A Fresh Take on Turkish Cuisine
Turkish cuisine dates back more than 1,300 years and incorporates delicious influences from the Far East, Central Asia, Iran and the Mediterranean. Inspired by Ontario’s diverse, farm-fresh bounty, we’ve created a menu that brings a fresh take to this ancient and exotic cuisine.
In Turkey, chopped tomato cucumber salad is served at just about every meal — variations of it are even served for breakfast. Fresh Ontario mint and parsley and ground sumac, a Middle Eastern spice, flavour Turkish Tomato, Cucumber and Pepper Salad, which excels as an appetizer or side dish.
Turkey’s marvelous version of pizza, pide (pronounced “pi-day”) is irresistible. Our version, Beef and Feta Pide is also super-easy, since it’s prepared with ready-made pizza dough.
The kebab is arguably Turkey’s national dish. Pomegranate molasses lend tangy sweetness, and ginger, cumin and cinnamon bring intriguing spice notes, to Marinated Chicken and Vegetable Shish Kebabs which can be grilled or cooked in the oven.
And for dessert: Turkish rice pudding, creamier and richer than many Canadian versions. Rosewater-scented Creamy Rice Pudding with Rhubarb, layered with soft tart fruit, will end your meal on a tantalizing high note.
We will feature one recipe each week for the month of April – enjoy! (We also publish our weekly recipes on our website: mildmaycrier.com
Turkish Tomato, Cucumber and Pepper Salad
This refreshing salad is served at pretty much every meal and variations of it are even served for breakfast. Sumac is a ground spice, available in the spice section of large supermarkets or Middle Eastern stores.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Serves 4 to 6
3 Ontario Greenhouse Mini Cucumbers, sliced into 1/2-inch (1 cm) pieces
2 Ontario Greenhouse Tomatoes, cored and cut into bite-size pieces
1 Ontario Greenhouse Sweet Yellow Pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup (50 mL) coarsely chopped fresh Ontario Mint
2 tbsp (25 mL) coarsely chopped fresh Ontario Parsley
2 tbsp (25 mL) olive oil
2 tsp (10 mL) fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground sumac
Freshly ground black pepper
In large bowl, combine cucumbers, tomatoes and yellow pepper. Add mint, parsley, oil, lemon juice, salt, sumac and black pepper; toss to combine. Taste and add a little more lemon juice, if needed.
Nutritional Information:
1 Serving (When recipe serves 6):
PROTEIN: 1 grams
FAT: 4.5 grams
CARBOHYDRATE: 6 grams
CALORIES: 65
FIBRE: 2 grams
SODIUM: 200 mg
– Printed with permission from Foodland Ontario
