Let's talk Turkish

I visited Turkey in the '70s in worn blue jeans with a backpack and very little money in my pocket. But I was able to feast on meals so memorable that I recall the flavors to this day:

I ate lahmacun, flatbread topped with tangy ground lamb, hot from a wood-burning oven; plates of piyaz, made with plump, tender white runner beans, drizzled with lemon; and mussels stuffed with blue-black rice, studded with black currants. I indulged on large, sesame-crusted bread rings sold by street vendors who plucked them from a rod stacked with freshly baked breads, and I savored tiny cups of bitter roasted Turkish coffee, which tempered the sweetness of the kadaif, a shredded wheat pastry stuffed with walnuts and drenched in honey.

Turkish food is subtle, complex, varied, and well-seasoned, highlighting the grains and beans brought to Turkey by nomadic tribes along with Turks' own take on vegetables, like creamy eggplant, tiny fried okra, and lumpy squash.

One Turkish restaurateur told me a good Turkish chef must not only master a hundred eggplant recipes, but also perfect the art of combining foods for easy digestion.

Historically, there have not been many choices for sampling these specialties in the Philadelphia region. But in recent years, a growing community of Turks have opened markets, cafes, and restaurants. And while the offerings are not quite as cheap as the meals I ate 25 years ago, they are still quite reasonably priced.

Until my next visit to Turkey, I'm happy to be able to cook Turkish food at home and enjoy specialties like doner kebab at restaurants. I'll definitely be visiting Philadelphia's first Turkish restaurant, Konak, soon, to eat small, rich red-gold-skinned barbounia, my favorite Mediterranean fish.

Here are a few of the places I recommend for Turkish fare:

Star Manti Cafe
Heritage Square Plaza, Delran, Burlington County; 856-461-0024, www.starmanti.com

We felt welcome immediately at this family-run restaurant where the owners pay attention to details like custom-embroidered linen silverware holders, jacquard tablecloths, and perky herbs from the garden of one of the cooks. We started with herbed red lentil soup followed by meze (small appetizers that are the original tapas): savory pastries like borek, gozleme and cigari, karisik kizartma (olive-oil-fried vegetables), and manti, the restaurant's namesake dish, meat dumplings dressed with yogurt, dried mint, and tomato-butter sauce.

Dessert was a delicate pudding beloved by Istanbulites, the unlikely but exquisite tavuk gogsu. The chef had just finished a fresh batch, shredding poached chicken breast into fine threads, which she sweetened, simmered with milk, and sprinkled with cinnamon - a rare treat.

For our finale, our server brought an elaborate engraved silver tray with a lidded server perched on a red velvet cushion. Off came the cover, as ceremoniously as any cloche at Le Bec-Fin, revealing a tiny porcelain cup of fragrant, fresh-brewed Turkish coffee.

Owner and chef Serife Ayakta came to this country after the 1999 earthquake in Istanbul, when her home collapsed and her mother was killed. At her restaurant, she is trying to preserve the traditional dishes and the soul of her homeland: "Cooking must come from the heart," she said. "My hands have to go into everything I serve."

Efes Turkish Market
4000 Route 130 N., Delran; 856-461-6383, www.efesmarket.com (next door to Star Manti Cafe)

Try the olive bread rings from Taskin Bakery and spices like tart ground sumac, maras (red) and Urfa biber (black) ground chiles, and blackseed (nigella). The owner, Serdar Canpolat, speaks English well and can answer any questions.

Divan Turkish Market
5006 Route 130 N., Delran; 856-461-0205.

This larger market has a halal butcher shop and sells giant Turkish hazelnuts, pomegranate salad dressing, and sweet hazelnut spread.

S & H Kebab House
611 E. Passyunk Ave.; 267-639-3214, www.kebabhouseonline.com

Huseyin Yuksel is the accomplished chef and partner with Sal Kucuk, who studied in America and ended up owning Roxborough's Ridge Diner and Mount Ephraim's Black Horse Diner. Naturally, they specialize in kebabs, served in a surprisingly upscale ambience complete with table linens.

Yuksel's food has the depth of flavor achieved by careful seasoning and marinating. Two of my favorites are their moist, juicy kofte (minced lamb seasoned with onion juice, garlic, parsley, and spices) and their best-selling red-peppered chicken or lamb adana kebabs. Homemade desserts like soft kazandibi (upside-down pudding) with its requisite well-browned bottom and sutlac, creamy oven-baked rice pudding, are well worth the calories.

Queen Village Food Market
339 Bainbridge St.; 215-625-2405, www.queenvillagemarkets.com

John Atalan runs the market, a clean but unassuming corner store with plenty of chips and snacks but also a diverse selection of Turkish foods including tender dried apricots from his father's farm, and small, narrow Antep pistachios.

Stock up on large-grained baldo rice - perfect for pilaf - also bulgur wheat for tabbouleh (kisir in Turkish), thick country-style refrigerated (not frozen) phyllo dough, best for savory pies, and the sour cherry juice I learned to love in Turkey. Trays of baklava garnished with brilliant green pistachios at the cash register will tempt on the way out.

Konak
228 Vine St.; 215-592-1212, www.konakturkishrestaurant.com

Konak, the city's first Turkish restaurant, opened seven years ago and is now just completing a major renovation. The restaurant will have fresh fish tanks for live Turkish/Mediterranean fish like barbounia (red mullet), levrek (branzino), and hamsi (anchovies).

Although Americans are more familiar with Greek seafood cookery, Turkey has huge stretches of Aegean, Black Sea, and Mediterranean coastline.

"We only serve what we eat ourselves," says Melek Basran, chef at this family-run restaurant and mother of Ayse Atay, who serves and helps manage. Basran has been staying up at night lately reading cookbooks for new fish recipes.

Family heirlooms on the walls include the tiny silver filigreed wooden clogs worn by Ayse's great-grandmother, her lavishly silver-embroidered velvet jacket so small it's hard to believe it was worn by a grown-up, and her hand-woven pestemal, or Turkish bath towel. Konak also serves Turkish wines and beers and has a full bar.

Divan Turkish Kitchen and Bar
918 S. 22d St. (corner of Carpenter & 22d Streets); 215-545-5790, www.divanturkishkitchen.com

Owned by brother and sister Ilker and Fulya Ugur, Divan Turkish Kitchen and Bar is housed in a once-decrepit building that they have lovingly renovated. Their manti is a close contender for the best I've sampled. Coban salatasi (shepherd's salad) was chunky with diced-to-order ripe tomatoes and cucumber in a lemony dressing. Queen Village is also home to their Café Fulya (727 S. 2d St.; 267-909-9937, www.cafefulya.com), serving a light menu of Turkish salads, beverages, sandwiches, and pastries in a stylish red and gold setting. Try mucver, zucchini pancakes with yogurt, and spinach-filled ispanakli borek.

Armenian Delight
2591 West Chester Pike, Broomall; 610-353-7711.

This shop carries many Turkish food ingredients, evidence of the intertwined relationship of Armenians and Turks.

Makes 10 servings

EndTextStartText

1 pound split red lentils (2 cups), rinsed and drained

1 large onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon Turkish red pepper paste

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon dried mint or 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

4 tablespoons corn oil

2 tablespoons flour

3/4 cup milk

EndTextStartText

1. In a large pot, mix red lentils, onion, garlic, tomato and pepper pastes, salt, black pepper, and mint. Add two quarts of water to the pot and cook it at high heat at first. After the water boils, lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer half an hour or until the lentils have disintegrated. Make sure to mix everything once in a while with a metal whisk.

2. In another saucepan, combine corn oil and flour and stir it for a full minute. Add the milk and bring to a boil, stirring until smooth. Add to the soup and stir until it boils. As soon as it boils, the soup is done.

Per serving: 132 calories, 6 grams protein, 14 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams sugar, 6 grams fat, 2 milligrams cholesterol, 152 milligrams sodium, 6 grams dietary fiber.

EndText

Makes 4 to 6 servings

EndTextStartText

1 pound ground lamb

4 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 sweet red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

2 tablespoons maras biber (spicy Turkish crushed red pepper flakes - substitute 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes)

2 tablespoons red pepper paste (they use Mis brand from Gaziantep)

EndTextStartText

1. Combine ingredients well and divide into 4 to 6 portions.

2. Form each portion around a skewer - preferably flat sword skewers - in a layer about 1/2-inch thick. Make several thick oblongs from aluminum foil and lay over a hot charcoal grill to keep the kebabs from touching the grill itself.

3. Grill 8 minutes total, 4 minutes on each side or until well-browned.

4. Serve with rice pilaf, grilled long hot green peppers, grilled halved plum tomatoes, and a small salad of shredded red cabbage and carrots mixed with a few leaves of tender lettuce, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice.

Per serving (based on 6): 227 calories, 13 grams protein, 3 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams sugar, 18 grams fat, 55 milligrams cholesterol, 1,639 milligrams sodium, 1 grams dietary fiber.

EndText

Makes 36-40 cookies

EndTextStartText

For the Dough:

3/4 pound (2 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon) unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 pound (1/2 cup plus 2 1/2 tablespoons) fine semolina

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

10 ounces (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into bits

1/4 pound (3/4 cup minus 1 tablespoon) confectioners' sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 egg white

40 whole hazelnuts

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

For the Syrup and Garnish:

2 cups sugar

Juice of 1 lemon (3 tablespoons)

EndTextStartText

1. To make the dough, rub two 18-by-13-inch half-sheet pans (or other large baking pans) with softened butter. Do not preheat the oven. If possible, set each baking pan inside a second pan so the cookie bottoms bake evenly without burning.

2. Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, semolina, baking powder, and salt.

3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, eggs, and egg white, and beat until light and fluffy, 5 to 6 minutes, scraping down the sides once or twice. Add the flour mixture and beat again, just long enough for the dough to come together.

4. Dust your hands with flour and form the dough into one or two long, thin logs, about 1 inch in diameter. Cut the logs into 1-inch sections, and shape each section into a walnut-sized ball. Toss the balls lightly but vigorously onto the baking pans so they stick to the pan and flatten slightly. Rearrange if necessary so the balls are evenly spaced on the pans.

5. Press one hazelnut, with the pointy side facing up, into the center of each dough ball, so the tip of the hazelnut is at the same level as the cookie. Brush the cookies lightly but evenly with egg yolk, making sure excess yolk doesn't pool into the center.

6. Place the trays in the oven, and set the oven temperature to 400°F. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are light golden and crackled.

7. To make the syrup, which must be ready when the cookies come out of the oven, combine 3 cups water and the sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then simmer for 2 minutes or until the syrup is completely clear. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice.

8. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, pour all the hot syrup over them, making sure all the cookies are evenly drenched in the syrup. There should be about 1/2 inch of syrup in the pans, which will be absorbed by the cookies as they cool. Store covered and at room temperature for up to three days.

Per cookie (based on 40): 153 calories, 2 grams protein, 21 grams carbohydrates, 13 grams sugar, 7 grams fat, 26 milligrams cholesterol, 65 milligrams sodium, trace dietary fiber.

EndText