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 will see in the photos!
This is how Arzu greeted me, sitting on the floor, hard at work. Her husband opened the door and ushered me in. No wonder she couldn’t answer the phone when I checked she was in!
She starts off by throwing a pre-rolled ball of dough onto the little table on the floor.
How she can sit cross legged like that for hours at a time is beyond me.
Erişte is a very popular pasta. The dough is made with flour, water, eggs and salt. She bought a 5kg pack of plain flour. (There is only plain flour to be found here. No such thing as strong flour or cake flour etc.)
She stretches it out as thinly as she can. A few holes in it will not matter at all.
Her sister is working on a side table they have set up. They are both concentrating heavily. This is the first time I have ever seen a European style rolling pin at work in a Turkish kitchen. I have no idea where they got it from.After the dough has been mixed well to a strong consistency (there is nothing soft about this dough) it is rolled out into very fine sheets. As each one is rolled out, it is gently carried to a room where sheets have been laid out and they wait a few hours for it to dry a bit. Sunday was a 35C degree day so 2 to 3 hours sufficed.
Very carefully she transports it through to their living room that is cloaked in clean sheets.
Then the erişte was sliced. This erişte here would be considered on the slightly thick side and often it would not be greater than 1/4″ or around 7mm.
Arzu’s husband took these two photos. He was thrilled I was going to include them in the blog!
This is freshly cut.
It is laid out to dry and regularly turned until it snaps when you break it. This will probably take around 2 to 3 days.
Arzu admiring her handiwork. It was an all-day event.
Erişte can be eaten as pasta, boiled until al dente, which takes about the same time as commercial pasta. Butter will then be dropped in it and it will be tossed. Possibly adding some salt and pepper too.
The most popular thing to do with erişte however is to add it to a soup which more often than not, will include green lentils.
It is always a pleasure to be welcomed into their home. Their daughter also had a go at rolling out the pastry and hence she was told to cover her hair. Arzu took a break from it all and came to the door to see me off. Thank you Arzu for another fascinating visit!
I was invited to some eat with some friends on the beach and they set up what they considered a simple meal. It was just delicious. One very interesting thing was the dish of erişte that was served. I was advised during the meal to take a mouthful of erişte and then immediately follow it with a mouthful of the stewed plums. It was certainly different.
When the pasta is completely dried, it will be stored in ‘tulum’ – cotton bags that are breathable so that should it still retain any moisture at all, it will not go mouldy.
There are many famous recipes for soup with erişte and two are listed here.
Dulavrat Soup/Çorbası: a wonderful hearty Turkish soup from Adana
Çatal Aşı Çorbası: a hearty soup from the depths of Anatolia
Here is a popular dish in some villages too.
Köy Eriştesi/Village Egg Noodles with Sage, Walnuts and White Cheese
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