Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

Turks love vegetables, eating them fresh in summer and pickling them for winter (pickled vegetables are called turşu ). There are two particularly Turkish ways of preparing vegetables: the first is known as zeytinyağlı (sautéed in olive oil) and the second as dolma (stuffed with rice or meat). Simplicity is the key to a Turkish salata (salad), with crunchy fresh ingredients being eaten with gusto as a meze or as an accompaniment to a meat or fish main course. The most popular summer salad is çoban salatası (shepherd’s salad), a colourful mix of chopped tomatoes, cucumber, onion and pepper.

Fresh vegetables are available from markets all over the city | ELXENEIZE/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Sweets Turks don’t usually finish their meal with a dessert, preferring to serve fruit as a finale. Most of them love a midafternoon sugar hit though, and will often pop into a muhallebici (milk pudding shop), pastane (patisserie) or baklavacı (baklava shop) for a piece of syrup-drenched baklava, a plate of