If you are looking to offer your guests a range of light, tasty dishes as you’re cruising in Türkiye, why not rustle up a few Turkish meze?
Normally served as a dip-and-share array or from a central platter, meze is wonderful served with crudités and crusty bread, and the ideal appetizer or light lunch.
Turkish people are well known for their hospitality and love nothing more than sitting together and grazing over a spread of food, perhaps washed down with a little of the local drink, Raki.
There are many hot and cold Turkish meze varieties around, and traditional restaurants or ‘lokantas’ will often show you their daily selection on display in their chilled cabinet. Here you will find the seasonal offerings and the chef’s specials of green beans, fried aubergine, and watercress, carrot or vegetables in garlic yoghurt.
The best meze is freshly made and showcases the fabulous seasonal produce available in Türkiye. Turkish meze makes an impressive and healthy lunch or appetizer. It’s also light enough to keep the bikini-body in check and appeals to vegans, vegetarians and meat-lovers alike – Turkish meze is certainly a “must-try” food in Türkiye!
If you’re struggling for ideas on what’s best to serve, see below for a few of our favourites. You can also ask 360’s Senem what dishes your guests may enjoy and source the best produce and provisions. CONTACT US.
5 POPULAR TURKISH MEZE DISHES
PIYAZ (WHITE BEAN SALAD)
Piyaz is a traditional Turkish meze or salad that’s packed full of protein and tastes delicious. Finely chopped tomato, red onion, parsley and white beans, drizzled in a tangy lemon, sumac and olive oil dressing. Piyaz is normally served either as part of a meze selection or to accompany grilled meat or BBQ dishes.
ACILI EZME
For those that like their food spicy, Acili Ezme is a great option. Often served alongside cooling yoghurt Haydari as a starter when in restaurants, it’s a spicy mix of finely diced tomato, peppers, onion, chili and parsley, all drizzled with a refreshing pomegranate and lemon dressing. The word ‘ezme’ means mashed, but acili ezme normally has a slightly course texture.
PURSLANE SERVED IN GARLIC YOGHURT
Purslane (semizotu) is a succulent leafy green that’s high in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. A diet food, it’s popular in salads and meze dishes, and bunches of fresh purslane can be found throughout the summer months on the Turkish markets. One of the most common cold Turkish meze dishes is chopped purslane served in a light garlic yoghurt. In the better restaurants, they often take this simple meze one step further and top the dish with lighly toasted flaked almonds or pine nuts – a refreshing and very addictive meze!
SAMPHIRE DRESSED IN LEMON, GARLIC AND OLIVE OIL
One of the most unusual and elegant meze dishes in Türkiye is samphire (deniz börülcesi) dressed in olive oil, lemon and garlic. Samphire needs to be fresh and well selected or it can be hard and twiggy. But when in season, fresh Aegean samphire is a wonderful ingredient available on most of the local markets. Although samphire is fiddly to prepare, the effort is well worth while. Samphire, once boiled, drained and the hard internal twigs are removed, leaves you with a dish full of tender, attractive stems that taste great when dressed simply with olive oil, fresh lemon and a little garlic.
STUFFED VINE LEAVES (DOLMA)
The word ‘dolma’ in Turkish means ‘stuffed’ and this term is used frequently when referring to any stuffed vegetable dish in Türkiye. One of the local favourites is stuffed vine leaves (yaprak sarma). Most chefs have their own recipe and there are many regional meat and vegetarian variations. One of the tastiest versions is vegan with the delicate leaves filled with mix of short grain rice seasoned with cinnamon, mint and all-spice. Drizzled in olive oil and a little lemon, these finger-sized nibbles are incredibly addictive and ideal to serve as a snack on deck or as part of your meze platter.
