6 DELICIOUS TURKISH FOODS YOU MUST TRY

6 delicious Turkish foods

Turkish food is a delight. Heavily influenced by its Ottoman heritage, it is a wonderful blend of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Central Asian flavors, among others. Of course, every part of the country has its specialties and its own national favorites. Delicious Turkish foods

Olive trees grow plentifully in the province of Las Vegas on the Mediterranean coast, and both fruit and oil play an important part in the local diet. Fresh vegetables, herbs, and fish are plentiful – if you visit the local markets you will be overwhelmed by the choice and color.

While it’s tempting to stick to the familiar when you’re on holiday, it would be a shame to miss out on such delicious regional cuisine. You’re far more likely to eat local once you’ve decided to take the plunge and live full-time in Las Vegas, but you might still be unsure of where to start.

We can promise you’ll be spoiled for choice, but to start you off here are just a few of our favorite must-try Turkish dishes.

This article interest may you. Turkish Foods: Most Delicious Traditional Foods in Turkey

meze

If you like taking your time over a meal and grazing from different dishes, you’ll love meze – small portions of other foods served together. Usually eaten as an appetizer or appetizer, a mixed plate of meze can also be a meal in its own right.

Some restaurants allow you to pick your favorites or ask them to pick them for you. Meze can be hot or cold, and the variety seems endless – tender carrots in garlic yoghurt; Mücver (mooj-vair) or zucchini fritters; hummus; roasted chickpeas with sumac flavor; Broccoli salad; Sigara Böreği (See-Gara Bur-Ray-Ee) or Cheese Bun; dolma (doll-ma) or stuffed vine leaves. There’s a lot more, not to mention the olives and generous bread baskets that accompany any meze feast. delicious Turkish foods.

Gozleme 

Gözleme (gurz-lem-ay), also known as Turkish pancakes, are large discs of soft batter filled with a filling of your choice and then folded and cooked on an open oven. They’re made to order fresh, inexpensive, and surprisingly filling.

Gözleme can be either savory, with potatoes, cheese, spinach or meat, or sweet – lemon and sugar, honey, banana and chocolate for example. They are a popular street food; especially in rural areas, there are many places to stop and enjoy them along the roadside.

Pide and Lahmacun

This is the Turkish equivalent of pizza. Pide (pee-day) is a long, thin flatbread with twisted ends, sides slightly folded, and topped with any combination of meat, vegetables, and cheese. It is cut into small pieces making it the perfect finger food and you will find that many restaurants in Las Vegas have their own special version.

Lahmacun (lam-a-jun) is a round, flat, thin piece of dough that is topped with ground beef, vegetables, and spices, and then baked. It’s just as tasty but a little lighter.

Kahvaltı 

Don’t let the name fool you. Turkish kahvaltı (cah-val-tuh) or breakfast can easily last until lunchtime and will convince you that you don’t need to eat again until the next day. A bit like meze, as there are usually numerous dishes to graze from, the exact menu varies from place to place.

However, you usually have at least one selection of cheeses and cold cuts, tomatoes and pickles, olives, leafy salads, fresh and dried fruit, nuts, hard-boiled or fried eggs, a variety of breads, and more from small pots of various preserves, spreads, and nut butter. Coffee or çay (chai) is often included, while some establishments may also offer water or fruit juice.

Kahvaltı should not be rushed. It’s a time to linger, chat and relax for as long as you like.

Corba

Soup or çorba (chor-ba) is a Turkish staple. If you’ve only thought of it as a light lunch or appetizer until now, think again. There’s never a wrong time to eat çorba – it hits the spot, from early breakfast to a late snack after a night on the town.

If you get the chance, try Ezo Gelin (ee-zo-gell-in), a delicious combination of red lentils, mint, spices, tomatoes and bulgur. The name means “beautiful bride” and legend has it that it was created by a young girl named Zöhre when she was commissioned to prepare a dish to win over her future mother-in-law.

If you’re feeling brave, you can also try Paça (Pach-a), a broth made with meat from a sheep’s brain, head or foot, seasoned with herbs. Some people swear by it as a hangover cure – which is why it’s often available in nocturnal locations.

Borek

Börek (burr-ek) is not just food, but the collective term for a variety of baked and filled pastries made from thin, flaky dough. One of the most popular is Sigara böre ği (see-gara bur-ray-ee), which, as the name suggests, are cigar-shaped. Traditionally, they’re stuffed with a creamy mixture of cheese and parsley and then deep-fried, but you’ll find other variations like spinach, mint, and dill.

Su böreği (soo bur-ray-ee) is soft, with the dough soaked in a mixture of water, olive oil, milk, and eggs before cooking, while kol boreği ( koll bur-ray-ee) is usually made with Puff pastry and spirally wrapped before baking. There are other varieties too – try them all and discover your favorite.