Hummus

My favorite food actually isn't Turkish, its Asian.  What has this got to do with Hummus? nothing but Hummus and falafel are probably nearly on equal footing as Asian food or a very close second.  I don't know what it is about Hummus maybe its just the taste, the texture who knows.  Turkish people do eat this and whilst it is not eaten everywhere or even known throughout Turkey you can find this in Antakya and Hatay.  Alot of Turks would even say its not a Turkish dish, the Arabs would say its theirs the Israelis claim it as well.  The fact is that alot of the Middle Eastern food is very similar with some of the dishes crossing over boarders and Hummus is one of them.  As a result many countries will claim this divine dish as their own.  Speaking about Divine I happened across a blog devoted just to Hummus and they have an excerpt on there from Israeli writer  Meir Shalev who says he can prove it is Israeli as its origins can be found in the Bible, the old testament.

The first time Ruth and Boaz had met in Bethlehem, he offered her some humus: “And at meal-time Boaz said unto her, Come hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar” (Ruth 2-14).

This is a mistranslation of course. The original word in ancient Hebrew, is “Hometz”. Which not only sounds a bit like “Humus”, but also resembles the word “Himtza”. The Hebrew name of chick-peas.

True, “Hometz” in modern Hebrew is vinegar. But you don’t really think Boaz was so rude as to offer Ruth to dip her bread in vinegar, do you? Got to admit it’s more reasonable to think it was Humus.


Not only are the origins of Humus ambiguous but so is the recipe or should I say recipes!  As people are very different, recipes also change and are different depending on where you come from. Syrians might like more tahini whilst I have heard Jordanians like more lemon so therefore the recipe is slightly different depending on where you come from.  Most of us have probably bought a tub from the fridge section in the local supermarket and so have a basic idea on what is involved in the final product.  I have given you the recipe for this in my Meze post before.  I thought it deserved another honourable mention when I saw a few videos about Hummus on youtube.


This first one shows the whole eating experience for those who haven't yet partaken of this dish, but as you will see on the video it is also a staple for some. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXPJUyFGMgE&feature=related


This second one will show you how to serve it perfectly for your next dinner party or lunch. The guy dresses it up with pine nuts but I really think it would be much more appropriate to serve it with a few boiled chickpeas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvvtD4rdx3E&feature=related

Meze

Meze is probably my favorite way to eat.  Little plates of everything. During summer is the time when we mainly eat like this.  I like to have a few containers in my fridge will all these delicacies ready for an easy meal. Meze can be really anything that is in season and served cold, I have not yet seen a hot meze here in Turkey.  They can range from salads to any veggie put into garlic yogurt to a plate of watermelon.

What can you find on a Meze tray if you come to Turkey? 

Slices of Turkish style fetta cheese drizzled with olive oil and served with olives.
Stuffed vine leaves, usually just with rice
Any of the olive oil dishes
Green salads
Coban salad-tomato and cucumber based salad
Potato salad
Tomato Ezme - like a hot tomato salsa
Slices of Pastirma - turkish style salami
Various pickles
Mucver - zuchinni puffs
Fruits in season
Fried vegetables with garlic yogurt
Fried or pickled fish
Cigara Borek - filo pastries filled with a cheese similar to the continental cottage cheese
Cold bean dishes
Carrot salad
Eggplant salad
Beetroot salad
Hummus
Cacik - cucumber salad
Fried liver
Kısır - tabouleah type salad
Bowl of plain yogurt
ETC....

All of this is usually washed down with alcohol if eaten at a restaraunt.  What are your favorite Meze dishes?  Want the recipe? Let me know and you can be making wonderful Meze tables at home.

Turkish Dips

I have written this post in response to my beautiful friends post on her blog The Simple Things.  She did me the honour of posting about my blog on hers  She is one of my closest friends and I look forward to seeing her again soon.

If you are anything like me you are curious about different cultures and people, what they do and what they eat. This has lead me to cook various things other than just the average meat and 3 veg.  I came to Turkey 6 years ago and what an adventure,! many things have happened including living the way the locals do and learning all their culinary secrets.  Turkish food seems to becoming more and more popular these days and I can understand why.  The Turkish food culture is one of appreciating fresh at its best.  Combining ingredients to compliment each other and eating in season.  I have lived in many areas of Turkey from the European side to Middle Anatolia to the Mediterranean.  All the areas have their own distinct dishes and styles but there are many dishes that the Turks as a whole have in common.  Those are the ones you will probably find at your local Turkish restaurant.

What would most people order at a Turkish Restaurant if they have had no exposure to the food before?

I'm thinking the dip platter(I have checked online and most still seem to be serving this)so I will give you the recipes for all those beautiful looking dips and you can do these at your next BBQ or dinner party and impress your friends.

We will start with Baba Ghanoush, Beetroot dip and Hummus.  You will find these very very easy to make.  You might have all have your favorite recipes already for these as I know in most areas these are sold in the fridge sections of most supermarkets.  I will be giving you the recipes as I know them from the average Turkish housewife.

Baba Ghanoush

1 large eggplant or a couple of small ones

garlic to taste, minced

salt to taste 

lemon juice to taste 

yogurt --- probably 1 or 2 cups

Cook the eggplants whole in your oven until black.  Place them into a plastic bag until cool.  Take off the blackened skins, rinse off then chop roughly.  Add everything into the yogurt and serve.  You can garnish with dried mint or chili.

Beetroot or Pembe Sultan

I love this and make it all the time.  I usually eat it as a side with salad.

1 kilo of cooked beetroot - you can boil it or roast it to be fancy - you can add it in raw if you like but it doesn't give you the deep red colour.

garlic, minced

salt

yogurt - 1-2 cups

Peel and grate the cooked beetroot.  Add everything else, stir and serve.

Hummus

1 tin of cooked chickpeas

sesame paste - half a cup

lemon juice to taste - 1 or 2 tbsp

salt

garlic, minced

olive oil

Drain the chickpeas and put everything into a food processor or use a hand blender and then blend until it is a paste.  Add in everything else and blend again.  When you add in the sesame paste add half in first, taste to see if you want more, then add the rest(some people find it a bit strong) same with the garlic add to your own taste.  I would probably add in 4 cloves. With the olive oil I would probably put in a couple of tablespoons, if the mix looked a bit dry then add in some more.

With all of the above dishes you can add olive oil.

(Forgive my use of google photos as I am having camera issues but hopefully that will be rectified soon)