Turkish Cuisine
After spending three months in rural Turkey I was back in Istanbul and was craving something other than the usual Turkish meal. I asked the hotel manager if he had any suggestions for anything but Turkish cuisine and his response was priceless.
“But why? Why don’t you want Turkish food?”
As much as I wanted to argue with him, I gave in. The Turkish are extremely proud of their cuisine and his response was not uncommon. .
The food varies throughout regions in the country but you definitely find staples throughout.
Firstly, everywhere you go you will find ‘Simit’, aka the Turkish pretzel. It’s a sesame seed bread snack aimed to fill the void.
Meals typically consist of stuffed vegetables, assortments of cheeses, olives, grilled meats, fish, koftes and of course the always delicious kebab. And never forget about the desserts as they will leave any sweet tooth satisfied.
So for the six months that I was in Turkey, I experimented and tried as many dishes as I could. Here are some favourites:
Kofte in oil
Köfte – the Turkish meatball. Combining minced meat, garlic, tomato paste and a lot of the Turkish “Kofte” spice (paprika and chill), rolled into fingers and grilled.
Baked-Borek
Baked Börek – phyla dough filled with butter, white cheese (can be feta), egg and dill for seasoning. A heavy dish, but really tasty in the mornings.
Iskender Kebab
Doner and Kebab – slowly skewered meat, typically lamb shaved off then either rolled up and served in Lavas (flatbread) or smothered in butter with tomato sauce and fresh peppers (Iskender Kebab). I never could have enough of this meat.
Yaprak Sarma
Sarma – Mezes are Turkish tapas are typical throughout the country and sarma is one of the most common dishes. Grape leaves stuffed with rice, garlic and olive oil and then topped off with lemon juice.
Manti-Final product
Manti (pronounced Man-tuh) – By far one of our favourite dishes. Typically served in the western part of the country, it is small tortellini like shells stuffed with meat and topped with yoghurt, garlic, chill oil and dried mint.
Kokorec
Kokorec – A very popular late night snack is lamb sweetbreads slow roasted and served in a baguette with oil oregano, salt and pepper.
Baklava
Dessert – Baklava: the battle continues with who makes the best, but in our books the Turks are winning. And adding chocolate to the mix never hurts.
So on my final night, I ended up conceding with the hotel manager and dining once again on Iskender Kebab. I knew that it would be my last night in Turkey for a while and in a few days I would be missing some of my favourite food in the world.
Pete Heck, along with his wife Dalene sold everything they owned to travel the world, read about their journey at Hecktic Travels, follow them on Twitter and Instagram.
I’ve had donars, kebabs, and baklava before, but the rest is all new to me. Who wouldn’t want Turkish food? It all looks delicious.
The Hecks have a great site filled with fun adventures so I’m thrilled to see them here… and get more intel on fab food finds. Thanks!
We were happy to have them share their story:)
A choice of cuisines from around the world really is a reason to love Canada – and its OK to eat any food from any country without hurting someone’s feelings. There is much to love about Turkish food but everyone does need a break. The Manti looks really good.
The manti was so simple, yet so tasty. Easily one of our favourites!
Mouthwatering photos, and nothing like staying for six months to get more than just a taste!
Thanks Betsy, yes we tried a lot in the 6 months, but still there are many dishes we didn’t get to sample. All the reason to head back soon!
I’d skip the savouries for the Baklava!!
I’m off to Greece soon – I’ll let you know how their’s compares 😉
I’m not going to lie, there were instances where we did skip the meals and just dined on baklava. Please let us know how the Greece baklava rates against 🙂
Some delicious-looking food photos! I’d love to have some of that sarma or manta right now. In Toronto we live in Greektown where the Turkish influence is very strong with lots of sweets and kebab but I wish they’d make some manta! I’m going to have to put in a special request.
If they can make you some manti, you’re in for a treat!
Bummer, I don’t think I ever saw Manti offered anywhere along the coastline when I visited Turkey, but then I also pointed to a lot of things in some of those restaurants that you really cannot remember the names of the food and does it matter, it was all great!
We spent a few days in Istanbul last year but it looks like we missed out on a lot of the fabulous foods. Sure looks good!
Even being there for six months we felt like we missed out on a lot of the dishes. It’s one of the many reasons we need to head back 🙂
Wow! I can’t wait to visit Turkey to try all of these dishes (well, maybe a pass on the sweetbreads if there are other choices available)! I know what you mean about a variety of different cuisines when you’re traveling but, after seeing so many of Turkey’s amazing offers I can also agree with the hotel manager’s response!
These look like wonderful dishes. Many of them new to me!
Glad to introduce some new ones to you Irene!
I’m starving but think I gained 10 pounds reading this post. I am not picky at all when it comes to food and there was not one dish that didn’t look amazing. I will have to remember when visiting Turkey that they are very proud of their food.
We make kafke at home. Love it. The manti looks a lot like pizza in the photo- was surprised to read that its a cousin to pasta. All the photos made me hungry!
Not a meat eater, but I loved seeing how many piles of simit vendors could carry on the platform on their head when I was in Istanbul. What a delicious snack! And baklava, a yummy dessert any night of the week. It’s funny how you start to miss certain meals when you are traveling. The Hecks have highlighted Turkey’s favorites beautifully.
Thanks so much Alison, I loved seeing the simit vendors and there stacks upon their heads as well. I don’t know how they didn’t drop any, especially with all the walking around they do. Very impressive!