“MEZE” DISHES TO ACCOMPANY THE SPIRITS In Turkey, despite the Islamic prohibition against wine and anything alcoholic, there is a rich tradition associated with liquor.
Drinking alcoholic beverages in the company of family and friends, both at home as well as in taverns and restaurants, is a part of special occasions. Similar to the Spanish tapas, “meze” is the general category of dishes that are brough in small quantities to start the meal off. These are eaten, along with wine or more likely with “rakı”, the the anise-flovoured national drink of Turks sometimes referred to as “lion’ milk”, until the main course is served.
The bare minimum meze for rakı are slices of honeydew melon and creamy feta cheese with freshly baked bread. Beyond this, a typical meze menu includes dried and marinated mackerel, fresh salad greens in thick yogurt sauce and garlic, plates of cold vegetable dishes cooked or fried in olive oil, fried crispy savoury pastry, deep-fried mussels and squid served in a sauce, tomato and cucumber salad, and fish eggs in a sauce. The main course that follows such a meze spread will be fish or grilled meat.
When the main course is kebab, then the meze spread is different types of minced salad greens and tomatoes in spicy olive oil, mixed with yogurt or cheese, “humus” (chick peas mashed in tahini), bulgur and red lentil balls, raw köfte, marinated stuffed eggplant, peppers with spices and nuts, and pickles are likely to be served.