Mantı
These delicious bite-size Turkish dumplings are stuffed with ground beef that’s lightly spiced with Aleppo pepper (pul biber), and served with tomato sauce and garlicky yogurt. Versions of meat-filled mantı are also popular in Armenia, Central Asia and the Balkans. You’ll find variations as you travel from country to country, especially with respect to the size of the dumplings: They can be large and ravioli-like or tiny. Even within Turkey you may encounter different versions, from how they’re shaped to how they’re cooked to what sauce they’re served with. Ground lamb is also a common stuffing, and you can substitute that for the beef if you like. Note that the amounts given here for the sauce and toppings are for cooking one batch of mantı only; you’ll need to prepare these elements of the recipe again when you cook the second batch.
Kabak Tatlısı
Kabak tatlısı is a classic Turkish pumpkin dessert made simply from pumpkin chunks cooked in sugar syrup and topped with tahini and molasses. Pumpkin season is something Turkish cooks take seriously, and this is one of the most popular dishes to make. The pumpkin is drizzled with a traditonal molasses-like sweetner known as pekmez. Grape and mulberry are popular pekmez; although they’re dark, caramelized and slightly bitter like sugarcane molasses, the flavor is lighter and fruitier, somewhat like pomegranate molasses. The flavor combination of the pumpkin, tahini and pekmez go exceptionally together, making this a simple but impressive treat when fresh pumpkins or kabocha squash are available. The dessert is usually served at room temperature or chilled, so you can even make it a couple days in advance.
Kıymalı Börek (Turkish Börek with Ground Beef)
The savory savory Turkish pastry known as börek can have many different fillings, including potatoes, cheese and ground meats. This version uses ground beef which, along with lamb, is a popular meat to use. Turks typically have börek with ayran (a yogurt drink) or tea, and it can be a breakfast, snack or part of a mezze platter. But take advantage of them as an a terrific appetizer, or even as a light main course. This coiled pastry is traditionally made with yufka dough, an unleavened wheat-flour dough that’s slightly thicker than phyllo sheets. Since yufka is not widely available, phyllo sheets are an excellent alternative and are used in this recipe.
