Turkish food is described as the continuation of Ottoman Empire cuisine. The Ottomans fused Central Asian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Eastern European, and Balkan cuisines to create one of the world’s most diverse and influential cuisines. Kebabs and dishes made with lamb figure prominently in Turkish food, but the cuisine varies by region. The western coast is noted for its many olive-oil-based dishes, Central Anatolia for its hearty pastries and the cities and towns by the Black Sea for its abundance of fresh fish. Here are Turkish most famous snacks and pastries you can try when you’re visiting Istanbul.
1. Leblebi 
Leblebi is a Turkish street food snack made with roasted chickpeas. They can be plain or seasoned with salt, hot spices, or dried cloves, even candy coated. They’re a popular snack in Turkey and in other countries in the Middle East like Iran, Syria, and Afghanistan.
2. Meze Platters 
Meze means “appetizer” and refers to a family of small dishes served as appetizers in Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, North Africa, and parts of the Middle East. It consists of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes like purees, salads, meatballs, pastries, dips, and cheeses. Meze platters are often enjoyed as snacks or appetizers and can be found pretty much anywhere in Turkey.
3. Simit 
Simit is one of the most popular Turkish foods. You’ll find it sold in these red street food carts everywhere in Istanbul. Simit refers to bagel-shaped bread encrusted with sesame seeds. It’s crunchy and chewy and makes for a great inexpensive Turkish snack.
4. Pide 
Pide refers to boat-shaped flat bread baked in a brick or stone oven. It’s similar to pizza and can be topped with any number of ingredients like cheese, onion, pepper, tomato, sausage, and egg. Pide is considered an important component of Turkish cuisine and can be found everywhere, from sit-down restaurants to street food carts.
5. Lahmacun 
This was one of my favourite Turkish foods. Lahmacun may resemble a thin cheese-less pizza but it’s actually a type of wrap topped with a host of ingredients like minced meat (commonly lamb or beef), vegetables, herbs, onions, tomatoes, and spices. To eat, you roll up the lahmacun with vegetables like pickles, peppers, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and roasted eggplant. It’s baked so it’s crisp around the edges and chewy towards the centre, like a pizza.
6. Borek 
Borek refers to a family of stuffed pastries popular in Ottoman cuisine. It’s made with thin flaky dough like phyllo or yufka and typically filled with meat, cheese, or vegetables. Like lahmacun, borek was one of our favourite Turkish foods. It’s available in many regional varieties like water borek, pen borek, or palace borek. Pictured below is a patatesli or potato borek.
7. Gozleme 
Gozleme is a savory Turkish pastry made with thin unleavened dough. It’s lightly brushed with butter or oil and filled with various toppings like meat, vegetables, mushrooms, and cheese before being sealed and cooked over a griddle. Like borek, there are many varieties of gozleme that differ from region to region. Pictured below is a kiymali or minced meat gozleme. Source: willflyforfood.net
