The Beauty and Artistry of a Turkish Breakfast
It’s more than just breakfast, it’s a cultural phenomenon
Shortly after arriving in Turkey in April 2022, I was invited to my friend Mine’s home in Istanbul for a Turkish breakfast. She invited me again just before I left in June, and what a treat they both were.
The Turkish work for breakfast is Kahvaltı, broken down kahve + altı which means “just before coffee.”
In North America, we drink coffee before, during, and sometimes, after breakfast, but this is a major faux pas in Turkey. As the name says, coffee is to be drunk only after breakfast, all Turkish breakfasts begin with çay (tea).
Çay, in itself, is an art. Water is boiled in the bottom section of the çay pot, after which some of the hot water is poured to the upper section along with black tea leaves. The bottom is topped up with water and the tea is left to brew. The strong tea from the top section is poured into hour-shaped glasses and topped up with water from the bottom, depending on the strength you prefer.
The food just keeps coming!
Cheese, cheese, and more cheese (in other words, yum, yum, and more yum!)
Diced, sliced, or cubed, you will see an array of white and yellow cheeses on a beautifully laid Turkish breakfast table.
Ezine peyniri (feta), kaşar peyniri (cheddar), örgü peyniri (braided cheese), hellim peyniri (halloumi), and tulum peyniri (goat’s cheese), are the most common types of cheese you will find yourself reaching for… and reaching for… and reaching for…
Eggs
Sucuk is a flavour-packed sausage and is a popular addition to any egg dish. More often than not, you’ll find an egg dish on the table, whether it be an omelet, yumurta tavada (eggs sunny-side-up), or melemen (scrambled eggs with tomatoes).
According to Mine, there is an ongoing debate about whether onion belongs in melemen or not.
Salad? Surely not!
Yes indeedio, tomatoes and cucumbers will always be present in a Turkish breakfast spread, sometimes accompanied by parsley, arugula (rocket), or green peppers.
And no Turkish meal is complete without olives! Both green and black will be present and popped with precision into hungry mouths.
Now for more Carbohydrates than you can digest!
There will be bread, and lots of it! Wholewheat (kepekli ekmek), sourdough (eksi mayali ekmek), Trabzon bread (a large, round, country-style loaf), and of course, simit, a sesame seed encrusted circular bread.
Börek, one of my favourite Turkish dishes and thankfully a staple for any Turkish breakfast, is a delicate pastry made of filo sheets most commonly stuffed with cheese, spinach, or potatoes, and sometimes meat. Mine made her offering from scratch as many hosts do.
Apart from börek, you may find poğaça, a savory pastry filled with cheese, potatoes, or olives, as well as açma, soft, fluffy and sweet pastries that resemble bagels.
Jams, Jellies, and Nuts.
One of my favourite additions to a Turkish breakfast table due to their aesthetic beauty are the rectangular dishes placed in trios containing jams, jellies, and nuts.
The most popular spreads that will grace these perfectly aligned dishes are: strawberry, sour cherry, orange, quince, apricot, or peach.
Honey often finds its way into one of the dishes or comes drizzled over kaymak, a creamy dairy delicacy similar to clotted cream.
As far as I’m concerned honey drizzled over anything makes for an excellent dish!
Walnuts are the most popular nuts on offer and go beautifully with Tulum peyniri, according to my excellent source, but you will also find almonds and hazelnuts on the table, and possibly some dried fruit or dates depending on the host’s tastes.
Kahve (Turkish coffee)
For all of us coffee addicts who are jonesing for a hit the moment we walk through the door, our time comes at the end of the meal.
One you have been stuffed full of all this deliciousness — and believe me, you will feel more pressure to eat than you would in a prison courtyard to trade your cigarettes — you will finally be offered kahve, Turkish coffee.
The art of making a perfect Turkish coffee is one I’m still learning.
The exact amount of water needed is measured and poured into an excellently crafted cezve (coffee pot), one heaped teaspoon of the rich coffee grounds added for each person and stirred to combine. Sugar is gingerly added as per the request of the guests, most Turks don’t add sugar but for us it can be a little bitter without.
The cezve is watched carefully as it slowly simmers, creating a layer of foam which is quickly spooned into the empty cups. The pot is returned to the stove for only a few moments before the dark, rich beverage is poured deftly into the small porcelain cups.
Kahve is the moment where the full-as-a-tick guests sit happily and chat whilst sipping their digestifs, grateful to be together.
Dessert and cookies for breakfast?
Hell yes! Well, not always.
Halva is sometimes added to the table, a sweet confectionary resembling a thick paste and sliced or cut into cubes. It’s made from flour, semolina, or finely ground seeds or nuts which can vary in range and taste. Halva is sweetened with honey or sugar.
For my benefit, as she was not quite content to only pack me full of savoury delicacies, Mine decided that cookies were a necessity for both of my visits to her breakfast table. Butter and ginger cookies on my first visit, and hazelnut and chocolate (brownie flavoured) cookies on my second.
As if all that sugar was not enough insult to my growing waistline, we ended with kadayif tatlisi, a very popular sweet and crispy dessert that’s beyond delicious — I was allowed to have my coffee with dessert as kahve is often presented with something sweet.
The addition of the dessert items were for a treat for me and are not part of a traditional Turkish breakfast.
The beauty and artistry of a Turkish breakfast is exquisite, beginning with the carefully brewed çay added to a table elegantly laid out with delicacies lovingly crafted, to the skill of the kahve proffered to satisfied guests after the meal.
The last thing I’ll say about a Turkish breakfast is — you’d better go hungry!
