With a tribute to Southern Turkish Cuisine Foreword by Ghillie
Basan GOURMAND World Cookbook Awards Winner, Best In The World,
Heritage Turkey Foreword Indies AwardsWinner (USA, International),
Honorable Mention for Cooking "My very warm welcome to you -
Hosgeldiniz" This book is Ozlem's tribute to the wonderfully
diverse cuisine of Turkey and a celebration of her Southern Turkish
roots with local recipes from her home town, Antioch, Antakya. She
hopes these recipes will take you on a Turkish journey - to learn,
taste and enjoy the delicious foods of her homeland and most
importantly to feel the warmth and sharing spirit of Turkish
culture. Turkish cuisine is based on seasonal fresh produce. It is
healthy, delicious, affordable and easy to make. She shows you how
to recreate these wonderful recipes in your own home, wherever you
are in the world. Her dishes are flavoured naturally with: olive
oil, lemon juice, nuts, spices, as well as condiments like
pomegranate molasses and nar eksisi. Turkish cuisine also offers
plenty of options for vegetarian, gluten-free and vegan diets.
Living abroad, it can be difficult to access speciality
ingredients, so she also offers substitutes and/or alternatives
wherever she can. She hopes her recipes inspire you to recreate
them in your own kitchen and that they can bring you fond memories
of your time in Turkey or any special moments shared with loved
ones. Her roots - Ancient Antioch, Antakya Her family's roots date
back to ancient Antioch, Antakya, located in the southern part of
Turkey, near the Syrian border. This book is a special tribute to
Antakya and southern Turkish cuisine, as her cooking has been
inspired by this special land. Her parents, Orhan and Gulcin, were
both born in Antakya and she spent many happy childhood holidays in
this ancient city, playing in the courtyard of her grandmother's
450 year old stone home, under the fig and walnut trees. Her dad's
father, Ahmet, was a soap maker (her father's surname "Sabuncu",
means "soap maker") making the city's landmark olive oil soaps. Her
mother's father, Suphi, was a food merchant, trading fresh and
dried produce within the city as well as with Syria. She grew up
with the abundance of fresh produce as her grandpa would share
cases of figs, aubergines and tomatoes with family and friends at
the family home in Antioch. Love of good food and sharing has been
instilled in her since childhood and she grew up with the
generosity of her parents and extended family. Her mother and
grandma would cook lunch and dinner every day and everyone would be
welcomed to their table. Her grandma would leave an extra plate or
two on the table as someone would always turn up at mealtimes and
they would be warmly welcomed to the dining table. They would all
sit around her courtyard dinner table under the fig tree and have a
feast of senses with arrays of wonderful mezzes (small plates of
appetizers), an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables cooked in
olive oil (Zeytinyaglilar), succulent kebabs and many more. The
Turkish saying "Basimin ustunde yerin var" ("I would place you at
the top of my head") sums up the Turkish hospitality perfectly. For
Turks guests are the most important people. Turks place their
guests at the top of the table and they are always delighted to
share whatever food they have. A typical Turkish table Preparing
dishes is a personal choice and it is perfectly fine to tweak a
recipe to reflect your taste as well as making use of what you have
in your cupboard. When tackling a new recipe, say stuffed
vegetables, it always starts with a phone call to Ozlem's mother.
Her mum talks about how she makes it, and Ozlem tells her about the
ingredients she can get (for instance instead of pointy red
peppers, it could be bell peppers), and things she may be able to
substitute with others. They remember how they would all gather at
preparing the filling for dolma, her dad collecting vegetables from
the market and settling into removing seeds from peppers, her mum
preparing the filling and whoever is around the house setting the
table and helping to stuff the vegetables. She is mindful and very
grateful to have grown up with such a love of food, caring for one
another and helping one another. Turks love to have family and
friends around and there's always an abundance of food at the
table. A typical Turkish meal usually starts with soup, a very
important part of Turkish cuisine. And there is always some hot and
cold mezzes on the table; it could be filo pastry rolls with cheese
and parsley, Sigara Boregi, or perhaps spinach and feta pie with
filo pastry, Ispanakli Borek. Depending on the season and the
region, on the table there may be pureed eggplants (aubergines)
with lemon and olive oil sauce, Patlican Salata or red pepper paste
and walnuts dip, Cevizli Biber. Then there is often a meat based
course; it can be a hearty stew or casserole with meat, chicken or
in season fish and seasonal vegetables or salad. Turks love their
dessert; from baklava to stuffed apricots with walnuts, there's
always time for dessert. And they finish off with a wonderful
Turkish coffee or Turkish tea, cay, savoring every sip in the
company of friends and family. Today in Turkey, food and mealtimes
are still the hub of everyday life. Time is always taken to share
meals with family members or friends, to relax and enjoy
conversations. Participants wish each other "Afiyet Olsun",
literally meaning "May you be healthy and happy with this food you
eat". This is followed by a tribute to the creator of the meal,
"Elinize Saglik", meaning "Health to your hands". Guests are always
received with the most cordial hospitality and it is believed that
no one should ever leave a Turkish table without feeling satisfied
and happy. Antakya's Cuisine Antakya's cuisine has an incredible
richness of fresh herbs, spices, grains like bulgur and freekeh,
natural condiments like olive oil and pomegranate molasses. It's a
cuisine packed with flavour and ancient traditions, from where her
cooking has been inspired. Antakya's (ancient Antioch's) cuisine is
influenced by Ottoman, Arabic and French cuisines (Antakya was
under French rule for a short period after the collapse of the
Ottoman Empire, before it became part of the Republic of Turkey).
Antakya also hosts many diverse communities, including the Vakifli
Armenian village and various religious groups. Jews, Christians,
Muslims live in harmony, under one roof. She loves that you can
hear the church bell alongside the muezzin call tor prayer at the
mosque's minarets for Muslims. Her food merchant uncle in Antakya
would celebrate Christmas and Hannukah with his Christian and
Jewish friends, as well as breaking his fast with the Muslim
community during Ramadan. She hopes this book will provide you with
a good, inviting introduction to Turkish cuisine. These are some of
her own favorite Turkish recipes - lovingly made and passed down
from her grandmother to her parents and now to her own family's
table. She truly hopes they will inspire you to create, cook,
experiment and most of all enjoy the magnificent cuisine of Turkey.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
Great recipe book
Sat, 20 Aug 2022 | Review
by: Lara S.
Great Turkish recipe book. Good variety of recipes, well laid out and excellent photos. Well worth the money.
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes (0) |
No (0)