Menemen
One of our favourite breakfast options is Menemen. A dish that is named after a region in Turkey is something not to be missed. The concept is actually quite simple - scrambled eggs topped green pepper, white onion, can diced tomatoes with its juice. There are many versions of menemen, so it can also contain garlic, cheese, spinach, sausage pieces. Do you feel like you could make this yourself? I think so! Let us know in the comments if you’ve mastered the recipe!
Don't forget to check out our YouTube video for our first time experience:
Içli Köfte (stuffed meatballs)
Içli Köfte or stuffed meatballs is perhaps reminding you of Chicken Kiev, but don’t be fooled - its ingredients and texture is very different! The shape of this dish is like zeppelin and it usually contains bulgur, minced onions, walnuts, finely ground lean beef, and spices. Once you bite into it, you can feel the crispy dough that has been put together with the help of semolina! What a lovely dish to try in Turkey. One might not be enough, just warning you!
Iskender Kebab or Bursa Kebab
Micha’s favourite kebab of all times - Iskender Kebab. Boy oh boy, it deserves to be within the TOP 5 for sure! Many people skip Bursa when travelling through Turkey, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit the city and try the kebab in its original place. It dates back to the 1800s when a butcher called Iskender Bey came up with this dish. Its thinly sliced lamb, topped with a massive dollop of yougurt and mouth-watering hot, melted butter is laying on a very soft pitta bread. All these flavours combined in one is just a BOMB! Don’t forget to pair it with some grape juice.
Gözleme (Turkish Pancakes)
Gözleme - often translated as pancake is actually a flatbread. It was often eaten in more rural areas of Turkey but after the locals realised its potential, it became more popular all over the country. Let’s talk about the exciting part - the filling, where you get to make the call! You can have it white crumbly curd cheese, spinach, herbs & greens, potatoes or minced meat! Have you ever tried it before? Let us know in the comments what was your favourite filling!
Adana & Urfa Kebab
Probably some of the most popular dishes that you will find on the menu is ADANA and URFA kebabs. Both of these kebabs originated from the most popular kebab cities in Turkey - Adana & Urfa. The only difference is in spice - Adana Kebap is usually spicer than URFA Kebap. Both of these kebabs consists of seasoned minced lamb which is cooked over charcoal fire and some side dishes such as tomato bulgur rice, grilled vegetables, fres salad topped with olive oil and of course some warm flatbread.
Lahmacun
Have you ever heard of Turkish pizza? Well, Lahmacun is exactly that! However, you won’t any extravagant topics like prochuto ham, olives, Parmesan cheese etc. It’s something different but as equally amazing! Lahmacun can also be classified as flatbread topped with a mixture of flavourful minced meat, peppers, spices and herbs. There’s only one rule: roll your slice, do not eat like a normal pizza.
Pide
Pide is another type of flatbread that is famous across Turkey. Personally to me, it looks like a pizza boat stuffed with different toppings like sausage, peppers, cheese, spinach, minced meat, etc. My personal recommendation: try a mixed topping pide - in that way, you will get to try a bit of everything. Absolutely scrumptious!
Kumru
Kumru was our surprise dish! We haven’t heard of it before but once we’ve arrived to Çeçme and saw people eating it, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity. We really enjoyed this toasted sandwich for breakfast, but of course it can be eaten throughout the dat. It’s made of toasted artisanal bread, grilled cheese, sujuk (spicy Turkish sausage) and some fresh tomatoes. Yummy! After eating one sandwich each, we were tempted to go for another round hahap
Baklava
Turkish Breakfast
Turkish breakfast is a staple dish of the day in Turkish day life. Even if you are staying in country for a short time, you should ensure to try Turkish breakfast because it‘s an activity in itself. There are so many components that make this dish, if you want to read up more about it and find out the specifics - please check out this blog post here:
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