Customer Reviews

Turkish Cooking: Classic traditions, Fresh ingredients, Authentic flavours, Aromatic recipes

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book because I already have the other one written by both Ghillie and Jonathan Basan, and I (mistakenly) thought that the recipes would be different. In fairness, some of them are, and some of them are a very slight variation on the ones found in their previous work. However, this book has stunning photography, if that's what you like, whereas their previous book, while being beautifully illustrated, does not focus so much on this aspect. This book does have some interesting and exciting recipes however (rose-petal sorbet for example) that I don't have anywhere else in my collection and do make me very glad I bought this book. If one had to choose between the two I personally would choose the other volume, because it is more for the serious practical cook. This book, well, I kind've move it away from the stove so it doesn't get anything spilled on it. There are a lot (lot) more recipes in their other work, but, saying that, the few I've made from this one are delicious and interesting, and the beautiful photography really makes you want to try them. In neither of the books written by these authors is there anything particularly unobtainable, except for things like mastic, salep and sumac. I live in Mexico and I know where to draw the line. But I think I'd have issues with those in UK too. I'd definitely reccomend this book, as an introduction to Turkish cooking for example, and maybe, if you're a more serious Turkish food afficionado, buy their earlier book afterwards.

This book is beautifully photographed & presented, and i like the history of Turkey, the cuisine and customs, all of which are accurate. The recipes cover a good range of regional Turkish cuisine, however they are somewhat adapted to Western chefs and not 100% authentic. The first thing my Turkish husband said after leafing through the book with me was, "This is not Turkish." I still enjoy it for it's beautifully presented dishes range of dishes, however I would have preferred if Ms. Basan notated substitutions more consistently, rather than listing the substitutions in the recipes. for example, sigara boregi, and all other pastries are made using turkish yufka - which is slightly thicker than Greek filo. But her recipe calls for feta cheese & filo. I am from NYC and live in Istanbul, and I know that you can at least get yufka in nyc, but I understand that yufka and beyaz peynir are not easily available outside of Turkey. However, these pastry rolls are made from round sheets of yufka cut into triangles, so the finished pastry looks different. I also question her use of cheddar & parmesan in smoked aubergines in cheese sauce, both of which are "imported cheeses" here in Turkey and her listing "ghee" and indian term in another recipe. I also question the photo of Anatolian bulgur with nuts and dates, which pictures dried figs instead of dates in the finished dish.
if her intention was to accurately report & represent the glorious cuisine of Turkey, i don't understand her free substitution of ingredients in the titles & recipes. However if you are not looking for absolute authenticity, this book is filled with beautiful recipes.

I borrowed this book from my local library but was so impressed with it, I had to have a copy. I always thought Turkish food consisted of greasy vine leaves, but this book changed my mind. Some of the recipes are to die for-Stuffed apricots for one. The recipes share a lot of the ingredients common in Greek and other Middle Eastern traditions and are not hard to find. This is cheap and easy eating and entertaining. It's also almost healthy except that some of the dishes are high in fat.