Popular Turkish Recipes For You And Your Family

Turkish cuisine is robust, flavorful, and pops with the richness of fresh ingredients. Turkish cuisine brings the bounty of family, lively conversations, and the beauty of connection. As Turkey has grown and evolved through its various empires, its food and culture have remained. Food has family life built into it. To dine is to enjoy, laugh, and cease rushing to the next moment. Turkey's culinary traditions are third in the world after Chinese and French cuisine. You, too, can materialize the traditional savory recipes with Halal Turkish online grocery store's staple ingredients. We've outlined some of the most beloved Turkish recipes below.

Baklava

A famous Turkish breakfast pastry and dessert is the Baklava. It's packed with a delectable blend of sweetly spiced syrup, crumbles of pistachio nuts, and an undeniable buttery flakey layer upon layer of goodness. Baklava is also said to derive from the Ottoman Empire and later changed in Greece. According to Batu & Batu, ancient Turkish factors influencing the resilience of Turkish cuisine are due to Istanbul palaces, mansions, and chefs. Modifications to staple foods are commonplace as they make their way from country to country. Baklava Turkish recipes can vary from Istanbul to Bursa and İzmir. And when you don't have time to make your own, authentic Baklava is available at some Turkish online grocery stores and in mussel style. It takes master skills to make phyllo sheets. Our favorite easy recipe is below:

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 cups Turkish Pistachios, walnuts, or both (filling)

• 2 tbsp nut garnish

• Sugar 2 ½

• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

• Filo/Phyllo pastry sheets (also called leaves)

• Baking pan

Wet ingredients:

• ¾ Unsalted melted butter

• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice or slice

• 2 cups water

Making Baklava

Syrup:

Prep your syrup first, and add 2 cups of water, 2 ½ cups of sugar, and lemon juice. Some recipes call for letting the lemon slice soak in the water or use 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, fresh-squeezed. You can use honey as well, but it is not necessary. Bring the mix to a boil for 15 minutes or until consistency thickens but not too much. It will be a clear syrup. Allow it to cool.

Baklava Filling:

Filling can be a nut blend, pistachio, or walnut. Add cinnamon and other spices you desire. Chop your choice of nuts until fine.

Prep your pan:

You'll need your melted butter here. As you add a sheet of phyllo, brush delicately with melted butter. Per 5 sheets, add your pistachio or walnut filling but don't butter. Butter every 4th sheet and leave the 5th sheet unbuttered with just your filling. Your Baklava will be 25 sheets thick. Butter your top and final layer and pop it in the oven until it's got that golden brown top. Drizzle your syrup atop once it has cooled. Let the Baklava rest and cool, then fully absorb the syrup. Slice in squares or diamonds, garnish with pistachio and serve with a steaming cup of Turkish coffee.

Pide

Pide is the pizza of the Turks and is a rich, thick boat-shaped pastry stuffed with meats, cheeses, and veggies in an anything-goes pocket of deliciousness. It serves well with a fresh shepherd salad. If you're craving pide but can't prep it from scratch, we have mini cheese pide and grocery delivery in New Jersey. Here's our favorite Pide recipe.

Dry ingredients:

• 2 jars drained and cut artichokes

• 1 tbsp chili flakes

• ¼ fresh parsley (shred)

• 4 ¼ cups of flour (leave extra for dusting)

• 1tsp sugar

• 1 tbsp fresh yeast

• Baking sheet

Wet ingredients:

• Melted butter (you'll brush the butter)

• 6 tbsp Tulum cheese (or cheese of your choice)

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 2 ½ cups lukewarm water

Making Pide:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and make your dough. Combine half the water, yeast, olive oil, and sugar and whisk. Leave the mixture in a warm place to give the yeast time to activate. This can take up to 10 minutes.

Filling:

Garlic cream filling will be made from 9.8 oz cream cheese of choice, 1 large garlic clove, and any grated preferred hard cheese. Combine into a bowl. You'll add this to your pide once you've formed it in the next step.

Making the dough:

Add flour, a pinch of salt, and the yeast mix, which should be frothy by now. Combine ingredients by hand as you add the rest of the water in small batches. Do this until the dough no longer sticks to your hands. Add water as needed. Then dust your surface with flour and transfer the dough for 5 minutes of kneading. Once complete, move the dough to an oiled bowl.

Shaping the boat:

Next, roll the dough into a sausage shape, slice evenly, roll it into balls and cover it with a cloth. Make sure it's a little damp. Roll each ball into an oval shape and add the garlic cream mixture and artichokes down the middle (or any mixture you choose). Fold over the edges of the dough and encapsulate the mix like a small fishing boat. Close the edges nice and tight. You should be able to see the filling. This recipe is enough for 6 pides.

Bake:

Bake your pide on the baking sheet for up to 12 minutes or until it's crispy golden brown. Garnish with a lightly cooked and chopped head of broccoli, dress with olive oil, lemon juice, butter, parsley, and a splash of Tulum cheese or other toppings, and serve.

Shepherd's Salad

This is one of our favorite Turkish recipes. Shepherd's salad is a go-to when you need a fresh and light staple food with dinner. It's filling enough to eat alone or with seasoned pita. You can prep in 15 minutes or less.

Ingredients:

• 1lb diced tomato

• ¾ lb diced cucumbers

• 1 diced green pepper

• ½ washed diced red onion

• ¼ chopped parsley

• 1 tbsp chopped dill

• 2 tbsp chopped mint

• 1 tsp sumac

• 1 tsp pepper and salt to taste

• 3 tbsp lemon juice

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 2 ounces crumbled feta

• Black olives

After chopping and dicing, combine all of your ingredients. Add your olives last and chill before serving. Shop for the freshest Turk ingredients at our Turkish online grocery. We also offer same-day grocery delivery in New Jersey right to your door.