Almost Turkish Recipes

Hi!
I am just back from 2 weeks in Turkey, staying with Turkish friends and I fell in love with the cuisine!

I googled purslane, after having it served several times with yogurt. It is a plant I have long considered a weed in my garden.
Do you know if the US weedy variety is just as edible? I think what is eaten in Turkey is cultivated, no?

Thanks, Lynn & Bill

Hi Lynn & Bill,
You are right, that purslane at the pazar in Turkey is cultivated, however, not everyone buys purslane fromm the pazar because it grows in your yard. I don't have purslane growing wild in my yard (I wish I had!); I buy purslane from a Mexican market: They call it 'verdolaga.' But I know wild purslane is edible. So if you have some in your yard, enjoy it.

Hi Burcu, I have a general question for you. I have been following your blog for several months to try some Turkish dishes before moving to Turkey for graduate school. Now I'm here in Istanbul and went to the grocery store today. Do you know what extra virgin olive oil is sold as in Turkey? I only saw "sizma" and "riviera" olive oil - it looked like the former was from green olives and the latter from black olives.

Thanks! I look forward to trying your recipes in Turkey now!

Hi Marissa,
Extra virgin is `sizma` in Turkish. `sizma` (which has low acidity) is usually used raw for salads and mezes, and `riviera` (with higher acidity) is used in cooking.

Good luck both in grad school and in Turkey.

I just discovered your blog. Wow, everything looks so tasty! I've already bookmarked at least 6 recipes, and I haven't even gone through most of them yet!

I'm a Turkish food enthusiast, born and raised in Turkey, now live in the States, and my name is Burcu as well! I love your recipes, and how they're mainly light, healthy and vegetarian friendly. I'm a big fan of zucchini and you have a lot of delicious zucchini recipes that I have in my bookmarks. Thank you so much for making this blog! Cheers!

Burcu, siten super olmus, sadece birseyi merak ettim, niye almost turkish? :D

Thanks, Burcu!

alıuser - Siteyi begenmene sevindim. Tariflerin hemen hemen Turk olmasi, Amerika'da bulabileceğin malzemelerle %100 Turk tarifi yaratmanın zorlugundan.

I'm so happy to have found your blog. I'm from the US but currently living in Istanbul and teaching at a university here. I'd never really experienced Turkish food before coming here, but now I am in love with it. Thanks so much for sharing such great recipes with us!

Hi Burcu,
I can't even remeber how i stumbled across your site, but I am soooo glad I did. I love good food from all around the world. I think the reason why i love Turkish food so much is because my great-grandfather was Turkish and my mothers food has been influenced greatly by Turkish cuisine. And, also because it just taste so good lol.

I have been refering to your site almost daily and trying new things, everything has turned out lovely.

Thank you so much for the effort it is greatly appreciated. When i was in turkey i had a dish that i loved but haven't tried it out yet..it was called 'hunker begendi' do you have a recipe for it? thanks so much once again burcu :)

Thanks, Nancy. And actually I do have a begendi recipe. I made it a couple of weeks ago with eggplants from farmer's market, but haven't posted yet. I promise I'll post it sometime next week.

oooh yay! can't wait to try it out. thank you soo much.

Hello Burcu! I love your blog--your recipes are fantastic. I am half Turkish and I'm constantly asking my parents for recipes, but they rarely measure anything, so I appreciate your efforts to do so and to share with us. I also love lahmacun...any chance you have a recipe?
Thanks,
Funda

Thanks, Funda! Lahmacun is my favorite dish too, and the only one that I really miss here. I have never tried to make lahmacun, because I don't believe in home-made lahmacun. I tried it when other people made it, people from southeastern Turkey, yet without the stone oven it just doesn't taste the same. But if you really want to try, I have a recipe I can send you. Or I recommend Ali Baba Restaurant in NY on 34th st or Levante's at Dupont Circle in DC. Also, Armenian restaurants usually have delicious lahmacun, too.

do you by any chance have 'Izmir kofte' receipe?
adrin

anonymous - Sorry for the late response. Yes,I do have Izmir kofte recipe; however, I am not planning to make it in the near future. If you need the recipe email me at almostturkish(at)gmail(dot)com, I'll send you the recipe.

Hello Burcu,
I've enjoyed reading your recipes. Do you have one for Su Boregi ?
Thank you,
Sumru

Sumru - I know how to make su boregi in theory, but never tried it in practice. You really need to roll the dough yourself to make phyllo. I haven't gathered the courage or time or patience to do that yet. However, Fethiye over at www.yogurtland.com has a detailed su boregi recipe that you might find helpful.

Your pictures are amazing and make my mouth water. I will try the cabbage and meat stew. Thank you for taking the time to measure and post your wonderful cooking!

Hi Burcu, I lovvee your website it has been extremely helpful to me .. Anyway I have a question for you which is a bit off track. I've been trying to lose a bit of weight recently and in a few months we are of to Turkey for summer holidays.. specifically Istanbul/Bodrum/Fethiye etc. I was wondering if you could give me some tips of what I can eat outside (in restaurants) & also at home that would help me not to put on 10kgs like last time!! :) i love the food but putting weight on during summer isnt fun! so far I'm thinking things like lentil soup and salads but how are things like midye dolma & sunflower seeds (i love these) any other suggestions of what to eat?

Hi Melisi, I'm glad that you find the blog helpful. I may not be a good source of advice at the moment, since I haven't been to Turkey in a year and a half and that I would eat anything and everything if I go now. I can just suggest to stay away from bread, pide, and phyllo dough and fried things. Almost every eggplant dish in Turkey would be fried and very oily. Midye dolma is sure better than midye tava (the fried version). I am sure in Bodrum and Fethiye you can find a lot of olive oil dishes, the ones that are cooked with olive oil and served cold, and of course a big variety of fish. They would be much healthier and lighter. I hope this helps.

Burcu, I just found your website...was looking for recipes for the 2 bags of Turkish Bulgur I have in my cupboard. As a total Turkophile and the wife of a Turk (who is one of the rare Turkish men who are excellent cooks ;) ), I am thrilled to find your website! I can't wait to try your recipes out! I totally agree about lahamacun.. Turkiyeye cok ozleyorum. There is an excellent place in Jersey too...Dereyin Yerisi (spelling? Translates to uncle's place ;)...they make great pide also). Thank you for what you have done here with your website...cok tessekur ederiz.

Thanks so much Burcu.. hehe i think I will definitely go a bit crazy but it's good to have some idea of what is better than others hehe :) Thanks!

Hi!
I enjoyed visiting your blog and seeing your recipes!
I like Turkish cuisine whic had casted - a long time ago- its shadow on our Libyan cuisine.
I like it when culures mingled together and something in between come about.
Thank you
Laila

What a great website! I am sure to try many of your recipes. Thanks a lot.

Thanks for sharing the beautiful recipes will definately try some of this yummy recipes. Love the turkish cuisine:)

I linked to your blog from Kalyn's Kitchen, and I spent hours browsing through nearly every recipe. They all look amazing and I cannot wait to try them.

I'm embarrassed to say that I have never really experienced Turkish cuisine (beyond general "Mediterranean" fare), and after looking at your recipes I can't believe I've been missing out so long! The ingredients and flavors are exactly the types of things I crave regularly--especially savory breakfasts!

Thanks for such a wonderful blog--with great photos--and keep up the good work!

Hi Binnur, Your website has so helpful to me. I wanted to ask your opinion on something though. I use Lazali Salça in a lot of my cooking at home and on the label it doesn't say there is oil in it and also the nutrition table is very low in fat&kjs. However, when I cook with it i can see a gold ribbony shine on the surface which makes me think they do use some olive oil in it. Do you know if this is the case?

Melissa,
I never used Lazali salca so I cannot know exactly what they use, but it's very common to put some (olive) oil in paste to preserve it especially if it's pepper paste.

Hi Burcu,
I love your blog. The recipes looks soo delicious. Could you please post a recipe for eggplant moussaka and keskek?
I miss eating keskek and i know it is a lot of work but if you do have the recipe that would be awesome!! Thank you in advance :)

Merhaba Burcu!
I love your blog and have already made several of your dishes. And I recommend it to everyone who likes cooking and lots of veggies. I lived in Turkey for three years, but I was a poor student then and we cooked at home or sometimes went to Bilkent's canteen... I found your blog when I was craving mercimek corbasi and now I continue to explore and try new things. Thanks for sharing! Greetings from Toronto
Hosca kal!
Magda

Excellent blog! Well written recipes and superb pictures which make me hungry each time I look at them!

Emek