The Turkish cuisine owes its extraordinary diversity to the Turkishpeople's historical and cultural heritage. This is why it is generallyacknowledged as one of the world's three greatest cuisines, along withthe Chinese and French. The Turkish cuisine influenced food cultures overan area stretching from Cental Asia to Vienna, including the entire Arabworld, the Balkans and Eastern Europe. Regional cuisines, meanwhile, arecharacterised by the food products grown under different climatic conditions.This is one of the main factors distinguishing the cuisines of the BlackSea. Adana, Gaziantep and other reas of Turkey. Rumelia, or Turkey in Europeas it was known, is the area which corresponds roughly to the Balkans today.Only a small section of this region is still part of modern Turkey, butthe Rumelian cuisine survives as an important subcategory of the Turkishcuisine. The Turkish word "Rumeli", literally means "Land of Rum" or "Landof the Romans", since this region was originally part of the Roman empireand its heir the Byzantine Empire. This is why in later times the word"Rum" came to refer to the Greeks.

Ramond Sokolor, the British culimary historian and writer, participatesin the symposiums on world cuisines held annually in Oxford. He participatedin the First Food Symposium organised in Istanbul by Fevzi Halici a fewyears ago and subsequently wrote an article about the influence of theTurkish cuisine on those of the Balkans. Almost all the dishes characteristicof this region, from "tel kadayif" to "borek", and regetable to meat dishesare without doubt of Turkish origin according to Sokolov. The name of Hungary'sfamous goulash is a corruption of the Turkish "kul asi", literally "foodof soldiers". In Turkey, this dish developed literally into the more sophisticatedform known as "guvec". One of the principal features of Turkish cuisineis its many ragouts, or dishes made of regetables cooked with chicken ormeat to create a synthesis of two flarours.

The French gourmet, Jean-Robert Pitt, in an interwiew with Atilla Dorsayof Cumhuriyet newspaper, expressed his admiration of the Turkish cuisineand explained that the French marron glace and other confectionary wereintroduced from Ottoman Turkey. The Ottomans advanced westwards throughthe Balkans from the 14th century onwards, and sent governors to rule theRumelian provinces. The governors took their own cooks, trained in thepalace kitchens in Istanbul, with them in their retinues, and so introducedTurkishcuisine into Europe. Not only the food itself, but Turkish mannersand customs too, were adopted by the local people. Of course, this wasnot entirely a one-way process, and a synthesis between local and Turkishdishes took place.

With the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century, manyTurkish families in the Balkans migrated to Turkey, introducing the deliciousRumelian cuisine. Below are three recipes for specialities from this cuisine:

Green Peppers with eggs and cheese

Take 12 medium sweet green peppers and remove the stalks. Then carefullycut out a cap from around the base of the stalk. Remove the seeds. Break5 eggs into a bowl add 400 gm of crumbled white cheese and mix well.

Fill this mixture into the peppers with a spoon, and replace the lids.Heat 2 cupts of oil (or sufficient to cover the peppers) in a saucepanand arrange the stuffed peppers upright in the hot oil. When the peppersbegin to turn a golden brown, remove and arrange upright on a serving dish.While they cool, prepare the sauce. Grate two large tomatoes into a saucepan,and add 2 tablespoons of vinegar, 3 tablespoons of oil (corn or sunflowerseed), 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh garlic, half a teaspoon of granulatedsugar, and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and simmer, stirring occasionally,pour over the stuffed peppers and serve.

Baked Leeks

Slice a kilogram of leeks into thin rounds, including the green leafyparts. Wash and place in a saucepan.

Add 5 tablespoons of olive oil or margarine and half-a-cup of water.Cover tightly and cook over a medium heat until the leeks have softenedand absorhed the liquid.

Remore from the heat and set aside to cool. Break 4 eggs into the leeks,add 1 cup of grated mild "kasar" (yellow cheese), 3 tablespoons of flour,1 cup of chopped dill, and salt and black pepper to taste, and stir lightly.Cut 4 to 5 slices of "pastirma" (pastrami with garlic), 3 slices of "sucuk"garlic sausage, and 3 slices of ham into tiny pieces and stir into theleek mixture. Pour into a shallow greased oven dish and spread smoothly.Sprinkle plenty of paprika over the top and bake in a medium oven (350F- 180 C) until browned. Serve hot.

Elbasan Tavasi

Few people know how to make this popular main dish properly. Made oflamb, it requires careful cooking.

Buy a leg of lamb weighing around two and a half kilograms, and askyour butcher to remove all the fat, and cut it into several large pieceson the bone. Place the pieces into a saucepan, and add 1 medium gratedonion and 2 cups of water. Bring to the boil over a high heat, and skim.Lower the heat and simmer until the liquid has evaporated. If the meatis not yet tender add a little more hot water and continue cooking.

Beat 6 eggs in a bowl, and continue to beat while adding 1 tablespoonof flour and 1 tablespoon of corn starch. When the flour is well mixed,add 3 cups of yoghurt and beat until the mixture is creamy. Spread onethird of this mixture in a shallow oven dish, and arrange the pieces ofmeat over the top in as single layer. Sprinkle 1 teaspoonful of dried mintover the meat and salt and black pepper to taste. Pour the remainder ofthe yoghurt and egg mixture over the top and bake in a medium oven (350F-180 C) for 15 minutes until browned. Be careful not to overcook. Melt2 tablespoons of butter in a small pan, stir in 3 teaspoons of paprikaor hot red pepper and pour over before serving.

posted 21 Oct 96