Food & Drink
For his new book, chef Musa Dagdeviren travelled throughout Turkey to find its best regional specialities and food traditions
Turkish treats from Musa Dagdeviren, plus Rose Murray Brown on Austrian whites
Food is the key to the soul of a society. Whenever I travel, I go off the beaten track and explore more authentic dishes to get a feel for the culture. This is also how I get to explore different regions in Turkey. Food is a constant link to our heritage. All culinary traditions are precious in their own way. Geographical possibilities and the ensuing diversity is key here. Getting to know different cuisines and enabling their interaction with one another is extremely valuable. Milestones in one’s life like birth, death and marriage are all marked with food rituals. There is a dinner organised at a bride’s family home just before she gets married, to symbolise that she has her destiny in her own hands. If a woman craves a specific food during pregnancy, she absolutely has to have it, otherwise a mark will appear on her baby’s body. Young mothers are nurtured with kaynar ( spiced herbal tea), which is also applied to her belly, then washed off.
Visitors are offered sherbet and sweet kuymak ( cheese fondue), served warm or cold depending on the season. Hedik ( whole wheat stew) is made of boiled wheat to celebrate the first baby tooth and comes with its own ritual. The first step of a baby is called köstek. The toes of the baby are tied together with thread, and sweets and snacks are placed around him. Local children form two teams and run a race. The winner of the race cuts the thread and lifts the baby onto his feet. He is also the winner of the presents! Of course he shares the goodies all around. n
Courgette fritters ( mucver)
A summer dish, traditionally made after making stuffed courgettes ( zucchini), so that the leftover courgette flesh does not go to waste. Some versions add 50g feta cheese to the recipe below.
Region: Sinop, all regions
Serves four
500g courgettes
1 medium onion
4 spring onions
1 fresh garlic ( and a further 4 crushed cloves, for the sauce) ½ bunch flat- leaf parsley ½ bunch dill
1 tsp dried mint
5 eggs
50g plain flour
400g yogurt
250ml olive oil, for frying 1 dill sprig, leaves picked salt and pepper
1 Peel the courgettes and grate into a bowl. Finely slice the onion, spring onions, garlic, parsley and dill. Add to the courgette flesh. Add the dried mint, then season with ¼ tsp black pepper and ½ tsp salt. Knead for 3 minutes, until well incorporated.
2 In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and flour. Add the whisked egg mixture to the other ingredients and knead for a further 2 minutes to combine.
3 In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat to 155C. Place a ¼ cup of the fritter mixture into the hot oil and fry for 2 minutes on each side.
4 Use a slotted spoon to remove to paper towels while you prepare the rest, until all the mixture is used up.
5 To make the sauce, mix the yogurt and crushed garlic in a separate bowl, then season with ¼ tsp salt and garnish with dill. Arrange the fritters on a plate and serve with the yogurt sauce.
Lamb with aubergine mash ( hunkar begendi)
The aubergines can be charred on barbecue embers.
Region: İstanbul, all regions
Serves four 800g lamb loin
100g ghee
½ tsp white pepper
1 litre lamb/ veal stock, boiling 1kg round, seedless aubergines 50g butter
1 tbsp plain flour
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
1 litre milk, hot
70g unsalted kasar or kashkaval cheese ( mature hard cheeses), grated
1 Preheat oven to 200C/ Gas Mark 6. Arrange the aubergines on a baking tray, prick a few times with the tip of a knife and bake in the hot oven for 1 hour. Remove the aubergines from the oven, set aside until cool enough to handle, then peel.
2 Dice the lamb into 3- cm pieces. Heat the ghee in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the lamb, half the white pepper and ½ tsp salt. Cook for 2 minutes on each side. Add the stock, reduce the heat and cook, covered, for 1 hour.
3 To make the mash: heat the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat, add the peeled aubergines and cook for 5 minutes, pressing and mixing continuously with a wooden spoon.
4 Add the flour, nutmeg and the remaining white pepper with ½ tsp salt and mix for 1 minute. Reduce the heat, add the milk and cook, mixing continuously, for 5 minutes. Add the cheese and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, then remove from the heat.
5 Transfer the aubergine mash to a shallow serving platter and top with the lamb.
Custard slice paponi ( laz boregi)
Any excuse is a good excuse to prepare this dish. Region: Rize, Black Sea Region
Serves four
250g sugar ( and a further 2 tsp for the custard)
1 tbsp lemon juice
350ml water
70g wheat starch 400ml milk
10 black peppercorns
¼ tsp salt
30 ( 20cm) sheets filo pastry 175g unsalted butter, melted
1 To make the syrup: combine the sugar, lemon juice and 350ml water in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat until the temperature reaches 95C on a cooking thermometer. Remove from the heat and cool for 1 hour.
2 In a saucepan, mix the wheat starch and milk until well combined then bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook for 20 minutes, reduce the heat, add the black pepper, 2 tsp of sugar and salt and cook, stirring, for another 10 minutes, until the custard coats the back of a spoon. Let cool for 1 hour.
3 Preheat oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4. Brush a 20cm ( 8in) square pan with 2 tsp butter. Layer 15 sheets of pastry into the pan, brushing each with butter. Spread the custard over, then cover with the remaining pastry sheets, brushing each with butter. Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry into quarters through the layers. Pour over the remaining butter and bake in the oven for 30- 40 minutes.
4 Remove from the oven, pour over the syrup and let soak for 15 minutes, Transfer to plates and serve.