Hey there!!
So today is the first day of the Turkish Week on my blog taking part in the Around the World, Week by Week – Series!
Why did I chose Turkey as the first country to be featured?
Well, I got the chance to visit this country for two months in the summer of last year. I went there through a partnership of my university in Germany with the Ege-University of Izmir for an internship in the milk technology departement. I didn’t expect much as the turkish people living in Germany often keep very much to themselves and their culture kind of stayed a mystery to me. But boy was I wrong!
The people were so open and friendly – it was amazing!! Even if it was hard to communicate with some because they didn’t really speek English or German and my Turkish was well, let’s say, just not existing 😉 We got along so well using our hands to gesticulate and some google-translate for more difficult things!! The people were very hospitable and obliging and the boys real gentleman! I felt at home right away and made many great friends!!
Also I found a family there which adopted me, at least figuratively speeking 🙂 It is the family of my neighbour who died unfortunatly and very sudden two years ago. His wife went back to Turkey to stay with their son and daughter and their grandchildren who are already in their late teens. I last saw them all when I was little, they didn’t come to Germany often to visit because most of the time my neighbour and wife went to Turkey and spend some weeks each year there. So when he died everything was really quick. They gave up the house and moved back to Turkey in just like two weeks or something – a time in which I couldn’t come to my parents house to say goodbye. I had to stay and go to university. So when I found out they actually lived near Izmir and I could probably see them during my stay I got really excited!!
And then I finally met them and it was like coming home to your family. Everybody was kissing and hugging and I was instantly adopted as a family member! They called me their daughter, cousin and sister and it was how I felt too!! This sounds all very emotional – but it is how I felt!!
I stayed at their house, was invited to their cram-ful tables for breakfast and dinner, I was cooking with them Turkish food and I even cooked a German dish for them at the last evening as a thank you. I guess I got some first-hand experience there 😉
It was awesome!! I miss them all very much!!
But now let’s go on to the food part! There has to be something to tell for the next days too 😉
Today is Monday, so we will have a little talk about appetizers in Turkish Cuisine. Small plates with different dishes to snack on have a long tradition in Turkey. They even have a special name for it: Meze! It is kind of like the Tapas of Turkey 🙂 You can get them in nearly every restaurant, and in the better ones you even get some for free. It can be things like a salad, bread, a joghurt dip or different spreads – it’s all possible.
What I have here for you is Sigara Böreği, a savoury snack in the form of thin rolls. They taste a little bit salty and very crispy – once you start eating you can never stop 😉 They are really delicious and probably gone faster than anything else on a buffet!!
Here is a little picture to help you visualize what the dough sheets look like and what to do with them 🙂
Have you been to Turkey yourself? Have you tried or even cooked Turkish food? What were your experiences?
I would love for you to share in the comments! 🙂
- 1 package triangular shaped yufka-sheets (about 25 sheets -turkish store)
- 300 g beyaz peynir or feta cheese
- 1 handful of parsley, finely chopped
- water
- rapeseed or sunflower oil
- Prepare the filling first by squishing the feta cheese or beyaz peynir as finely as you can. Mix with parsley and set aside.
- Arrange your workspace: Put a clean and slightly wet towel on your surface. You need a bowl with water, your filling, the yufka sheets and a clean plate in arms length!
- Now you can start rolling your Sigara Böreği: Place one sheet of yufka on your towel, the wide side facing towards you. Sprinkle with water, especially the sides that will be folded in!
- Take some of your filling (about 1 tablespoon) and distribute in a line near the end of the round side of the triangular. Fold the sides in and roll your Sigara Böreği up! Tip the pointy end of your yufka into your bowl with water and close the roll. Set aside on your plate and continue until all the yufka sheets are used up!
- Heat the oil in a wide pan. You need about 1 cm of oil in your pan. Use a wooden spoon to test if the oil is already hot enough. There will be bubbles forming on the spoon when you put a corner of it into the oil. When the oil is hot enough put some Sigara Böreği in. They have to be in one layer and you need a little bit of space to turn them. Turn them once after the bottom side is golden and lay them on a paper towel to drain excess oil when you take them out.
- Enjoy preferably with some salad or çaçik!
Afiyet olsun!!
– That means enjoy your meal in Turkish 🙂
Here are the other recipes I shared during this series:
An Introduction to the new series
Main Dish – Köfte, Cacık & Pirinç Pilavı
Dessert – Künefe
Drink – Ayran
Salad – Kısır
Pastry – Kurabiye
Snack/Fast Food – Lahmacun
Guest Post – Acılı Ezme