. Share the yogurt into two bowls, place the poached eggs on top with a drizzle of the paprika butter. Scatter the merguez on top, and mop it all up with some bread.