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VEGETABLES
Along with grains, vegetables are also consumed in large quantities
in the Turkish diet.
The simplest and most basic type of vegetable dish is prepared by
slicing a main vegetable such as zucchini or eggplant, combining it
with tomatoes, green peppers and onions, and cooking it slowly in
butter and its own juices. Since the vegetables that are cultivated
in Turkey are truly delicious, a simple dish like this, eaten with
sizeable chunk of fresh bread, is a satisfying meal in itself.
A whole class of vegetables is cooked in olive oil. These dishes
would be third in a five-course meal, following the soup and a main
course such as rice or börek and a vegetable or meat, and before
dessert and fruit. Practically all vegetables, such as fresh string
beans, artichokes, celery root, eggplant, pinto beans, or zucchini
canbe cooked in olive oil, and are typically eaten at room
temperature. They are a staple part of the menu with variations
depending on the season. Then there are the fried vegetables, such
as eggplant, peppers and zucchinis, that are eaten with a tomato or
a yogurt sauce.
“Dolma” is the generic term for stuffed vegetables, being a
derivative of the verb “doldurmak” (to fill). There are two
cateories of dolmas: those filled with a meat mix and those with
rice mix. The later are cooked in olive oil and eaten at room
temperature. The meat dolma is a main course dish eaten with yogurt
sauce, and a very frequent one in the average hausehold. Any
vegetable which can be filled with or wrapped around these mixes can
be used as a dolma, including zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, cabbage,
and grape leaves. However, the green pepper dolma with the rice
stuffing, has to be the queen of all dolmas, a royal feast to the
eye and the palate.
In addition to these general categories, there are numerous meat and
vegetable dishes which feature unique recipes. When talking
vegetables, it is important to know that the eggplant (or aubergine)
has a special place in Turkish cuisine. This handsome vegetable with
its brown-green cap, velvety purple skin, firm and slim body, has a
richer flovor than that of its relatives found elsewhere. At a
party, a frustrating question to ask a Turk would be “How do you
usually cook your eggplant?” A proper answer to this question would
require hours! Here, too, it will have to suffice to mention just
two eggplant dishes that are a must to taste. In one, the eggplant
is split lengthwise and filled with a meat mix. This is a common
summer dish, eaten with white rice pilaf. The other one is “Her
Majesty’s Favourite”, a delicate formal dish that is not easy to
make but well worth trying. The name refers to Empress Eugenie, the
wife of Napoleon III, who fell in love with it on her visit to
Sultan Abdülaziz.
To taste these dishes, look for a “Lokanta”, a world borrowed from
the Italian “Locanda”, describing the type of establishment where
traditional cooking is prepared, usually for those who work nearby.
The best examples are the Borsa, Hacý Salih, and Konyalý Restaurants
in Istanbul and Liman and Çiftlik in Ankara. The tables are covered
with white linen, and the menu comprises soups, traditional main
dishes and desserts, including fresh fruit. Businessmen and
politicians frequently visit these places for lunch.
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