Turkish Recipes
51 recipes found
Çilbir (Turkish Eggs With Yogurt)
This traditional Turkish egg dish of garlicky yogurt with poached eggs and a drizzle of spicy butter is rich, luscious and faintly smoky. Typically served as a meze among a spread of other dishes, it makes a light lunch or brunch that comes together in the time it takes to poach eggs. For your base, opt for Greek yogurt to mimic the thicker yogurt common in Turkey. Next, bloom Aleppo pepper in butter or olive oil. Also known as pul biber, it delivers about as much heat as chipotle, with smoky notes and a fruity flavor. This version of çilbir is adapted from Özlem Warren, a cookbook author and blogger. Though the dish is traditionally served without herbs, she recommends dill or parsley for a modern flourish.
Meat Stuffed Marrows/Zucchinis (Dolma)
This recipe is basically based on the idea of stuffing your vegetables with your filling, so you can improvise if you wish. In Turkey it is called "Dolma" which means "stuffed". Traditionally we use marrows, peppers, aubergines and beef tomatoes back at home. As a warm dish, the filling is minced beef mixed with a little bit of rice and herbs and seasoning. Serve it with garlic yoghurt.
Turkish Quince Dessert with Apple Roses
I wanted to share the purest quince dessert recipe so you can enjoy the flavor of this wonderful fruit, poaching in red wine & using ginger are also options.
Barlotti Beans Cooked Turkish Style ( Barbunya)
This barbunya recipe for barlotti beans with carrots and diced roasted potatoes is a classical Turkish-style summer vegetable recipe, eaten warm or cold.
Green Beans Cooked Turkish Style (Zeytinyağlı Fasulye )
This zeytinyağlı fasulye is a classical Turkish summer vegetable recipe, eaten warm or cold. Drizzle a extra virgin olive oil on top to add more flavour.
Oven-Roasted Chicken Shawarma
Here is a recipe for an oven-roasted version of the flavorful street-side classic usually cooked on a rotisserie. It is perfect for an evening with family and friends. Serve with pita and tahini, chopped cucumbers and tomatoes, some olives, chopped parsley, some feta, fried eggplant, hummus swirled with harissa, rice or rice pilaf. You can make the white sauce that traditionally accompanies it by cutting plain yogurt with mayonnaise and lemon juice, and flecking it with garlic. For a red to offset it, simmer ketchup with crushed red pepper and a hit of red-wine vinegar until it goes syrupy and thick, or just use your favorite hot sauce instead.
15 Minute Chickpeas Over Rice
Inspired by dying street food of Turkey. This chickpeas over rice recipe is sold from -once ubiquitous- mobile food carts. I use brown rice rather than Jasmine.
Imam Bayildi
There are many recipes for the iconic Turkish eggplant dish, imam bayildi. Most call for much more olive oil than this recipe does. There’s quite a bit in this one, but it’s a much lighter dish than the classic. Make sure to simmer this over very low heat as it cooks for a long time.
Turkish Figs with Anise and Walnuts
These sweet and savory, soft and crunchy Turkish fig treats are always in my travel bag whether flying or driving. The recipe is simple with anise and walnuts.
Zucchini Pancakes
Mucver (pronounced moosh-vair) are delicate, crisp zucchini pancakes popular in Turkey. This version has not just shredded zucchini, but also tiny clouds of feta and a sprinkling of minced fresh dill and scallions. They are crisp on the outside, tender within and subtly herbaceous. The trick to making the pancakes crisp and not soggy is to squeeze all the water out of the zucchini before mixing it with the other ingredients. A little brute force is required.
Turkish Eggs With Olives, Feta and Tomatoes (Menemen)
Scrambled eggs lend themselves to customization because they're a blank, breakfast- or brunch-friendly canvas. Almost any stir-in works: Add cheese or butter for richness, vegetables for heft and herbs and spices for flavor. If you like a little bit of everything in yours, then menemen –– the traditional Turkish egg dish loaded with peppers and tomatoes –– is for you. This version uses plump olives, crumbled feta and a pile of fresh herbs -- and comes together in less than 30 minutes.
Menemen (Turkish Scrambled Eggs With Tomato)
Menemen, made from eggs, tomatoes, peppers and sometimes onions, is a distinctly Turkish breakfast comfort food. Although a year-round dish, it is especially pleasing in the summer, with really ripe tomatoes from the garden or farmer’s market. Be creative with this dish: Add shallots, chiles, fresh herbs or Aleppo pepper, or treat it as purists do, with only tomatoes and eggs. Cook slowly, stirring infrequently, until the eggs form billowy puffs. You can serve topped with feta cheese or lamb sausage, with any warm flatbread on the side.
Pistachio Baklava
This Turkish-style baklava tastes deeply and richly of pistachio nuts and butter, without the spices, honey or aromatics found in other versions. It has a purity of flavor that, while still quite sweet, is never cloying. This very traditional recipe is from one of the most celebrated baklava shops in Istanbul. Feel free to substitute other nuts for the pistachios, particularly walnuts and hazelnuts. Or use a combination of nuts. Once baked, this baklava will last for several days, but it is at its absolute best within 24 hours of baking.
Vegan Turkish Kebabs With Sumac Onions and Garlic-Dill Mayonnaise
These vegan ground meat kebabs are inspired by Turkish street food. The kebabs themselves can be served on their own with the garlic-dill mayonnaise, or made into wraps, or tucked into Turkish bread or pita for sandwiches, with garlic-dill mayonnaise, sumac onions and tomatoes.
Carrots and Lentils in Olive Oil
This is an adaptation of a Turkish recipe, a sweet and savory combination of lentils, onions and carrots that can be served hot or at room temperature, as a main dish or a side.
Yogurt Cake
This Turkish yogurt cake, adapted from the cookbook “Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean,” is similar to a lemon-scented cheesecake, but it’s lighter and has a fresher, tangier flavor. It’s good both warm and cold, either on its own or topped with berries that have been macerated in a pinch or two of sugar. Make sure to use whole milk Greek yogurt or another thick, strained variety here, or the texture won’t be as creamy.
Slow-Roasted Turkish Lamb
This lamb must be cooked until completely tender and succulent, but if time is a concern, it may also be prepared well in advance and reheated in the pan juices to serve. Shoulder is the best cut to use, or lamb shanks. It’s finished with a bright garnish of pomegranate seeds and sliced persimmons. Small Fuyu persimmons are delicious eaten firm and raw, like an apple, unlike the larger Hachiya type, which must be ripe and soft to be palatable (and would not be suitable here). Lacking persimmons, use more pomegranate. Serve it with rice pilaf, if desired.
Taramosalata
Turkish Bean and Herb Salad
The authentic version of this sweet, fragrant bean salad requires about three times as much olive oil. In Turkey, borlotti beans or red beans would be used; I prefer pink beans, available in many supermarkets. The salad is adapted from a recipe by the cookbook author Clifford Wright.
Grilled Turkish meat balls
Lamb and Eggplant Pide
Sometimes referred to as Turkish pizza, pide (pronounced pea-DAY) is made with a simple yeast dough. You can make your own dough, or use two 8-ounce balls of store-bought pizza dough, if you like. Spiced ground lamb is a typical Turkish topping, but we use some diced eggplant and a bit of yogurt and mint as a nod to moussaka. Adding an egg to the yogurt thickens it, so when it’s cooked it becomes an almost-cheesy layer between the meat and dough. If you can’t find ground lamb, you can substitute ground beef, and for a vegetarian version, omit the meat and double up on the eggplant.
Mercimek Koftesi (Lentil Balls)
Turkish Red Lentil Soup
Turkish Chicken and Okra Casserole
In Turkey, okra is often stewed with lamb or chicken. I liked this dish so much that I made it twice in one week, the second time for a big dinner party. It’s adapted from Ghillie Basan’s recipe in “Classic Turkish Cooking.”