Poached Eggs on Garlic Yoghurt with Chilli Butter
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking and America's Test Kitchen.
A Turkish favourite of poached eggs with fully set yolks on a bed of creamy garlic yoghurt, finished with sizzling red chilli butter and fresh herbs. Served with warm flatbread, it makes an easy, impressive brunch.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Spread the yoghurt. Stir the yoghurt, garlic and salt together, then spread it over the 4 shallow bowls with the back of a spoon. Leaving it out lets it come to room temperature, so it does not chill the hot eggs and the garlic flavour mellows into the yoghurt.
- 2
Drain the eggs. Bring 8 cm of water to a gentle simmer in the wide pan, with only small bubbles rising. Meanwhile, crack each egg into the sieve over the sink and let the loose, watery white drain for 30 seconds, then tip it into a small bowl. Removing that thin white leaves only the firmer part, which holds a neat shape instead of spreading into wispy strands.
- 3
Poach until set. Lower 4 eggs, one at a time, into the water from close to the surface. Poach for 5-6 minutes, keeping the water just below a simmer, until the whites are firm and the yolks are set right through when pressed gently (71°C). Gentle heat cooks the eggs evenly without toughening the whites or breaking them apart. Lift out with the slotted spoon onto kitchen paper, then repeat with the remaining eggs.
- 4
Make chilli butter. Melt the butter in the small saucepan over medium heat until it foams, then take it off the heat and stir in the chilli flakes and mint, if using. Within seconds it will turn a deep red. Adding the flakes off the heat releases their colour and flavour into the butter without scorching them.
- 5
Assemble and serve. Set 2 eggs on each bowl of yoghurt, spoon over the chilli butter and scatter with the dill or parsley. Serve at once with the warm flatbread for scooping up the yoghurt and butter.
Storage
Best eaten fresh. Refrigerate leftover eggs and yoghurt separately within 1 hour and use within 1 day; reheat the eggs until piping hot (74°C).
Why this label?
25 g protein for 438 kcal = 5.7 g per 100 kcal, so protein gives about 23% of the energy. High Protein needs at least 20% (5 g per 100 kcal), the condition in the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
EU nutrition claims
- Low sugars: 2.2 g sugars per 100 g (limit ≤ 5 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 193 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
0.8 g per serving
1.6 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 3.2 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- wide deep saucepan or sauté pan
- fine-mesh sieve
- small bowls for the eggs
- slotted spoon
- kitchen paper
- small saucepan
- instant-read thermometer
- 4 shallow bowls
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 438 kcal |
| Protein | 25 g |
| Carbohydrate | 37.7 g |
| of which sugars | 4.2 g |
| of which free sugars | 0.8 g |
| Fat | 20.1 g |
| of which saturates | 8.9 g |
| Fibre | 1.6 g |
| Salt | 1.59 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
5.7 g meets High Protein (≥ 5 g, 20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
