Our first stop was on the coast where there was an abundance of fresh seafood, but otherwise, Turkish food is predominantly lamb, chicken, and beef (kebobs). And when there is fish available, it has bones and faces… yuck! Also they use a lot of yogurt, chickpeas and lentils all of which I love, so that made up for the faces on the fish (sort of). Beans are actually considered the national food of Turkey. We did a street food tour one day in Antalya where we hit about 8 places that serve traditional (and very cheap) Turkish food. That was pretty cool! In Istanbul we did a private cooking class in some random lady’s apartment (in her VERY TINY kitchen!)… I still can’t decide if it was cool, or just awkward. But we were happy to support a local.
Mezze - a tradition in Turkish cuisine; you basically select as many things from the case as they can jam onto a single plate. This was our first stop on our food tour and our guide did the ordering and explained how it worked. I couldn't begin to say what all was on this plate - some yogurt things, some bean things, one super spicy dish... This plate full cost roughly $3.00
Kadayif - A dessert made from fine dough threads with a filling of almonds or walnuts and sugar syrup.
Helva - a dessert made from sesame paste and sugar (plus some other stuff). Ours had a creamy layer on the bottom that resembled ice cream. This food is a deeply rooted symbol of culture, tradition, and community. It is served at gatherings, celebrations, and always at funerals. It was delicious.
Çiğ Köfte - this has been in Turkish cuisine for 3000 years. It is made with bulgur, tomato paste, pepper paste, pomegranate syrup, and lots of spices which are kneaded together for about an hour. You wrap it in either lettuce or a spring roll wrap and add lime and pomegranate syrup. We liked these a lot!
Lahmacun - a popular Turkish street food consisting of a thin dough base topped with a spicy lamb or ground beef mix and baked in a hot oven. It is similar to a small pizza, but the topping never changes. This was Grady's favorite food of the street food tour.
Sis kofte - Basically meatballs made of lamb and beef (we hope!) and spices, served on pieces of pita. This is what A LOT of main courses in Turkey look like!
Kasarli yumurtali - Turkish cheese pide with egg. Pide is a a relatively thin, baked bread made from leavened dough, and topped with various combinations of ingredients. It reminded me a bit of the khachapuri in Georgia
Tavuklu pilav - Supposedly one of Turkey's most loved street foods. It is basically just rice topped with shredded chicken and chickpeas. They would normally mix the chicken in with the rice, but it was kept separate for my benefit. It was ok, but not really anything special.
Turkish delight - a confection based on a gel of starch and sugar with chopped dates, pistachios, hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel. They love this stuff... I don't really get it.
Lentil soup - Just like the name ... soup made of lentils. It is extremely popular and really good. We ordered it multiple times in different restaurants and liked it every time.
Revani - So delicious! It's made from sweet semolina and coconut and soaked in a sugar syrup. We didn't even order it. In Turkey, they seem to throw something extra at you (for free) at every restaurant. This was at a TINY out of the way restaurant run by 2 of the sweetest women! They spoke no English and were falling all over themselves to make us happy. The meal was SO cheap (about $15.00) and then they threw in bread and pickles and olives and free dessert. We tipped them $5.00 and you would have thought we had given them a pile of gold!
Kuzu Testi - a traditional kebab made by filling a clay pot with a mixture of lamb, vegetables and spices then sealed with dough to keep the steam inside. The sealed pot is placed over hot coals to cook for a few hours, then brought to the table and cracked open with a small hammer. Grady says it was really good.
Turkish coffee - apparently a big deal here. It is supposedly stronger and a bit sweeter than regular coffee, but the big difference is that the grounds are left in it. They are like a fine sludge at the bottom of the cup. You only drink it half way down to avoid the grounds. They give you a little glass of water to rinse the grounds out of your teeth if needed. We didn't see any big difference in the flavor.
Fava - made of fava beans which are boiled with onion olive oil and seasonings and then pureed. The resulting paste is chilled until it sets (kind of like a jello mold). It is served cold, sprinkled with olive oil, chopped parsley and red onion. The consistency was a little creepy, but the flavor was actually not bad.
Mantı - small dumplings filled with spiced ground beef or lamb, served topped with garlic yogurt and a drizzle of spiced butter. Grady was pretty unimpressed with them. But in all fairness, no dumpling will ever compare to the khinkali we had in Georgia.
Kabak Tatlısı - which translates to "pumpkin dessert" in Turkish. It's made by slow-cooking pumpkin with sugar until it softens, and is served with a topping of crushed walnuts and a drizzle of tahini. It is ok... the texture is a little weird.
Kuru fasulye - Beans served along with rice. Often considered the national dish of Turkey. We made this in our little cooking class. It was actually one of my favorite dishes.
Artichoke poached in olive oil with peas and carrots. We made this in our cooking class. It was ok.
Tea - They drink A LOT of tea in turkey. It was offered to us after most meals (complimentary). We liked the orange the best.
Baklava - I's sure everyone knows what baklava is! But no Turkish food blog would be complete without it!
Kadaif - a pastry made of very thin, shredded phyllo-like dough. It is baked until crispy, soaked in a sweet syrup, and filled with nuts. Very delicious!
Balık ekmek - translates to "fish bread" are mackerel fish sandwiches. What makes them cool is the setting where you get them. There are literally a few boats in the water set up with grills where they are catching, cleaning and grilling the fish. Then it is plunked on the bread with lettuce, onion, salt and lemon juice and sold at the stand in front. It is all they sell. Truth be told, the bread was the best part.
Tahinli piyaz - this was a strange one, but I have to admit it kind of grew on me! It is a bean salad with tahini sesame paste and yogurt sauce topped with tomatoes and parsley.
Osmanlı lokması - they're basically little donuts cooked and sold by street side vendors. It's a popular Turkish sweet made of fried, yeast-leavened dough balls that are soaked in a sweet syrup (or you can have salty). Grady had some and said they were really good!