A TASTE OF TURKEY
Turkish food is undergoing a renaissance outside its home country, with gourmet-style restaurants popping up in major cities like London, New York, LA and Sydney as well as more homely cafe-style eateries and pop-ups
It’s clear that the fresh flavour of Turkish cuisine, has widespread appeal. Here, the experts at Property Turkey reveal the Turkish foods that are taking the world by storm, allowing people who have never even set foot in the country to enjoy a taste of Turkey!
PIDE
This Turkish flatbread is becoming almost as ubiquitous as the kebab. In Turkey, there are several varieties of pide, which are generally quickly cooked in brick ovens. Toppings also vary, but generally include cheese, onions, peppers, tomatoes, sausage, eggs and herbs. They’re a cheap street eat – but their journey across continents has seen the pide rebirthed in a few incarnations, including mouth-watering gourmet versions in big cities around the globe.
MENEMEN
Turkish-style eggs, particularly menemen, are a staple brunch offering in Manhattan and London cafes. Served with Turkish red pepper with a side of yogurt, Turkish-style eggs are a delightfully different alternative to eggs benedict or an omelette. As well as eggs, menemen generally includes onion, tomato, green peppers and spices and the dish is served up in the metal pan in which it was cooked.
BAKLAVA
This ancient dessert has been around a long time, with one version being traced back to the second century BC. Chances are you’ve already tried this nutty, honey-soaked pastry treat as it’s popular around the world. The ideal baklava is fresh and moist and is ideal to eat with a cup of strong coffee.
KUZU TANDIR
This lamb dish must be one of Turkey’s favourites and now it’s popping up in traditional Turkish and Turkish fusion restaurants worldwide. Kuzu tandir is fragrant and tender, falling off the bone and melting in your mouth. The traditional way to cook this dish has always been to hang the whole lamb over the coals of a mud-and pine-tree-lined pit oven known as a tandir. While this technique is still employed in Turkey and Asia, in the kitchen the dish is created in the oven, slow roasting the lamb in its own juices with lemon, rosemary and seasoning.
LAHMACUN
Like its close relation pide, lahmacun is also a flat bread with a ground meat topping. However, lahmacun is thinner than pide, and usually shaped in a circle, like the pizza we’re all familiar with. It’s often sprinkled with lemon and rolled up and eaten like a wrap, unlike pide which is eaten in slices. Lahmacun is well known outside Turkey as Turkish pizza and is taking off not just in small Turkish cafes, but as an offering in upmarket restaurants with a gourmet twist, served with tender lamb and dollops of mint yogurt.
MANTI
These tasty Turkish dumplings consist of dough wrapped around a filling of ground beef or lamb, with onion and seasonings. It’s believed that manti originated in China and was carried across central Asia to Anatolia by migrating Turks. In Turkey, the smaller the manti the more special the guest – because these dumplings are fiddly and time-consuming to make. Baked with butter or simply boiled, manti is often topped with yogurt and garlic and tomato sauce seasoned with the ever-present spicy red pepper.
