It may surprise you to learn that we like Turkish meze (also Greek meze). Or perhaps it won’t: meze is really just a fancy way of saying a huge table full of food. Right up our alley! This brilliant meal, which is a gift of the Ottoman Empire, is a series of small dishes, hot and cold. The Persian word from which meze derives means ‘relish’, but, unlike the western notion of appetizers, which are stingy by comparison, meze (sometimes mezze) can be be a whole meal in themselves. So if you have trouble choosing what to eat – and we always do – this is the meal for you.
Although meze seem to come from the east, in Istanbul at least, most of the great meze restaurants are Greek: Turks conceive of meze as being particularly Cretan. We’re not sure about the history, and we don’t much care. All we know is that we love this way of eating!
Here’s the deal: you choose from an enormous array of small dishes. That’s pretty much it. The array will likely include several dips, cheese in various forms, salads, and things you can eat with your fingers (small fish, meatballs, olives). Hot dishes also regularly feature, including stuffed pastries, fish or meat cooked in cheese, really anything at all in a small portion. And there is always bread, either pide or another flatbread or white bread. Typically the cold dishes come out first, but that’s because they are ready to serve, whereas the hot ones may need additional work. No rules here, just plentiful eating.
What’s in a Meze Meal?
Naturally, we have some favourites. And because meze are served across a broad geographical area, they aren’t likely to ever appear at the same table. Still, our dream-meze dinner includes the following:
- Tzatziki/Çaçik: a dip made with thick yoghurt, cucumbers, and, ideally, lots of garlic.
- Hummus: chickpea dip with tahini and lemon.
- Muhammara: red pepper and walnut dip, usually spicy and often with pomegranates.
- Baba ghanoush: Grilled, smoked aubergine dip with tahini and garlic and lemon.
- Taramasalata: Greek fish roe dip, salty and spicy.
- Grape leaves, stuffed with anything (usually rice, herbs, lemon; sometimes meat).
- Olives or olive salad, or both (This is our dream meze, after all!).
- Salad with lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes (other stuff good too), with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper
- Pickles: pretty much any kind – cucumbers, onions, etc. etc.
- Fattoush: Lebanese salad with tomatoes, herbs, (sometimes) cucumbers, and fried bread. (The best one we’ve ever had also had grapes in it.)
- Some form of fried cheese, ideally in pastry; spinach always welcome
- Zucchini fritters
- Some kind of small fish, smoked, marinated, fried (we’re easy)
- Calamari (squid), grilled or fried
- Garides (shrimp): ideally grilled with garlic but we’ll eat them any way they come
- Kofte/meatballs: we’re not particular, so long as they’re juicy.
- Falafel: chickpea balls, fried or baked (to have them baked you’ll need to make them at home)
- Accompanied by as much bread as will fit on the very large table.
Note: meze are often accompanied by the local alcoholic beverage (raki, ouzo, retsina, etc. etc.) But we also like them just fine on their own, with sparkling water. Have we missed any of your favourites?
I will happily join you for that meze meal!!
If we’re talking about Greek-based meze, the only glaring omission I see in your list is some form of gigantes — those wonderful Greek broad beans — but I don’t know if they feature in Turkey or not.
Best ones I ever had were in a little taverna in a village somewhere near Pylos, in 1979. They’d been boiled until soft and then fried in olive oil so they were crispy on the outside. Heaven. I’ve never had them quite like that anywhere else, so I assume that was that particular family’s way of cooking them.
Gosh yes – we love these! They seem to be a sometimes-part of meze but are more frequently served in their own restaurants, fasuliye. Seems like we need another post!