Today we’re heading to Turkey — a country where cooking has been elevated to an art form, and every dish carries centuries-old traditions of the Ottoman Empire and Anatolia. We’ll make two iconic dishes without which no Turkish table is complete.
A juicy, spicy kebab made from minced lamb on wide, flat skewers, cooked over coals or in the oven. Boldly meaty in flavor, with the distinct heat of red pepper and the richness of fat-tail fat, served on lavash with roasted vegetables and fresh herbs.
Ingredients (serves 4):
• Lamb (shoulder or leg) — 700 g
• Fat-tail fat (or lard) — 100 g
• Onion — 1 large
• Garlic — 3 cloves
• Red pepper flakes (pul biber / Aleppo pepper) — 2 tbsp.
• Sweet ground paprika — 1 tsp.
• Ground zira (cumin) — 1 tsp.
• Salt — 1 tsp.
• Ground black pepper — 0.5 tsp.
• Sumac — 1 tsp.
• Thin lavash — 4 sheets
• Tomatoes — 3
• Green bell peppers — 2
• Fresh parsley — 1 bunch
• Lemon — 1
Preparation:
Step 1. Preparing the meat.
Cut the lamb and fat-tail fat into cubes roughly 2×2 cm. Pass them through a meat grinder twice: first through a coarse plate (6–8 mm), then through a fine one (3–4 mm). The mince should become smooth, paste-like, and slightly sticky to the touch.
Step 2. Preparing the onion and garlic.
Grate the onion on a fine grater. Transfer the resulting pulp to cheesecloth and squeeze out all the juice thoroughly — this is critical, otherwise the kebab will fall apart on the skewer. Press the garlic. Add the onion and garlic to the mince.
Step 3. Kneading the mince.
Add the red pepper flakes, paprika, zira, salt, and black pepper to the mince. Knead vigorously by hand for 7–10 minutes, periodically slapping the mixture against the bowl. The mince should become very firm, elastic, and completely uniform — it should not stick to your hands. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
Step 4. Shaping the skewers.
Take the mince out of the refrigerator. Wet your hands with cold water. Take a portion of mince the size of a large egg (about 150–180 g) and thread it onto a wide, flat skewer, shaping it into a long sausage about 2–2.5 cm thick. Press the mince firmly onto the skewer so there are no air bubbles. The surface should be smooth, without cracks.
Step 5. Cooking on the grill or in the oven.
If cooking over a charcoal grill — the coals should be ash-gray, with no open flame. Grill the kebabs for 10–12 minutes, turning them every 2–3 minutes. If using an oven — preheat it to 230°C, place the skewers on a rack over a baking tray, and roast for 12–15 minutes, turning once. A finished kebab is covered in a golden-brown crust with light char marks, and releases clear juices when pressed.
Step 6. Roasted vegetables.
At the same time as the kebabs, roast the whole tomatoes and green peppers on the grill or under the oven broiler at 230°C for 8–10 minutes. The vegetables are ready when their skins are blackened in places and they are soft, slightly deflated.
Step 7. Serving.
Place a sheet of thin lavash on each plate. Slide the kebab directly from the skewer onto the lavash, then arrange the roasted vegetables alongside it. Sprinkle with sumac and roughly chopped parsley. Serve with a lemon wedge and thinly sliced onion marinated in sumac. The lavash should soak up the meat juices — that is part of the dish.
💡 Fact: Adana kebab is named after the city of Adana in southern Turkey. In 2004, it received geographical protection — a true Adana kebab can officially bear that name only if it is made according to a strict standard, including a specific meat-to-fat ratio (80/20) and exclusively hand-chopped meat.
Turkish scrambled eggs with tomatoes, peppers, and spices — a bright, juicy dish with the soft, creamy texture of barely set eggs in a thick, spicy vegetable sauce. Served straight from the pan with crusty white bread for dipping.
Ingredients (serves 2):
• Eggs — 4
• Ripe tomatoes — 4 large (about 500 g)
• Green sweet peppers (Turkish type; long Italian peppers can be substituted) — 3
• Onion — 1 medium
• Garlic — 2 cloves
• Sweet paprika — 1 tsp.
• Red pepper flakes (pul biber) — 0.5 tsp.
• Olive oil — 3 tbsp.
• Salt — to taste
• Ground black pepper — to taste
• Fresh parsley — 1 small bunch
• White bread, for serving — 4 slices
Preparation:
Step 1. Preparing the tomatoes.
Make a cross-shaped cut in the bottom of each tomato. Drop them into boiling water for 30–40 seconds, then immediately transfer them to ice water. Peel off the skins — they should come away easily. Dice the tomatoes into cubes roughly 1.5×1.5 cm, keeping all the juices they release.
Step 2. Chopping the vegetables.
Remove the seeds and membranes from the green peppers, then slice them into rings 3–4 mm thick. Dice the onion into small cubes about 5 mm across. Slice the garlic into thin slivers.
Step 3. Frying the onion and peppers.
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a wide frying pan (preferably cast iron, 26–28 cm in diameter). Add the onion and cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until soft and lightly translucent. Add the green peppers and garlic; cook for another 3 minutes. The peppers should soften but retain a slight crunch and their bright color.
Step 4. The tomato base.
Add the diced tomatoes along with their juices, the paprika, and the red pepper flakes. Stir and raise the heat to medium. Simmer uncovered for 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally. The mixture should reduce noticeably and thicken — a spatula should leave a trail across the bottom of the pan that does not immediately fill with liquid. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 5. Adding the eggs (CRITICAL — the key moment).
Turn the heat down to the lowest setting. Crack the eggs directly into the tomato mixture. There are two classic approaches here: in traditional menemen, the eggs are lightly broken up with a fork right in the pan, creating an uneven, creamy texture with visible white and yellow streaks. Do NOT beat the eggs in a bowl beforehand — this is not an omelet! Gently draw a fork through the eggs 4–5 times, partially mixing them into the tomatoes.
Step 6. Final cooking.
Cook over the lowest heat for 2–3 minutes, stirring very delicately with broad sweeps of a spatula. Remove the pan from the heat while the eggs still look slightly runny — they will reach their perfect creamy consistency from the residual heat. Finished menemen should be moist and tender, never dry or rubbery.
Step 7. Serving.
Scatter roughly chopped fresh parsley over the menemen directly in the pan. Serve immediately — this dish does not tolerate waiting. Set the pan on a wooden trivet in the center of the table. Serve slices of fresh white bread or toast browned in a dry pan alongside it. The bread is dipped straight into the menemen — it is an essential part of the ritual.
💡 Fact: In Turkey, menemen is the subject of heated arguments: some believe onion has no place in true menemen, while others insist it is essential. The dish is named after the town of Menemen in İzmir Province, and local residents claim that only their version is the one true version. It is the Turkish equivalent of the Italian argument over carbonara.