Cuisine Focus – Turkish – Natural Flavors Served In a Plate

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Turkish cuisine never fails to impress guests with its aromatic food and satisfying drinks. It has a reputation similar to Chinese and French cooking, maybe because it bears the charming simplicity of food and value of great authentic taste.

In addition, Turkey’s long history refined its cooking like a pearl in the making. Its people consider food like a pleasant surprise for its anticipating guests. They value quality by giving importance to the finest ingredients. Their food is likewise prepared in a simple manner, so as not to alter its natural and real taste.

If there is one dish that the Turkish are known for, that would be Kebabs or grilled meat. While some of us are very familiar with barbecued pork or beef even chicken, the Turks always prefer lamb as base. No Turkish kitchen becomes complete without Lamb in its pantry. Wives and mothers naturally thread lamb pieces on metal skewers and grill these over charcoal fires and ember. Grilled and meat dishes include Doner Kebab and Kofte. You can also try the famous Sis Kebab and Tandir.

As for typical items used in cooking, Turkish cuisine considers Aubergine as a prime ingredient. With dishes such as Eggplant salad (Patlican Salatasi) and stuffed eggplants (Patlican Dolmasi), Aubergines cease to become as basic vegetables for them.

Turkish cooking is also famous for their Kofte, a dish made up of minced meat, onions and spices. These items are usually shaped by hand and are cooked by means of boiling, baking, frying or grilling. A Kofte dish is also identified based on their sizes and shapes.

Ingredients Utilized in Turkish Cuisine

Meat:

Lamb, Chicken, Beef

Seafood:

Sea Bass, Trout, Mussels, Anchovies, Sardines, Whiting, White Grouper, Red Pandora, Bonito, Red Mullet, Turbot, Swordfish

Vegetables:

Eggplants, Lentils, Beans, Green Pepper, Potatoes, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Cabbage, Spinach, Pumpkin, Carrot

Nuts:

Walnuts, Hazelnuts, Almonds, Pistachios, Pine nuts

Spices:

Thyme, Cumin, Mint, Oregano, Black Pepper, Paprika, Parsley

Fats and Oils:

Olive oil, Canola oil, Corn Oil, Sunflower Oil, Butter, Margarine

Fruits:

Plums, Grapes, Apples, Dates, Figs, Apricots, Melons, Watermelons

Dairy:

Eggs, Cheese, Yogurt, Milk

As a whole, Turkish cuisine is all about grains, vegetables, seafood and meat. The cuisine is also defined by its range of beverages and desserts. A main ingredient such as lamb, eggplant or pumpkin needs to be enjoyed amidst various spices and condiments. For them, an eggplant should taste like an eggplant and nothing else. For these people, food must be enjoyed in its natural state and it would be injustice to hide great flavors behind thick creams and sauces.

Authentic Turkish Recipes

Lentil-Rice Salad (Pirincli Yesil Mercimek Salatasi)

Recipe Source: turkishfoodandrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 cup green lentils, cooked and drained
½ cup rice, cooked and cooled
1 large onion, juvenile cut
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 big carrot, grated
2-3 green onions, chopped
½ -1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
½ cup fresh mint, chopped
1 lemon’s juice
1 tsp salt to taste
1 tsp black pepper
½ cup corn (optional)

Methods:

Cook rice and green lentils separately and let them cool. Meanwhile, take olive oil in a skillet and sauté onions for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Stir in grated carrots and sauté for additional 6-8 minutes. Let cool for a while.
Finally, combine sautéed onions and carrots with cooked green lentils and rice. Add all of the remaining ingredients and mix them all.
ENJOY

Tarator

Recipe Source: recipeturk.com

Ingredients:

1 glass walnuts (cleaned and peeled)
1/3 glass sesame oil
1/3 glass lemon juice
40 g garlic (cleaned)
2 bunches parsley
1 teaspoon salt

Methods:

First put walnuts , garlic and salt into a mortar and pound well. Watch carefully to see that walnut oil is not secreted. Blend sesame oil and lemon juice very well in a bowl. Add walnuts and garlic to the bowl and continue blending. Chop the parsley and add it to the bowl. Serve in a deep dish. Enjoy.

Image Credit: britishturkey.co.uk

turkishfoodandrecipes.com

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Posted on Thursday, January 13, 2011 at 1:00 pm
Filed under Menus Recipes etc, World Cuisines · Tagged with Chefs, foods, lentil, Recipes, tarator, Turkish cuisine, Turkish recipes

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An Outline of World’s Cuisines says:

April 27, 2011 at 7:57 pm

[...] European cuisine. On the other hand, we also have the Mediterranean cuisine which includes Greek, Turkish, Italian, Sicilian, Portuguese and Spanish [...]