Istanbul & Beyond: Exploring the Diverse Cuisines of Turkey

Eckhardt, creator of the blog Eating Asia, takes readers under her wing and introduces them to the wonders of Turkish cooking in this fascinating and tasty, if not especially adventurous, collection. As with Italy and China, Turkey has a varied landscape that greatly impacts food production. Each region has a deep-rooted history that results in a national cuisine with a wide array of dishes with vastly different ingredients. Despite this, Eckhardt provides a surprisingly familiar list of Turkish pantry staples including red pepper flakes, corn, and herbs such as dill, mint, and thyme. This familiarity carries over to her recipes, such as eggs poached in chunky tomato and pepper sauce, red lentil soup with chile and mint, and tomato and white bean stew. Dishes are grouped by region, highlighting the best authentic cuisine each has to offer. Yeast bread stuffed with Swiss chard and herbs from the Black Sea region, handkerchief noodles with blue cheese and butter from the northeast, and meatballs in tomato sauce with pumpkin and spice butter from Hakkâri are just a few of the mouth-watering delicacies on offer. This collection will delight and inspire home cooks who are unfamiliar with the region’s food but are looking to broaden their culinary horizons. Agent: Janis Donnaud, Janis Donnaud & Assoc. (Oct.)