Taste Turkey
Türkiye
Kebab is only a headline. There are also stuffed vegetables, Black Sea corn and anchovy, Gaziantep pistachio and chilli, Aegean olive-oil dishes, and a meze logic that predates the restaurant tasting menu.
37 recipes · 2 cuisines
Essential dishes
Menemen
Menemen
Eggs scrambled into tomato, pepper and a little chilli — Turkish breakfast, not shakshuka, not an omelette.
25 minEasy🌶️
Lahmacun
lahmacun
A thin meat-topped flatbread — not a pizza, not a pide, eaten with parsley, onion and a squeeze of lemon.
1 hr 37 minMedium🌶️
Pide
pide
A boat-shaped stuffed bread — cheese, egg, or mince — thicker than lahmacun, not a pizza either.
1 hr 55 minMediumNo chilli
Simit
simit
Sesame rings, chewy, sold on the street — dunked in pekmez before the sesame if you are doing it properly.
2 hr 20 minMediumNo chilli
Sigara böreği
sigara böreği
Cigar-rolled phyllo around salty cheese, fried — the meze that disappears first.
40 minEasyNo chilli
İmam bayıldı
imam bayıldı
Eggplant collapsed in olive oil, onion and tomato — the imam fainted, allegedly, and there is no meat in the pot.
1 hr 10 minEasyNo chilli
Karnıyarık
karnıyarık
Split eggplant stuffed with mince — the imam's meatier cousin, still an oil pot.
1 hr 10 minMedium🌶️
Mantı
mantı
Tiny lamb dumplings, yoghurt, chilli butter — a project the first time, a flex every time after.
1 hr 45 minA bit of work🌶️
Baklava
baklava
Phyllo, nuts, butter and a sharp syrup — Gaziantep's pride, not a soggy hotel diamond.
3 hr 25 minA bit of workNo chilli
Apricot & Turkish delight mess
Apricot & Turkish delight mess from Turkey. Times are typical for this kind of dish.
10 minMediumNo chilli
Aubergine & hummus grills
Aubergine & hummus grills from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
28 minMediumNo chilli
Baklava with spiced nuts, ricotta & chocolate
Baklava with spiced nuts, ricotta & chocolate from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
1 hr 5 minA bit of workNo chilli
Adana kebab
Adana kebab from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
14 hr 43 minEasyNo chilli
Cacik
Cacik from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
12 hr 15 minEasyNo chilli
Corba
Corba from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
47 minA bit of workNo chilli
Grilled aubergines with spicy chickpeas & walnut sauce
Grilled aubergines with spicy chickpeas & walnut sauce from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
30 minA bit of work🌶️
Griddled aubergines with sesame dressing
Griddled aubergines with sesame dressing from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
13 minMediumNo chilli
Griddled flatbreads
Griddled flatbreads from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
1 hr 41 minEasyNo chilli
Hot cumin lamb wrap with crunchy slaw & spicy mayo
Hot cumin lamb wrap with crunchy slaw & spicy mayo from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
14 minMediumNo chilli
Imam bayildi with BBQ lamb & tzatziki
Imam bayildi with BBQ lamb & tzatziki from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
1 hr 14 minA bit of workNo chilli
Kumpir
If you order kumpir in Turkey, the standard filling is first, lots of butter mashed into the potato, followed by cheese. There’s then a row of other toppings that you can just point at to your heart’s content – sweetcorn
15 minEasy🌶️
kofta burgers
kofta burgers from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
16 minMedium🌶️
Roast aubergine with goat's cheese & toasted flatbread
Roast aubergine with goat's cheese & toasted flatbread from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
43 minMedium🌶️
Slow-roast lamb with cinnamon, fennel & citrus
Slow-roast lamb with cinnamon, fennel & citrus from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
14 hrMediumNo chilli
Turkish lamb pilau
Turkish lamb pilau from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
23 minMediumNo chilli
Turkish rice (vermicelli rice)
rice
Turkish rice (vermicelli rice) from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
44 minEasyNo chilli
Turkish-style lamb
Turkish-style lamb from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
15 minMediumNo chilli
Chicken wings with cumin, lemon & garlic
Chicken wings with cumin, lemon & garlic from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
10 hr 30 minEasyNo chilli
Lamb & apricot meatballs
Lamb & apricot meatballs from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
25 minMediumNo chilli
Roasted chicken with creamy walnut sauce
Roasted chicken with creamy walnut sauce from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
53 minMediumNo chilli
Aubergine couscous salad
Aubergine couscous salad from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
35 minMediumNo chilli
Ezme
Ezme from Turkey. Times are typical for this kind of dish.
10 minA bit of work🌶️
Smoky chicken skewers
Smoky chicken skewers from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
24 minMediumNo chilli
Sweet potato salad
Sweet potato salad from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
45 minMediumNo chilli
Chilli ginger lamb chops
Chilli ginger lamb chops from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
8 hr 13 minMedium🌶️
Smoked aubergine purée
Smoked aubergine purée from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
35 minEasyNo chilli
Walnut, date & honey cake
Walnut, date & honey cake from Turkey. Times were inferred from the source steps.
1 hr 38 minMediumNo chilli
Regional cuisines
Think you know Turkey food?
37 quiz dishes. Optional — Passport stamps still come from cooking.
Take the Turkey food quizFood history
Central Asian Turkic, Byzantine, Armenian, Kurdish, Greek, Arab and Ottoman palace cooking all live in the present tense. 'Turkish food' is a political border drawn across much older kitchen geographies.