Turkish Delights: Stunning Regional Recipes from the Bosphorus to the Black Sea

This title, by the British first-generation son of a Turk, celebrates the diversity of Turkish food while inviting the reader along on a personal journey into the markets, kitchens and café’s reminiscent of his father’s childhood. The author—a professional chef—relates the pleasures of enjoying a leisurely “Black Sea breakfast” featuring plates of fresh, sliced vegetables and “parsley, cheese and bread,” followed by jam, honey and tea brewed “in a magnificent Turkish teapot.” He shares his personal home recipe for Iskender kebab, using pieces of rib eye steak in place of spit-roasted lamb, drizzled in a spicy, buttery tomato sauce, contrasted and cooled by dollops of lemon-and-garlic-infused yogurt. He serves up a tangy onion and red cabbage salad alongside traditional fried mackerel, “served to hungry fishermen along the Bosphorus.” While covering a broad range of Turkish regional cuisines, this cookbook is a tribute to one man’s love affair with the food served around his family’s dining table for generations.