Blog

7 reasons to love Turkish meze

From rice-stuffed mussels and barbecued octopus to mouth-watering kebabs, turn up the heat and make some meze magic.

Thin-crust pide with spicy lamb topping

Lahmacun Source: Bree Hutchins

Picture this: meltingly sweet lamb studded with pistachio nuts and served on a bed of smoky eggplant-meets-garlic yoghurt sauce. It’s a sultry combination that sings of Turkey and is bound to impress any dinnertime guests.
Ali Nazik kebab
Source: Alan Benson
Get your snack on with Anneka Manning’s bazlama. Made with Greek yoghurt, this slightly sour bread is ideal for dipping into sauces and mopping up meaty juices. (See the lamb below!)
Turkish flatbread (bazlama)
Turkish flatbread (bazlama) Source: Alan Benson
We love a good barbie here in Australia, but hats off to the Turkish because this charred octopus number is truly impeccable. A few hours before cooking, marinate your tentacles in a tahini sauce made with walnuts, pul biber (Aleppo pepper powder), garlic, lemon juice, day-old bread and, yep, tahini. Proving versatile and very tasty, the tahini sauce also rocks with barbecued squid, cuttlefish or a fillet of fish.
Barbecued octopus with tahini sauce (izgarada ahtapot)
Source: Turkish Fire
Kisir is the Turkish version of tabouleh, made with burghul, tomatoes, capsicums and fresh herbs. This colourful dip carries both sweet and sour notes thanks to the addition of earthy beetroot and pomegranate molasses. Dip those aforementioned flatbread in here, stat!
Turkish tabouleh
Source: Murdoch Books
Falling on the meatier side of meze, this lamb is perfect as a shared meal centerpiece – so long as your guests don’t mind fighting over the last piece. Remember to marinate your lamb overnight for a particularly succulent result. Serve with burghul pilaf, smoked eggplant dip or mint salad and let the feast begin!
Lamb shoulder cooked in yoghurt and cumin seeds (yogurtlu kimyonlu kuzu)
Source: Turkish Fire
Turkey’s answer to pizza, lahmacun (pronounced "lah-mahjun") is a crisp, light pastry traditionally cooked in stone ovens. Quite unlike Napoli’s margherita, Turkish pides are traditionally topped with minced lamb, tomatoes and capsicum paste, with garlic, chilli and parsley added for flavor hits. Serve this your Turkish pizzas with a red onion and sumac salad for extra tang.
Thin-crust pide with spicy lamb topping
Lahmacun Source: Bree Hutchins
Like many neighbouring nations, Turkey excels in the dolma department. From eggplants and capsicums to mussel shells – almost any edible vestibule can be stuffed with a spiced rice mixture and become ‘dolma’. Here we have midye dolma, aromatic rice-stuffed mussels popular in street stalls across Istanbul.
Aromatic rice-stuffed mussels (midye dolma)
Aromatic rice-stuffed mussels (midye dolma) Source: Alan Benson
Written by Siobhan Hegarty.

Have we got your attention and your tastebuds? The Chefs’ Line airs every weeknight at 6pm on SBS followed by an encore screening at 9.30pm on SBS Food Network. Episodes will be available after broadcast via SBS On Demand. Join the conversation #TheChefsLine on Instagram @sbsfood, Facebook @SBSFood and Twitter @SBS_Food. Check out sbs.com.au/thechefsline for episode guides, cuisine lowdowns, recipes and more!

Share
SBS Food is a 24/7 foodie channel for all Australians, with a focus on simple, authentic and everyday food inspiration from cultures everywhere. NSW stream only. Read more about SBS Food
Have a story or comment? Contact Us

SBS Food is a 24/7 foodie channel for all Australians, with a focus on simple, authentic and everyday food inspiration from cultures everywhere. NSW stream only.
Watch nowOn Demand
Follow SBS Food
3 min read

Published

By SBS Food bite-sized
Source: SBS


Share this with family and friends


SBS Food Newsletter

Get your weekly serving. What to cook, the latest food news, exclusive giveaways - straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS On Demand
SBS News
SBS Audio

Listen to our podcasts
You know pizza, pasta and tiramisu, but have you tried the Ugly Ducklings of Italian Cuisine?
Everybody eats, but who gets to define what good food is?
Get the latest with our SBS podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch SBS On Demand
Bring the world to your kitchen

Bring the world to your kitchen

Eat with your eyes: binge on our daily menus on channel 33.