Mezes in Turkish Cuisine Select from a variety of these appetizers brought to your table with a basket of bread. Standard cold mezes include patlican salatasi (roasted eggplant puree flavored with garlic and lemon), haydari (a thick yogurt dip made with garlic and dill), dolma (stuffed grape leaves, peppers, or mussels), ezme (a spicy paste of tomatoes, minced green pepper, onion, and parsley), kizartma (deep-fried eggplant, zucchini, or green pepper served with fresh yogurt), cacik (a garlicky cold yogurt "soup" with shredded cucumber, mint, or dill), barbunya pilaki (kidney beans, tomatoes, and onions cooked in olive oil), and barbunya pilaki (slow-roasted baby eggplant topped with olive oil-fried onions and tomatoes and seasoned with garlic).
One taste of this last meze, and you'll understand how it got its name -- which means, "The imam fainted with delight." Inevitably there will be other dishes based on eggplant, patlican in Turkish. Hot appetizers, usually called ara sicak, include börek (a deep-fried or oven-baked pastry filled with cheese or meat), kalamar (deep-fried calamari served with a special sauce), and midye tava (deep-fried mussels). |
