poached eggs with preserved lemon yogurt, sumac fennel, and sweet spicy brown butter

a pretty cute take on çılbır, aka turkish eggs

çılbır is a turkish dish with three main components: poached eggs, garlicky yogurt, and peppery melted butter. i’m a big fan of the dish, which i think highlights the (maybe not so..?) humble egg in a fantastically lush plate made with just a handful of simple ingredients. it doesn’t hurt that i find it incredibly appealing visually as well, what with the shining, runny egg yolk and vibrant red butter displayed oh so beautifully against a canvas of soft, white yogurt.

i find that some recipes work better than others at being broken down and used as a sort of blueprint for the integration of new flavors, and çılbır is certainly one that flourishes in this way. i’ve seen many different takes on this recipe pop up over the past year that offer subtle twists and mosey down slightly different paths flavor-wise: like this one with padron peppers, tomatoes and fried bread; a smoky one with herbs and cumin; and of course, one on toast). These, and many more like them, served as the jolt of inspiration that thus ignited my own journey to experiment here.

as you will see, i used some other techniques and ingredients that i thought paired well (flavor-wise of course, but also visually) with the three main components of the original, adding salty preserved lemon to the yogurt base, taking the butter in a brown-er direction with some added sweetness and heat, and layering in a slightly sour (and imho very cute) sumac fennel and red onion “salad.” the complete dish achieves what i deem a rather brilliant balance of flavors and textures that suits any time of day.

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poached eggs with preserved lemon yogurt, sumac fennel, and sweet spicy brown butter

serves 2

preserved lemon yogurt, can be made a day in advance

100 grams full-fat, plain greek yogurt

1 clove garlic

1 tsp minced preserved lemon (substitute: preserved lemon paste or 1 tbsp lemon zest and 1/2 tsp salt)

sumac fennel, can be made a day in advance

1/2 fennel bulb (about 180 grams; reserve any fronds if the bulb has them)

1/2 red onion (about 60 grams)

2 tsp sumac

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp lemon juice (this is sort of optional, i recommend it, but don’t go out an buy a lemon if you don’t need one for another use)

sweet spicy brown butter, can be made a day in advance

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon chili flakes

1 teaspoon honey

to assemble

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

2 slices of bread (i used a soft, fluffy flatbread called lepinja from a local albanian bakery, but you could also use a thinner flatbread or slices of sourdough; really any bread that’s amenable to dipping and scooping)

2 tablespoons olive oil

fennel fronds or fresh mint (optional)

black pepper

1. add yogurt to a bowl. add preserved lemon then use a microplane to grate the garlic into the yogurt; if you want a milder garlic flavor, mince the garlic instead of grating it or just half the grated clove, and if you want full on garlic flavor, use the whole grated clove. stir well to combine.

2. use a mandoline to very thinly slice the fennel and red onion; if you don’t have a mandoline, slice by hand as thinly as you possibly can. add to a bowl and toss with sumac, salt, and lemon juice, using your hands to massage the fennel and onion really well.

3. to make the brown butter, add honey and chili flakes to a small bowl. add butter to a small frying pan (preferably stainless steel or light bottomed pan so you can see the milk solids browning) over medium heat. let the butter melt, then froth, swirling occasionally. once the butter has frothed, keep swirling until the milk solids are starting to turn visibly golden brown. remove from the heat and add to the bowl with the honey and chili flakes. mix well.

4. turn on the broil or grill function of your oven and move an oven rack up to the top third of the oven. put your bread on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. toast for about 2 minutes, or until nicely golden brown. if you’re using flatbread or bread you want to simply warm up, wrap in aluminum foil and place in a 150°C/300°F oven while you poach the eggs.

5. to poach the eggs, set a large pot of water over medium heat and bring to a healthy simmer. add vinegar then use a spoon to swirl the water around the pot in one direction. crack an egg into a ladle and gently lower the ladle into the center of the swirling water and tip the egg into the pot. cook for 3 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. repeat for all four eggs one at a time or in batches of two.

6. to assemble and serve, spoon the preserved lemon yogurt equally onto two shallow plates. top each plate with half the sumac fennel (if you made it in advance, leave any liquid from the mixture in the bowl), spreading it out a bit so it’s flat and the eggs can rest nicely on it. nestle two poached eggs into the fennel salad on each plate, then drizzle with half the spicy brown butter (if you made it in advance, bring it back up to temperature by melting it in the microwave or a pan). top with fennel fronds if you have them or tiny leaves of fresh mint. season with black pepper and serve with toasted bread for dipping and scooping.