6 Turkish recipe keepers for the summer
What I like to cook when it's hot and the sun is shining.
I sensed a bad call immediately, but there were no good alternatives, so I didn’t say anything. Roadworks had kept the traffic coming into my neighbourhood at a standstill for weeks. My taxi driver had enough and decided to try his luck on the backstreets.
We were almost immediately stuck on a one-way street as another car came in the wrong direction. But once that mess was sorted out, we hit an even less navigable road block: The Tuesday market.
I rarely missed it during my first few years in Istanbul, carrying as much produce as I could humanly carry back home. I quickly learned shopping for everything in kilo (or half kilo) increments, and to adapt my cooking to the produce rather than the other way around.
There was also the trick for avoiding being cheated as a foreigner: Ask the price before buying anything. Now, most are honest anyway, but even those who sensed an opportunity to make a few extra bucks would rarely dare quoting a higher price while the local teyzes (elderly ladies) could be listening in. (It did happen once and a nearby teyze immediately picked up on it, blasting the tradesman for trying to charge an inflated price to the foreigner.)
My habits changed with the pandemic. I switched to buying mostly organic, which requires going to specialty shops or – more conveniently – online shopping. With everything arriving in great condition on the doorstep, walking to the market and back with a heavy load became less appealing.
But here I was, choosing to exit the taxi instead of reversing back through the narrow side streets and rejoining the jammed main road. I walked home from here, straight through the market.
My regular stalls were still there, of course, in exactly the same place. The ones I used to shop from recognised me immediately and asked me how I was doing. I got some strawberries and apricots from my favourite fruit vendor. They were the best I’d had so far this year.
Since this experience, I’ve started going to the market a bit more often. Not for my full week’s worth of shopping, like I used to, but to pick up a couple of bags of what looks particularly good that week. This week: cherries, white nectarines and beautifully red and sweet tomatoes from Çanakkale (if you know, you know).
All of this has brought back memories of my first few summers here, and what made me fall in love Turkish food in the first place. The seasonality, the use of simple ingredients, the abundance of vegetables.
I’ve collected a few of my favourite Turkish summer recipes below. I hope you’ll try at least one of them this month. Feel free to let me know what you think of them by leaving a star rating and comment on the recipe. I know it’s a bit tedious, but it really helps with visibility on Google, as well as for readers deciding whether to try out a recipe.
There’s more, too. This week’s bonus recipe for paying subscribers is my version of ayran aşı, a nourishing cold yoghurt soup with cucumber, chickpeas and boiled wheat, among other things. My favourite summer cooler recipe, no less. Subscribe to support my work and get this recipe (as well as the 40+ in the paying subscriber archives).
With all best wishes from Istanbul ☀️
Vidar
A few summer favourites from more or less classic Turkish cuisine.
Acılı ezme (Finely chopped salad)
One of the most popular recipes on my website, and for good reason: This very chopped salad is as perfect as a dip sauce for bread at the start of your meal as it is as a barbecue side.
İmam bayıldı (Vegetarian stuffed aubergine (eggplant))
If this dish doesn’t teach you to be generous with the (good quality) olive oil when working with aubergine (eggplant), I don’t know what will. Silky tender aubergine stuffed with the simplest and tastiest of fillings. Perhaps the dish that most impresses visitors to Turkey who venture beyond kebab and baklava!
Barbunya pilaki (Braised borlotti beans)
My go to dinner when fresh borlotti beans (cranberry beans) are on offer at the markets (in fact, I’ve got a pot simmering away as I type this). You can, of course, use dried ones too – but if fresh ones are available make sure to get some! I usually get a few kilos at a time, pod them and freeze the beans for later use.
Tavuk sote (Summery chicken stew)
When I don’t know what to make with chicken, I often default to this recipe, varying the tomatoes and peppers according to what I have to hand. More fresh tomatoes and less tomato paste in summer, vice versa in winter. Red or green, big or small peppers according to what I’ve got. All I feel strongly is that any spices beyond chili flakes are unnecessary.
Adana kebab (Chopped or minced meat kebab)
The king of Turkish kebabs, and one I highly recommend you try over barbecue season, if you’re the barbecuing kind. And even if you’re not, I’ve got just the trick for cooking it over a hot griddle pan, too.
🔜 Coming this weekend for paying subscribers:
Ayran aşı (Cold yoghurt soup)
I first enjoyed this during the photo shoot for my first book. It was my photographer’s favourite lunch at the time (might still be?), and it very quickly became mine, too. Filling, refreshing and delicious. Just the thing you need when working through a hot summer day.
The recipe made a special appearance in my second book (only available in Norwegian, unfortunately), and later this week I’ll be sharing it with paying subscribers as well!