My past experience of Turkish food in the past can be summed up in three words: fast, greasy and cheap. In Cappadocia, I became reacquainted with this cuisine in what was a long-overdue "proper" introduction. It turns out that whatever version of Turkish cuisine has made it out of the country and become ubiquitous around Europe are but pale fast-food shadows of the real thing.
Care for a sampling? Let's eat!
Top row: At Cafe Safak in the center of Goreme, the owner Ali's mother makes a competition-winning lentil soup (warm, hearty and cheap!); a refreshing cucumber, tomato and onion side salad; pide, Turkish-style pizza with cheese and sausage. Bottom row: "Pottery" kebap, a meat stew (your choice beef, chicken or lamb) slow-cooked in a terracotta pot that's broken at the table; chicken kebap fresh from the pot, served with rice; tangy pickled beet slaw; local red wine from Cappadocia.
The Turkish are a people after my own heart. They love their sweets and so do I! Thanks to the Turkish sweet tooth, meals always ended with a variety of delectable pastries. I chose to wash mine down with the omnipresent çay, or Turkish tea, while Marlon opted for very strong (too strong for me!), almost mud-thick Turkish coffee.
Top row: Sweet and chewy borek, a layered and baked (or fried) phyllo pastry that seems to be the Turkish national snack (it's everywhere!), best with a glass of warm Turkish tea. Bottom row: Marlon enjoying his manly coffee with delicate bites of baklava.
I thought it was going to be easy to stick to my low/no-carb diet while in Turkey. ("They eat a lot of kebabs right? Grilled meat? I should be fine!") As you can see, I was way off the mark... but quite happy to be wrong!
I hate your food shots Deepa! They're all so tempting. They make me want to go to Turkey. Unfortunately, the closest I can get to Turkey are baklava and Turkish Delights from M&S HK.
ReplyDeleteOooh, I can almost smell those tempting delights!
ReplyDeleteOne of my dear friends is Turkish so I was lucky enough to be introduced to the cuisine in its purest form.
The concept of the Kebap is new and very intriguing to me, however.
Thanks to your photos (and this post), I think Turkey just shot up my list of European countries to visit! :)