Dear Friends,
The taste of the food we had at Mezze Restaurant is still fresh in my mind. Gençay, chef and owner provided the explanations of the dishes, they are below.
At the very bottom is my recipe for an easy to prepare Turkish bulgur salad called “kısır”. It isn’t as trendy as the new Istanbul cuisine, but delicious and easy to prepare.
Boiling water: 2 cups
Medium size tomatoes: 2
Medium size cucumbers: 2
Medium size onion: 1
Garlic: 1 clove
Sweet red pepper paste: 1 spoon full
Extra virgin olive oil: 1/3 to 1/2 cup
Fresh lemon juice or pomegranate sour: 1/4 cup
Parsley
Green onions: 10-11 (fine / thin ones preffered)
Salt: 1 tsp.
Black pepper: 1/2 table spoon
Red hot chilli pepper flakes:1/2 table spoon
* It takes about half an hour to prepare kısır.
Meanwhile prepare your vegetables. Chop all as fine as you can, the finer these are the better your salad will be.
Using your hands and fingers fluff the bulgur that has been waiting (so it does not stick). Add the pepper paste and some oil and stir until it is evenly distributed.
Then add the finely chopped vegetables. Stir again until all are evenly dispersed.
Add the lemon or pomegranate sour.
Add the peppers and salt.
Stir again.
Now, you can keep your kısır in the frigde till you serve it. For a dinner service you can prepare the kısır in the morning, but if it waits over the night the bulgur swells more than it should.
Before you serve, fluff it with your fingers or utensils.
*** Kısır is very good with bbq meats, chicken and fish. It is easy to prepare and is filling. If you like hot, you can put more red hot chilli peppers.