A villager's egg + tomato stew

My favorite home cooked meal of all time, and especially perfect in the summer.

Jul 29, 2025

∙ Paid

I’ve been avoiding posting this recipe for a long time.

Because this recipe, to me, is almost too special. It’s one of those recipes that holds so many memories, such deep familial meaning, that I worried posting it will just make it another recipe on the internet. That people wouldn’t understand how special it truly is. And of course they wouldn’t — they haven’t enjoyed this dish in the same way I have. Yet.

This is matfoonet al rahban — meaning the “monk’s stew” in the a Syrian dialect of Arabic (or at least, whatever dialect my family speaks). It’s called the monk’s stew because of how simple and humble the dish is, composed of just eggs and tomatoes. It was made in the villages of my ancestors, regions across modern day Southeastern Turkey and Northwestern Syria (these regions were once Christian-heavy, hence the “monk” reference).

My great-grandmother used to make this dish all the time back in Qamishli, Syria. It was one of my mom’s favorites growing up, and the first dish she ever cooked by herself, at the ripe age of 11. She loves telling the story about how one day, the adults left all the kids at home, and my mom, as the oldest of all the cousins and siblings, was put in charge. When the adults took longer than expected to come back home, and all the kids got very hungry, my mom found some eggs in the fridge and tomatoes on the counter — and made everyone matfoonet al rahban.

My dad, who grew up in Mardin, Turkey, also has fond memories of this dish. It was something his mom made for him growing up, and it was always his favorite. Maybe it was a match-made in heaven when my parents married; my dad can always get his favorite dish, and my mom has had decades of practice cooking it.

As a result, I grew up on this dish. It’s especially perfect in the summertime when tomatoes are ripe, juicy, and abundant, and there’s crusty bread on the counter to help soak up all that juice. My mom occasionally modernizes it, by adding a can of chickpeas or some kale for extra health benefits. I like it with a dollop of labneh or creamy feta cheese and sprinkle of parsley. This humble egg and tomato stew is home for me, more than any other dish is. It’s my mom. It’s my dad. Eating it immediately brings me the same kind of peace as hugging them.

Years back, when I was still living at home, my mom had a bit of a health scare that landed her in the hospital. I rarely see my dad shaken, but during those days, he definitely was. The day she came back home, I knew there was only one dish I could make for dinner that would ease them both. The three of us ate matfoonet al rahban that night, so grateful that we were all together — home, healthy, safe, and well-fed.

So this recipe, this simple recipe of scrambled eggs and stewed tomatoes, is a comfort meal, the greatest comfort meal there ever could be. I hope you try it out, and I hope it leads to some beautiful memories. I hope it provides the same comfort it does for me.

PS: The timing of this post coincides with severe lack of food access to those in Gaza. As someone who loves food, writes about food, and develops recipes for social media — and as a daughter of a father who lost siblings to starvation — this hits home for me. I hope you’ll join me in donating to World Central Kitchen, whose mission is to feed those in need. While the details of the conflict are complex, saving innocent lives is not.

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