Meze Digest: Exploring Istanbul, ingredient deep dives & traveller’s tales from Mesopotamia
A collection of recent and older posts for new (and long standing) readers.
Friends,
Hope you’re keeping well!
The free version of this newsletter goes out four times a month. With this being the fifth Wednesday of May, today was supposed to be a short break. Beach, strolling the streets of Istanbul or – more realistically – working on my book, researching and testing new recipes.
But then I had an idea (there’s always an idea). And the good thing about having your own newsletter, with no commercial or outside editorial ties, is that I can implement them whenever I can. Immediately, for example.
Introducing Meze Digest
Meze (that is, this newsletter), is growing faster than it used to. We recently surpassed 5,000 subscribers (🥳), but are already halfway from there to the 6,000 mark. Weekly signups are more than double of what they used to be.
With that, it struck me that many of you are unaware of what’s in the archives. Even regular readers, of course, will have missed occasional editions.
With that in mind, please welcome the very first Meze Digest, where I highlight a few recent and a few not so recent newsletters that can be categorised as «evergreen», which is just business language for timeless. Pieces that are equally relevant today as when they were first published.
I’m not yet sure how often I’ll be doing this. Perhaps you could let me know your preference?
With all best wishes from Istanbul ☀️
Vidar
Istanbul tips
21 Istanbul restaurant & cocktail bar recommendations
Save this article for your visit to Istanbul – or read it anyway to get an insight into the types of restaurants you find in Turkey.
→ Read the article (partly paywalled, with 15 free recommendations and 6 that require a paid subscription)
See also or contribute: Reader recommendations
10 food items to buy when visiting Istanbul
A list of the things that you should make space for in your suitcase – and a little background on ingredients commonly used in my recipes.
See also: A guided food shopping tour of Istanbul, where I highlight the places where I like to purchase these ingredients (requires paid subscription)
Ingredients
The Turkish way with tomato paste
It took me a few years to unlearn the purpose of tomato paste and embrace the Turkish way. That is, as an ingredient in itself – not to boost the flavour of tinned or fresh tomatoes. This article features a few helpful tips that’ll help boost the flavour of many dishes, along with a few recipes, of course.
Bulgur: All you need to know
What are the different types of bulgur? How do you use each of them? Find out in this Mini Masterclass.
Sumac: All you need to know
What is sumac? How do you use it? This article includes a few tips for introducing sumac into your cooking. Plus, a few recipes making expert use of this beautiful spice.
Traveller’s letters
Visiting Mesopotamia
Stunning architecture and plenty of history spanning empires and religions. Here’ a letter from my visit to the ancient city of Mardin, featuring plenty of photos.
A wine making monastery, an ancient city and the charming town of Midyat
A road trip through the lands of northern Mesopotamia, with a few stops to take in beautiful architecture, lots of history – and with a couple of unexpected turns.
I wish I could offer all of my recipes and articles for free, but sadly they’re anything but free to make. Paid subscriptions are available to support the work required to publish this newsletter regularly with in-depth features and unique recipes.
Paying subscribers get 3 bonus newsletters every month, mostly new recipes not available elsewhere.
Here are a few recent favourites: