Traveller's letter #5: The local cuisine of Hatay
The unique dishes and ingredients that make Hatay cuisine.
The plane had barely touched down before I found myself in a car, heading straight for the first of many feasts that would follow on my short and very first visit to the Hatay region. It was September 2017, and inaugurating me to the wonders of the local cuisine couldn’t wait a second longer.
We’d barely sat down before our table was filled with mezes. Dishes that were new to me then, but now as familiar as they are dear. I’ve since learned to make many of them, and already shared a few with you as well. Ali nazik (1, 2). A tangy version of baba ganoush. A herby salad with olives. Tepsi kebab. Among others.
The richness of the region’s food culture isn’t down to the deliciousness of individual dishes, however. Other factors are as – if not more – important. The long history. The long-standing interaction between different peoples and cultures. The unity within families and communities. The pride in their own culture that is (rightfully) still carried from one generation to the next, though globalisation is doing its best to break it down here, too. All of which has been essential to developing – and keeping – the phenomenal flavours and traditions of modern day Hatay cuisine.
The proximity to the Middle East brings with it a wealth of flavours and dishes you won’t find elsewhere in Turkey. Among them, the generous use of ingredients they share with Aleppo and Gaziantep, among others: pul biber, sumac, pomegranate molasses, sun dried pastes of various types. Exploring Hatay cuisine is discovering all the wonderful flavour opportunities these ingredients bring.
The chilli flakes are now ubiquitous across Turkey, a sort of national “all seasoning” spice. But where most Turks use sumac and pomegranate molasses primarily in salads, they feature heavily in stews, marinades and meat dishes alike in Hatay cuisine. Tomato paste isn’t primarily used to boost the flavour of tomato sauces, but as an ingredient in itself in meze spreads, marinades, minced meat dishes and more.
But these ingredients aren’t the only specialties in the area.
The best meat in the country
“The meat issue” is a common complaint among people from Hatay who have relocated to other parts of the country. They simply cannot find meat anywhere near the flavour and quality they’re used to.
Hatay agriculture is still very much based on “old fashioned” methods. Small scale farming, where the animals spend most of their time outside, eating naturally occurring local feed. Farmers who know and care for each and every one of their animals. This results not only in substantially better animal welfare than “modern” commercial farms, but also very high quality meat.
In fact, the difference is such that the butcher I visited in Antakya several years ago turned temporarily vegetarian after having to relocate to Ankara after the earthquake. He knows the methods they use elsewhere all too well, and simply didn’t trust the big city butchers.
This high quality meat has given rise to some of the region’s most famous dishes. Utmost among them, tepsi kebab, a sort of giant burger seasoned with the best of local ingredients and roasted in a tray (tepsi in Turkish). So good it even made the cover of my second book, and perfect when cooking for many.
A similar dish called kağit kebabı (“paper kebab”) is more portion sized, a little more plain in flavouring and roasted on parchment paper (hence the name). It’s usually served wrapped in a piece of freshly baked, thin lavash bread. Delicious!
A different world of cheeses
Many of the more unique dishes from this area starts with cheese at either extreme end of a scale from mild to piquant.
At the strong flavoured end, sürk, a strongly coloured mature cheese with a unique flavour courtesy of the 12 different spices used to make it. Also known as çökelek, each maker has their own spice mixture. The flavour is so pungent it’s never served as is, but instead broken up into small pieces and smothered in olive oil. It’s also often used in salads.
At the other end, a range of mild, mozzarella like cheeses. One of the few available in Istanbul is sold as Antakya haşlama peyniri, literally “boiling cheese from Antakya”. With this, you do as the name tells you. Boiled in water until soft, it’s eaten plain for breakfast. At Antiochia Concept, an Istanbul restaurant specialising in Hatay cuisine, they do something different with a similar cheese. Fried in plenty of butter and garlic until golden on the outside and completely soft inside, it makes for a very popular warm starter…
Most famous, however, is a dessert. Künefe. It exists across all of the Levent, where it’s known as knafeh, and is perhaps most strongly associated with Palestine. In Turkey, though, it’s Hatay künefe that everyone knows. Made of a sort of angel hair filo pastry called katayifi (tel kadayif in Turkish) that’s mixed with butter and stuffed with cheese, then fried until golden, it’s an absolute delight. Alongside katmer, it’s my favourite Turkish dessert!
The heart of the local cuisine
Through our friends and their families, I’ve been lucky enough to get a first hand experience of the local home cooking as well. Traditional food retains an incredibly strong position in the local culture. Many still make their own ingredients, even.
On my September visit, winter preparations were in full spring. In every garden, large trays of whole or crushed red peppers were been left to dry in the sun. Pomegranate trees were heavy with fruit, soon to be turned into homemade pomegranate molasses. Most homes feature a pantry, packed from wall to ceiling with jars of all the preserved bounty. Pickles, pastes, pomegranate molasses and home made tomato sauce. The deeper in the shelf you go, the saltier the contents, to make sure the last few jars last all the way until spring.
The generosity and hospitality of communities is often highlighted in food and travel programmes, but Antakyans take this to the next level. And it’s completely intertwined with the food culture. When visiting someone’s home, you can barely take your shoes off before being offered tea or coffee. Biscuits, often a version of kömbe (ma’amoul in Arabic countries), aren’t just placed on the coffee table, but constantly pushed. This is not a culture that takes no for an answer, or shies away from showing disappointment if you continue to refuse.
The savoury foods on offer may of course vary from family to family, but of those I’ve visited, a small handful commonly recur. The common denominator among these dishes? In addition to being delicious, they take a while to make. And they’re best made together as a group of a few people.
Oruk is the local version of what the rest of Turkey calls içli köfte. You may know it as kibbeh. A bulgur shell stuffed with a meat mixture, which is then either boiled or deep fried. The shape is a little different here, more like a sausage than the “spiked egg” shape more common for kibbeh.
My favourite, however, is kaytaz böreği (pronounced “kaı-taz b3reh-i”). Confusingly, this region uses the term “börek” to denote flatbreads with a topping. Kaytaz böreği is a sort of mini “pizza” similar to lahmacun, but with a crispy and flaky pastry rather than a pizza like dough. The addition of pomegranate molasses to the meat mixture makes for an interesting and dangerously more-ish topping.
All of these dishes were served at the wedding I came for in 2017. As we entered the venue, fresh vegetables from the garden, cheeses from the family deli and home made hummus were already on the tables. Soon, homemade oruk and kaytaz böreği appeared. For main, kağıt kebab made by the family butcher, wrapped in fresh lavash bread. To drink, homemade rakı. All served completely informally on long tables, outside, in the garden, with no name tags and with a live band playing lively traditional music. Later, a specially invited dessert maker made huge trays of kunefe over a mobile gas flame, while a Syrian entertainer kept the kids happy.
The wedding was a unique experience in itself. But I’d also like to add that although simple, the food was way better and more special than any I’ve ever been served at fancy venues, with professional kitchens and a completely different budget.
This was the fifth and final instalment in this series of traveller’s letters from Gaziantep and Hatay. See previous editions here.
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Kaytaz böreği – Mini “pizza” with meat from Hatay
Our friends in Hatay have sent us batches of these by courier to Istanbul on a number of occasions, but I’ve (finally) learned to make a version of them myself. Brilliant for keeping in the freezer for those days you have leftovers, but not enough for a full meal, or just want something quick and easy.
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The next free newsletter will hit your inbox in a week, and will be roundup of recipes I like to cook at this time of year.
Until next time,
Vidar
Love these posts. A cup of tea, some pastries and I read them from start to finish.
And if I had a credit card I would upgrade to a paid customer in a flash.
A joy to read your posts from Hatay. We have spent four years in Antakya between 1974 and 1978. Sad to read about all the destruction and that Uzun Carsi was gone. Your recipes and comments about the local food revive many delightful memories. Thanks again.
Stefan