Yeşillikler

Green chickpeas (yeşil nohut), a variety of parsley (firik maydonoz) and nettles (ısırgan otu).

Potato Salad (Patates Salatası)

Makes 5-6 servings

5 medium sized potatoes * 50 g parsley * 1 carrot * 1/2 lemon juice * black pepper * salt

Boil the potatoes and the carrot. Filter and mash them with a fork or in the mixer. Mince the parsley. Mix the mashed potatoes and carrot with the minced parsley, lemon juice and a bit of black pepper and salt. Let it cool down a little. Make small balls and serve cold or warm with pickles.

Çorum Bread (Çorum Ekmeği)

Although it seems ordinary bread equal to many others, it surprises for its crustiness, lightness and has also the typical flavor of bread baked in firewood stove.
This is the type of bread most consumed in Turkey, and is also used in the döner and other Turkish fast-food, especially in fried fish sandwiches, which are also very typical.
This bread is made with Çorum flour. Çorum is a Turkish province located in the Black Sea region, which is also known for having the best flour of the country.

Almond Pudding (Keşkül)

Makes 2 servings

2 cups milk * 1 cup sugar * 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch * 2 egg yolks * 1/2 cup chopped almonds

Mix the egg yolks with the sugar and the cornstarch. Cook over medium heat until boil and thicken. Add the almonds and cook one minute more, stiring continuously. Place in a serving plate or in individual bowls. Garnish with chopped almonds and serve cold.

Orchid Root Drink (Salep)

Seller of Salep in the center of Ankara, December 2007.

The salep is a drink made of orchid root in powder called salep, which lends its name to the drink. It is a hot drink very common in Turkey during the winter, like the boza, another drink made with bulgur.
The popularity of salep extended from Turkey and the Middle East to England and Germany before the coming of coffee and tea, and later remained as an alternative beverage.
The Romans used the orchid roots to produce some beverages considered a powerful aphrodisiac.
In Turkey there are desserts made with salep and also ice creams. The Turkish city of Kahramanmaraş is the biggest salep producer and the delicious Kahramanmaraş ice creams are famous throughout Turkey.
The popularity of salep in Turkey led to the decrease in the amount of wild orchids in the country. As a result, it is illegal to export salep. Also due to this fact, there are many instant mixtures for sale to make salep drink with artificial aroma.



Makes 1 serving

1 cup milk * 1 tsp salep * cinnamon powder * sugar

Mix the salep and the milk very well until boiling. Add sugar to taste and sprinkle with cinnamon. Drink hot.

Note: In Turkey, the genuine salep powder can be found for sale in herbalists (Lokman Hekim). The instant preparations are sold in any supermarket.