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The definitive guide to Turkish food has arrived! A one-stop shop collating over 500 of Turkey's best recipes from a leading authority on food traditions, Musa Dagdeviren, and published by Phaidon; The Turkish Cookbook.
Anyone who's fallen in love with Turkish cuisine will already know that it's hearty and healthy, vibrant and bold and hugely varied ranging from grilled meats, salads, and gloriously sweet pastries to dips, pilafs, and stews. But how many home cooks can admit to having had a go at making these dishes at home?
With this first authoritative book to comprehensively catalogue this breadth of recipes, they are finally accessible to the average home cook.
Left image: Musa Dagdeviren, right image: Internal image from book
Turkey's cuisine is so remarkable thanks to its combined European and Asian culinary heritage, spanning beloved dishes from lamb kofte and chicken kebabs, to sweet tahini halva or pistachio baklava.
Musa embraces the diversity that characterises this unique cuisine; "We should enjoy it instead of focusing on how to separate flavours and faiths. Instead of praising the Armenians for their skill in olive oil dishes, the Kurds for meat, Turks for pastries, Ottoman Greeks for their seafood, we could coexist, with mutual respect to each other’s values, faiths and way of life” he writes in the introdcution.
Left image: lahmacun, Middle image: Sorrel Rolls, Right Image: Stuffed Peppers
The convincingly solid hardback documents the culinary cultural history of the country alongside, insightful headnotes, stunning photography of finished dishes and captivating images of the Turkish landscape, environment, markets, and people. And for those that feel the recipes might seem too complex, they will be encouraged by recipes highlighted with five ingredients or fewer.
Musa Daĝdeviren is a well-known and acclaimed chef in Istanbul, where he has three restaurants - the first, Çiya, opened in 1987. His foundation, which he runs with his wife, is devoted to rediscovering Turkish culinary heritage, and he publishes his findings in a quarterly journal. He has been featured in international press and regularly lectures at food conferences and culinary schools. He has also featured in Netlix series "Chef's Table".
The Turkish Cookbook is available for purchase through Phaidon.
