Tarhana is one of the oldest known instant soups. Possibly the first of its kind, created centuries ago by the Turks living in Central Asia and then spreading widely. Combining many foods that have been collected and harvested over the summer, they are then cooked, dried and crushed to create a delicious soup. It is…
This tart was first cooked for me by Canan, whom I met in the summer of ’92 in Bodrum. Canan comes from one of those families who was totally inspired by great Turkish food and a deep love of cooking as well as sourcing the perfect ingredients. Her mother and father were both inspirational in…
It’s a very different Easter this year and many people will not be celebrating in any sort of ordinary way but one thing we can do though, is enjoy a Hot Cross Bun or two or three! These are very simple to make and yummy to eat whilst still hot, otherwise toasted the next day,…
This delicious pie is currently sitting at the top of our All Time Favourite Dessert list. The chocolate shortbread pastry can be eaten by itself. It is that good. And if marzipan or almonds are not your thing, or you cannot get hold of them, then there are substitutes explained further down. You can make…
Late Autumn is when the ‘kornişon’ or small gherkins appear in the markets. They actually appear twice a year but if you are interested in pickling them, you need to make the pickles with the Autumn crop. I have been told by several villagers that the Spring crop will not stay crunchy in its pickling…
I know it is now November but keeping up with all the winter preparations that Turkish women cover in the last moments of summer is actually really tricky. At last, I am able to cover another very important activity that makes the Turkish winter dishes so delicious. Drying aubergines or eggplants, whichever you like to…
I was very lucky to be invited to Arzu’s house to see how she made erişte. She had set aside her Sunday to work with her sister making enough erişte to last her through the winter. I had not met her sister before but there was absolutely no doubt that they were related as you…
Not so many people will recognise these little gems called Hurnap or Hünap in Turkish. You may have heard of them, known as Jujubes, Chinese Dates or Custard Apples. They are definitely not your everyday fruit. But they do rather sound like the latest release from Haribo with a name like this, don’t they? Juju, Jujubes,…
Olives are a staple food all over the Middle Eastern world and Claudia has covered a lot of information in her fabulous blogs in the past. (Her links are pasted below.) So instead I will take you to a little garden in Fethiye where Semra, one of my dear friend’s who has 6 fairly young…