Hey everyone, we are in Turkey today! Turkey is a Middle Eastern country southeast of Europe and west of Asia.It is bordered by three seas- the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Black Seas. It exports 75% of the world’s hazelnuts and is the birthplace of Santa Claus! Above is a picture of Cappadocia, Turkey a truly unique place of unworldly land formations of rock that can shoot over 100ft into the sky. Many of these house-like formations are known as fairy houses.
Turkish cuisine has Ottoman roots and can vary based on the location. It is thought to be a blend of Balkian, Central Asian, Eastern European, Middle Eastern, Armenian, and Mediterranean cooking styles and flavors. Vegetables often dominant their dishes.
This dish is traditionally made with eggplant, however this blog uses a zucchini and summer squash combo. I was happy to find another recipe that has been made throughout several generations knowing it was authentic as well as a “keeper.” This dish is full of cheese, eggs, bread crumbs, and squash mostly and is baked until the top layer has become crispy and golden brown.
One thing to note is that you should squeeze out as much liquid as possible prior to combining the ingredients. I had squeeze mine out several times, but noticed it was a little more liquidy than I was have liked. Nevertheless I had made a little cheesy pie/quiche.
I feel my downfall here was too much liquid from the squash which made the texture all wrong. The flavor of the dish was pretty good but unfortunately it was a little bit on the blander side. If I maybe cooked it longer (glass container may have also affected the cooking time) and/or drained more liquid from the squash I would have been successful. We rated it 6/10. I will strive to repeat this dish sometime in the future or try another Turkish dish, let me know what you think I should try!
Nice post! I love these types of egg dishes. I’m trying to remember how I used to get all that water out of the zucchini I used to cook. They say to sprinkle salt on top of the slices (like eggplant) so the water beads right out, but I never liked adding all that salt. I think I used to cut the squash (or eggplant) up into thin slices and then bake them in the oven on a big cookie sheet. That would evaporate the water right out. Maybe 1/4 inch slices. Then, I’d either chop them up or process them like the recipe says. I’d also salt the slices before adding them to the oven to give them some flavor for later, when I’d add them to the rest of the dish. But yes, I totally get how too much liquid can end up in a dish like this. But nice job!
That’s an interesting method, but it makes sense! I could use my mandolin to get even thin slices. Thanks for the suggestion!
Hii…thank you so much for trying this recipe!! It’s near and dear to my heart! Yes, I would suggest to strain out the moisture..like more then you think you should, since zucchini has so much water! I hope you try it again!
I definitely will thank you for sharing your recipe!