Salata & Meze
Charred Pepper Salad (Közlenmiş Biber Salatası)
Red peppers charred and dressed with garlic and olive oil. Two ingredients, deep flavour.
Salata & Meze
Hummus (Humus)
Skinning the chickpeas is the only route to smoothness. Boiling them with bicarbonate of soda makes that…
Salata & Meze
Muhammara
Walnuts, red pepper paste and pomegranate molasses. Breadcrumbs hold the texture, olive oil loosens it.
Salata & Meze
Baba Ganoush (Babagannuş)
Charred aubergine with tahini. No yoghurt, which makes it denser and keeps it longer.
Salata & Meze
Cacık
Draining the cucumber stops cacık going watery. The mint can be dried or fresh.
Salata & Meze
Atom
Strained yoghurt, dried chilli and plenty of garlic. The plainest of the hot mezes.
Salata & Meze
Fava
A dried broad bean purée that sets and slices as it cools. Dill and lemon are not optional.
Salata & Meze
Courgette with Yoghurt (Yoğurtlu Kabak)
Grated courgette cooked in olive oil. How far its liquid goes decides the texture of the meze.
Salata & Meze
Spinach with Yoghurt (Yoğurtlu Ispanak)
Spinach cooked down until it gives up its liquid, served cold with yoghurt. Garlic and olive oil.
Salata & Meze
Purslane with Yoghurt (Yoğurtlu Semizotu)
Purslane blanched briefly and folded into yoghurt. A softer meze than the raw version.
Salata & Meze
Girit Ezmesi
White cheese, walnuts and olive oil. Do not add salt without allowing for the salt in the cheese.
Salata & Meze
Carrot with Yoghurt (Yoğurtlu Havuç)
Carrot cooked in olive oil until it sweetens. The raw version does not taste the same.
Salata & Meze
Beetroot with Yoghurt (Yoğurtlu Pancar)
Boiled beetroot turning the yoghurt pink. Vinegar holds both the colour and the flavour.
Salata & Meze
Potato Salad (Patates Salatası)
The potatoes must meet the dressing while warm. Cold potato does not take it up.
Salata & Meze
Courgette Fritters (Kabak Mücveri)
Squeezing the courgette is what keeps the fritters together. A wet batter spreads in the pan.
Salata & Meze
Antep Ezmesi
Acılı ezme with isot and walnuts. The bulgur gives the relish body.
Salata & Meze
White Cabbage Salad (Beyaz Lahana Salatası)
Salting and rubbing the cabbage takes out the toughness. That step changes the salad completely.
Salata & Meze
Amerikan Salatası
Russian salad without the peas and with plenty of pickles. More mayonnaise too.
Salata & Meze
Russian Salad (Rus Salatası)
The vegetables are boiled separately and cut to the same size. The mayonnaise goes in last.
Salata & Meze
Sumac Onion Salad (Nar Ekşili Soğan Salatası)
The classic beside a kebab. Salting and rubbing the onion takes out its sharpness.
Salata & Meze
Pickle Salad (Turşu Salatası)
Whatever pickles are in the fridge, chopped and dressed with olive oil. A five minute meze.
Salata & Meze
Red Cabbage Salad (Kırmızı Lahana Salatası)
Vinegar brightens the colour. Without acid, red cabbage turns a purplish grey.
Salata & Meze
Circassian Chicken (Çerkez Tavuğu)
Shredded chicken in a walnut sauce. The sauce is bound with stale bread, not flour.
Salata & Meze
Lakerda
Bonito cured in salt. No cooking, only waiting: five days.