Stuffed Eggplant is a dish you find everywhere in Turkey. And there are many regional versions of it. Indeed, we loved it so much we cooked 3 different versions of it! Dolma refers to any vegetable which is stuffed with a grain such as rice or bulgur, other vegetables and sometimes meat. And one of the most popular dolmas are stuffed eggplants. True to the guild system developed in the royal kitchens, the vegetable cooks had their own guild so … Read More
Looking for an easy to make lentil soup recipe full of flavor? This Turkish red lentil soup recipe is delicious, healthy and quick to make. Sure to become one of your favorite soup recipes. One of our go-to dishes when we travel is roast chicken. And there are 2 really good reasons. We enjoy a really good Roast Chicken. And the added bonus is being able to make a good flavored stock with the leftover carcass and bones. And from … Read More
Isn’t it time you made baked stuffed zucchini flowers (also known as squash blossoms)? They’re an easy, quick, light, healthy, Italian, vegetarian starter. Firstly, should I be calling these baked stuffed squash blossoms or baked stuffed zucchini flowers? It’s a little confusing but squash blossoms and zucchini flowers are the same ingredient. Also acceptable, are baked zucchini blossoms. And then of course to add further confusion, many Europeans call zucchinis, corgettes. Well, that’s just the way it is in our … Read More
Testi (mug in Turkish) Kebap (meat in Turkish) is basically a stew of meat, tomatoes and some vegetables. There is a high proportion of meat in this stew. The traditional method of cooking is to place the ingredients inside a sealed clay jug. The clay jug is then placed in the coals at the bottom of a tandir, which is a large clay pot oven buried in the earth. This is a traditional meal from Cappadocia. When cooked, the still … Read More
Italy has its risotto, the Indian sub-continent has its biryani and Eastern Europe/Middle East has its pilaf. All different methods of cooking rice in stock. Alexander the Great, was reputedly a great lover of pilaf. Roast chicken with pilaf stuffing dates dates back a long time. True to the guild system developed in the royal kitchens, the pilaf makers had their own guild so it is not surprising that pilafs are so popular in Turkey. In the Turkish military in … Read More
We really enjoyed going to the local markets in Turkey. It’s where most Turks shop rather than in the big supermarkets. There are a huge number of vendors in the larger city markets like Fethiye. So there is good competition and plenty of choice. Our observation was that the fruit and vegetables on offer at the markets were super fresh and were of a much higher quality than in the supermarkets. Many of the vegetables looked as if they had … Read More