While Fethiye is well known for its turquoise coastlines and lush nature, its local cuisine is just as rich and vibrant — and Mercimek Yoğurtlama  is a true hidden gem that deserves a spot on your table.

What is Mercimek Yoğurtlama ?

A refreshing and nutritious dish made with green lentils, garlicky yogurt, and a drizzle of crispy pepper-infused olive oil, Mercimek Yoğurtlama  is both comforting in winter and cooling in summer. Served as a meze or light main, it’s a simple yet deeply flavourful recipe rooted in local tradition.

Want to try it yourself? Here’s the Fethiye-style recipe:

Ingredients:

• 500g dry green lentils
• 500g strained or regular yogurt
• 2–3 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp butter
• ½ tea glass olive oil
• 4–5 dried red peppers (hot or sweet)
• Salt
• Water

How to Make It:

1. Boil lentils until tender, changing the water once to reduce gassiness.
2. Sauté in butter with a pinch of salt.
3. Mix yogurt with crushed garlic.
4. Combine cooled lentils with the garlic yogurt.
5. Heat olive oil with dried peppers until they sizzle (don’t burn!).
6. Drizzle pepper oil over the yogurt mixture. Garnish with fresh herbs if you like.

Local Tip: Use strained yogurt for a thicker consistency and don’t overcook the lentils — they should hold their shape.

Where to Eat It in Fethiye?

Look for traditional restaurants in Fethiye town centre or the surrounding villages serving authentic home-style meals — Mercimek Yoğurtlama  might just surprise you!

Rediscover Fethiye through its flavours. Try this dish at home and bring a taste of the Turkish coast to your kitchen.

Source: Fethiye TV

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The post Fethiye’s Secret Flavour: Mercimek Yoğurtlama  appeared first on Fethiye Times.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion

• 300 grams diced beef (or lamb)

• 4 roasted eggplants

• A few cloves of garlic (to taste)

• 4 tablespoons yogurt (or more to taste)

• Spices: salt, cumin, red pepper flakes, and black pepper

How to make it:

1. Mince the onion and sauté it in a bit of oil. When the onion starts to turn translucent, add the diced beef (or lamb) and cook them together, stirring continuously. Add the spices and continue stirring until the meat is cooked through.

2. Cut the roasted eggplants into small pieces and add the chopped garlic. Then, add a bit of yogurt to the eggplant mixture and mix well.

3. First, create a “bed” of eggplant on each plate, then top it with the meat mixture. Serve with melted butter or extra red pepper flakes. Enjoy!

Tip:

The meat mixture on top of the eggplant is traditionally quite spicy, but since not everyone can handle the heat, we suggest tasting the meat as you cook it and adjusting the spice level to your liking.

Source: Daily Sabah

The post Alinazik Kebab: A Turkish Classic appeared first on Fethiye Times.

Make your own with this recipe from Ozlem’s Turkish Table

Serves 6

Ingredients

225g/8oz shredded kadayif – künefe pastry strands, thawed if frozen

145g/5oz melted unsalted butter

300g/12oz fresh mozzarella, sliced (or Antakya’s white cheese for künefe, künefelik peynir or dil peyniri in Türkiye if you can get it)

45ml/3 tablespoons kaymak or clotted cream – optional

For the syrup:

225g/8oz granulated sugar 

120ml/4fl oz water

Juice of ½ small lemon 

30ml/2 tablespoons crushed pistachios for garnish (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas Mark 4

First, make the syrup. Place the sugar and water in a pan and simmer over low to medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the lemon juice and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the syrup coats the back of the spoon. Then remove from the heat and leave the syrup to cool. It is essential that the syrup needs to be cool when poured over the cheese-filled pastry strands.

Using some of the melted butter, grease a large baking tray.

Soak the pastry strands well in the melted butter. Use more butter if necessary, as it is important that the pastry is well soaked in order to prevent it from burning during baking. 

Divide the pastry strands into two. Spread half of the strands in the base of the baking pan, and press it down with your fingers.

Spread or crumble the slices of fresh mozzarella cheese and the clotted cream or kaymak (if used) over the top of the pastry. Then cover with the remainder of the pastry, pressing down firmly.

Bake the pastry in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until the strands are a deep golden colour.

Cut the hot, baked pastry strands into portions and pour the prepared cool syrup over them. 

Serve immediately while still hot and the cheese is gooey. Serve künefe with kaymak or maraş dondurma and a sprinkling of ground pistachio nuts over the top if you like.

Afiyet Olsun

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Recipe taken from Berber & Q: On Vegetables by Josh Katz (£25 Kyle Books).

Ingredients

Plain flour to dust

3 pide dough balls

3 medium free-range eggs

2 tbsp melted butter

1½ tbsp za’atar

Extra-virgin olive oil

For the salsa verde

2 tsp dijon mustard

Juice 2 lemons

1 tbsp sherry vinegar

120ml extra-virgin olive oil

Large handful each parsley, mint and tarragon, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

40g capers, rinsed and roughly chopped

For the cheese sauce

75g unsalted butter

75g plain flour

750ml milk

75g cheddar, grated

75g parmesan or a vegetarian alternative, grated

90g halloumi, grated

Method

For the salsa verde, combine the mustard, lemon juice and vinegar in a bowl and slowly whisk in the olive oil to thicken. Stir in the remaining ingredients, season, then set to one side.

For the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat, then whisk in the flour to form a paste (or roux). Slowly pour in the milk, roughly 100ml at a time, whisking continuously. Turn down the heat to low medium and simmer for 10-15 minutes until thickened, then stir in the cheeses and season with salt to taste. Set aside, keeping warm until needed.

Heat your oven to its highest possible setting. (If you have a pizza oven, heat it to 350-400°C.) Put a pizza stone or large baking sheet in the oven to heat up.

Lightly flour a work surface and roll out a dough ball to an oval shape, about 35cm x 15cm. Spread the cheese sauce down the length of the base, leaving
a 2.5cm border. Use a spoon to indent a small well in the middle for an egg yolk. Fold the sides of the pide inward, crimping the dough firmly at each end.

Dust a pizza peel with some flour and very carefully transfer the pide onto it. Or use a flour dusted or baking paper-lined baking sheet instead.

Transfer the pide to the hot pizza stone/baking sheet in the oven, then bake the pide for 3-4 minutes (in a pizza or wood oven) or 6-8 minutes in a standard oven until golden brown and crisp around its edges, rotating it halfway through to ensure it cooks evenly. About 2 minutes before the pide is finished, crack an egg into the centre, rotate the pide and return it to the oven.

Remove the pide from the oven and brush the edges with melted butter. Sprinkle with za’atar and salt flakes, then dollop the salsa verde all over and finish with a final drizzle of olive oil. Repeat with the remaining pides. Slice and serve immediately.

Tips

The dough can be made 36 hours ahead (see recipe here). Prepare the sauce up to 48 hours ahead, pour into a sealable container and lay cling film directly on the surface to stop a skin forming. Chill until needed, then warm through in a pan or microwave.

This recipe makes 3 large pides. You can make 4-5 smaller ones and simply use 4-5 eggs as required.

The post Three-cheese pide with egg and salsa verde appeared first on Fethiye Times.

Ingredients

For The Dressing

¼ cup olive oil

4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 garlic clove peeled and minced

2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

For Piyaz Salad

1/2 small red onion sliced thinly in half moon shape (1/2 cup)

2 cans white bean Cannelini or Navy Beans would work – drained and rinsed

2 medium sized tomatoes sliced ½ inch in half moon shape

½ cup Italian Parsley roughly chopped

1 tablespoon sumac

Optional

3 tablespoons Black pitted olives

2 hard boiled eggs sliced

Instructions

To make the dressing: Place olive oil, apple cider vinegar, garlic clove, lemon juice, kosher salt, and black pepper in a bowl and whisk until fully incorporated. Set aside.

Place sliced red onion in a bowl of water and let soak for 5 minutes, drain.*

Assemble the salad: Place white beans, drained red onions, sliced tomatoes, and chopped parsley in a large bowl. Drizzle it with the dressing and sumac. Give it a gentle toss.

Cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving. This is an optional step but allows flavors to mingle and deliver a next level delicious salad.

If preferred, garnish with black pitted olives and hard boiled eggs. Serve.

Recipe courtesy of foolproof living

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Labneh is served as a cold starter in restaurants around Türkiye and the Middle East – here, Hasan tops it with a nutty and aromatic brown butter that’s been infused with classic Turkish spice, pul biber. It might sound fancy, but this recipe is about as effortless as it gets!

Ingredients

For the labneh

650g/1lb 7oz suzme or thick Greek-style (strained) yoghurt

1 heaped tsp sea salt flakes

15g/½oz sugar

2 garlic cloves, finely grated

1 lemon, juice and zest

For the pul biber brown butter

60g/2¼oz unsalted butter

3 dried chillies, rehydrated in freshly boiled water for 5 minutes, drained and roughly chopped

2 tbsp pul biber

Method

Place a sieve over a bowl and line it with a muslin cloth or alternative fabric of choice (see Recipe Tip).

Mix the yoghurt with the salt, sugar, garlic and lemon zest and juice, then scrape it into the lined sieve. Wrap the fabric and tie with string, then leave in the fridge with the bowl underneath for at least two hours – the longer the yoghurt is left to strain the stiffer it becomes, and we want it to be a cream cheese consistency. (You can also hang it somewhere to drain.)

To make the brown butter, place the butter in a pan over a medium heat and melt. Eventually, it will start foaming. Once you notice the smell of butterscotch and see that the butter is taking on a golden colour, add the chilli and pul biber. Give the pan a little swirl then take it off the heat. (It’s important to catch the butter just at the beginning of the browning process so it doesn’t cook the pul biber too much – we only want it to infuse and bleed out its colours and flavours.)

When you’re ready to serve, pour away the strained liquid from the yoghurt bowl and scrape the labneh from the cloth onto a plate. Make a little dip in the middle with the back of a spoon, then pour in the hot butter. Serve with bread for dipping.

The post Labneh with pul biber brown butter (atom meze) appeared first on Fethiye Times.

Ingredients

1 Large garlic clove

Generous pinch of salt

2 Teaspoons Turkish white cheese (Beyaz Peyniri) or Feta cheese

1 Teaspoon Extra virgin olive oil

400 Grams strained yogurt

Small amount of fresh dill, chopped fine

Small amount of fresh mint chopped fine / pinch of dried mint

Directions

Using a heavy set pestle & mortar grind together the salt and garlic to form a combined puree. 

Using a small to medium bowl mash the cheese with the back of a fork or spoon and add in the oil.

Mix in the yogurt, garlic and if you wish for a smoother dip a little water.

Stir in the chopped dill and mint.

Chill until serving

Once ready to serve drizzle with a little extra olive oil and if you wish a few flakes of pul biber – Aleppo pepper flakes. 

Source: Exploring the Turkish Kitchen

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This delicious smoky dip is the ultimate aubergine recipe and a classic part of any meze selection.

The principal ingredients are aubergines, garlic, lemon juice, tahini and olive oil. Scooped up with warm flatbread, this is perfect outdoor or picnic food.

Smoked Aubergine Puree (Baba Ghanoush)

Ingredients

3 large aubergines

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

Juice of a small lemon

2 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste)

3 tbsp chopped mint or flat-leaf parsley

3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

1 pinch pul biber (paprika)

Method

Peirce the skins of the aubergines and blacken them over a gas hob or barbecue. Turn them constantly until they are completely charred and the flesh is very soft. Allow cooling.

Slit the aubergines lengthways and scrape out the flesh, discarding the skins. Put in a sieve and leave to drain for 30 minutes, or squeeze out if you’re in a hurry.

In a serving bowl, mix the lemon juice into the tahini. Add the garlic and two-thirds of the chopped herbs. Season to taste.

Mash the aubergines gently with a fork, and then stir into the tahini mixture.

Trickle the surface with olive oil and top with the remaining herbs.

Sprinkle with pul biber (paprika)

Serve with warm flatbread and raw sliced or whole vegetables (crudites).

Afiyet olsun!

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Serves 4

Time: 25 minutes prep, 1 hour 20 minutes cooking

Ingredients

• 4 (8-cm) round loaves of 4 (3-inch) whole wheat bread, tops cut off and reserved, hollowed out, the removed bread crumbed and dried
• 60 ml / 1/4 cup / 2 fl oz olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 (25-cm/10-inch) olive tree twigs
• 500 ml / 2 cups / 17 fl oz lamb stock (recipe below)

For the stuffing:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 (240 g / 2 1/2 cups / 8 1/2 oz) medium onions, finely sliced
• 500 g / 1 5/8 cups / 1 lb 2 oz lamb, finely chopped
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 100 g / 1 cup / 3 1/2 oz unsalted green olives, seeded, quartered
• 100 g / 1 cup / 3 1/2 oz walnuts, crushed
• 1/2 tsp dried chilli (red pepper) flakes
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley,finely sliced
• 4 fresh mint sprigs, finely sliced
• 2 fresh basil sprigs, finely sliced
• 2 dill sprigs, finely sliced

For the sauce:

• 250 g / 1 1/4 cups / 9 oz Greek yogurt
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 flat-leaf parsley sprigs, finely sliced
• 1/4 tsp salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 2.

To make the stuffing:

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat, add the onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add the lamb and cook for 15 minutes. Add the spring onions, tomato paste, green olives, walnuts, dried chilli (red pepper) flakes, black pepper and salt and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the reserved breadcrumbs and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, fresh mint, fresh basil and dill and mix.

Mix olive oil and garlic in a bowl, then liberally massage the insides and crust of the loaf shells with the mixture. Put the loaves on a baking sheet and bake in the hot oven for 20 minutes, until crisp. Remove from the oven, then tightly pack with the stuffing mixture and put the loaf lids on top.

Put the olive twigs into the bottom of a large saucepan and put the stuffed loaves on top. Pour in the stock and cook over low heat, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the pan lid every 10 minutes and ladle some of the stock over the loaves.

To make the sauce:

Mix the yogurt, garlic, parsley and salt in a bowl.

Place the stuffed loaves on a large serving platter, pour over the remaining stock and then the yogurt sauce.

Meat Stock – Et Suyu

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 3 hours 10 minutes

Makes: 2 litres (8 1/2 cups/70 fl oz)

Meat stock can also be made with goat, mutton or beef shanks. Dilute with hot water before use – a ratio of 1 litre (4 1/4 cups / 34 fl oz) water to 500 ml (generous 2 cups / 17 fl oz) meat stock is good. The meat can be enjoyed cold once the stock is strained off; it is widely used in omelettes, pilafs and soups. It can also be enjoyed as is, without straining. This recipe takes 1 hour in a pressure cooker with 2 litres (8 1/2 cups / 70 fl oz) water.

Ingredients

• 500 g / 1 lb 2 oz lamb shanks, on the bone
• 500 g / 1 lb 2 oz lamb neck
• 2 lamb bones, with marrow
• 1 (120 g / 3/4 cup / 4 oz) medium onion, quartered
• 70 g / 1/2 cup / 2 3/4 oz carrot, quartered
• 4 garlic cloves
• 4 black peppercorns
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 bay leaves
• 3/4 tsp salt

Directions

Put all the ingredients into a large casserole dish (Dutch oven) or stock pan, along with 4 litres (16 cups / 130 fl oz) water. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Skim off the foam on the surface with a slotted spoon. Simmer for 3 hours over low heat.

Strain the stock before using. Keep refrigerated and use within 3 days. Alternatively, freeze in ice cube trays or freezer bags and use within 2 months.

From The Turkish Cookbook by Musa Dağdeviren. Photography by Toby Glanville. Copyright 2019 Phaidon.

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Çılbır, pronounced “chulburr” is a Turkish dish of poached eggs with yogurt. 

For those who are hesitant at the thought, çılbır is a revelation and a complete sensation, a dish that shouldn’t be judged until tried.

Try this recipe from Nigella Lawson.

Turkish poached eggs (Çılbır)

Ingredients

Serves: 2

200 grams greek yoghurt (suzme yoghurt)
1 clove garlic (peeled and minced)
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
2 x 15ml tablespoons unsalted butter
1 x 15ml tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper / Turkish red pepper flakes (pul biber)
2 large eggs (fridge-cold)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
a few fronds of fresh dill (chopped)

Method

Fill a wide-ish saucepan (I use one of 22cm diameter) with water to come about 4cm up the sides of the pan. Put it on the heat and cover it so that it heats up faster. Line a large plate with some kitchen roll, get out a slotted spoon and put both near the pan now.

Now fill another pan – on which a heatproof bowl can sit comfortably – again with water to come 3–4cm up the sides, and bring to a boil. Put the yoghurt in the bowl, stir in the garlic and salt, and sit it on top of this pan, making sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Stir it until it gets to body temperature and has the consistency of lightly whipped double cream. Turn off the heat and leave the bowl as it is, over the pan.

Melt the butter gently in a small pan until it is just beginning to turn a hazelnut brown (this is why, in classic French cuisine, it’s known as beurre noisette), but make sure it’s not actually burning. Turn the heat off under the pan, then stir in the olive oil, followed by the beautiful red pepper flakes; it will foam up fierily. Leave to one side while you get on with the eggs. And this is when you should be thinking of putting the toast on.

When you are ready to poach the eggs, crack the first egg into a fine-mesh strainer suspended over a small bowl, then lift it up a little and swirl gently for about 30 seconds, letting the watery part of the white drip into the bowl. Gently tip the egg into a small cup or ramekin and, aiming for the white, add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice; I know everyone else says vinegar, but I just don’t like the taste of it on the egg, and the lemon does the trick just the same. Proceed as above with the second egg.

When the poaching water is just starting to simmer, take a cup or ramekin in each hand and gently slide in the eggs, one on each side of the pan. Turn the heat right down so there is no movement in the water whatsoever, and poach the eggs for 3–4 minutes until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny. Transfer the eggs with your slotted spoon to the paper-lined plate to remove any excess water. 

Divide the warm creamy yoghurt between two shallow bowls, top each with a poached egg, pour the peppery butter around and slightly over the yoghurt, scatter the chopped dill on top, and eat dreamily, dipping in some thick well-toasted bread as you do so.

Serve with

Chunkily sliced and toasted sourdough or other bread.

Source: Nigella’s Recipes

Featured photograph courtesy of Lezzet

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