Turkish

This wonderful creamy Turkish pie is something between a savory flan and a cheese lasagna. The fillo turns into a soft, thin pasta, so don’t expect it to be crisp and papery. It sounds complicated but it is quite easy, and you will be delighted by the lightness and the variety of flavors and textures.

These large individual pies with a Turkish filling make a wonderful first course. You need the sweet orange-fleshed pumpkin for this. It is sold in Middle Eastern and Oriental stores, almost all the year round, in large slices, with the seeds and stringy bits removed.

This is the most popular Turkish börek. The little rolls or “cigars” make ideal appetizers and canapés. It is best to use a thicker quality of fillo, which is not likely to tear during cooking. If the fillo sheets are too thin, use 2 strips together and brush with butter or oil in between. In this case you will need to double the number of sheets.

In Turkey, where this dish comes from, mussels are large and fat.

This is one of a few Turkish pilafs which are cooked in olive oil and eaten cold.

This famous Turkish salad makes a light snack meal.

Serve this in a bowl with plain boiled or steamed vegetables such as runner beans, zucchini, or cauliflower.

This is a Turkish way of dressing beets.

For this Arab and Turkish way of serving zucchini, the vegetables may be deep-fried, grilled, or broiled.

Yogurt often accompanies these Turkish fritters.

This common Turkish way of serving eggplants is simple and quite delicious.

Another lovely Turkish way of preparing eggplants.

Kisir is a filling and luscious Turkish country salad. Chili flakes or a chili pepper give it a thrilling zing.

In this nutty Turkish salad with an intense flavor, the bulgur is softened in the juice of fresh tomatoes.

This popular Turkish salad can be served as a cold summer soup. We sometimes used to drain the yogurt through a fine cloth to thicken it (see page 111), but now you can buy a thick strained Greek variety.

A specialty of Jehan, in southern Turkey, this is served as a dip with fried mussels or baked fish, or as an accompaniment to salads and boiled vegetables, such as runner beans or cauliflower.

This is another wonderful Turkish paste which makes a delicious canapé spread.

There are many versions of this exquisite Turkish and Syrian relish. Serve it with bread as an appetizer, or as an accompaniment to a cooked vegetable salad, or with broiled fish or meat.

Gray-mullet roe was originally used in Turkey and Greece for this famous dip, but smoked cod’s roe now generally replaces it. I like to use a mixture of sunflower or flavorless vegetable oil and olive oil, which allows the taste of the roe to dominate.

Roz bil shaghrieh is the everyday rice that accompanies stews, stuffed vegetables, and grills in Lebanon. People also eat it by itself with yogurt poured over. The short-grain rice from Egypt is the traditional rice used, but today basmati is preferred. Middle Eastern stores sell Italian “cut” vermicelli called filini and similar Turkish Şehriye, but otherwise you can buy vermicelli nests and break them in your hands into small 3/4-inch pieces.