When our couchsurfer from Istanbul insisted that she cook us a Turkish dinner, we knew we would be crazy to refuse. After all, we just returned from Istanbul and we weren’t there long enough to sample much in the way of Turkish food — although we certainly tried. This was our chance to try more!
When I asked the names of these dishes I really should’ve written them down, but instead I did it the hard way and hunted for them online by guesswork.
The meat dish had mushrooms and tomatoes, sitting atop a homemade béchamel sauce that’s quite different from what you can find in Portugal (which has more cream). I love béchamel sauce like this, but it’s been a long time since I’ve had it and I’d forgotten all about it.
I can barely spell Portuguese properly, let alone Turkish, but from what I can tell through an internet search, this dish is called Hünkar Begendi, or “Sultan’s Delight”. It is absolutely delicious, and now I want to recreate it. To try it out yourself, here are a couple of recipe links:
http://www.turkeysforlife.com/2012/09/turkish-recipes-hunkar-begendi-ottoman.html
Sultan's Delight – Lamb ragout with pureed eggplant and béchamel sauce; Hunkar Begendi
I’ve been less successful in finding the recipe for the top picture. This dessert is like a creamy pudding with bread and lime, topped with cinnamon. I keep running into the recipe of this Turkish dessert that has chicken breast — I’m not kidding! We tried it in Istanbul (more on this later) — but that’s not it. Until I find out, more pictures of the main dish to whet your appetite.
July 7, 2016
Album: Portugal [Summer 2016]