Taste Test

One of the best bits about living and traveling in a foreign country is that you get to explore the food. I’m always amazed at the different dishes that are fixed using the same old ingredients I can find at home (mostly). It never fails that I always come away with some new favorite, comfort food when I leave a country I’ve spent any amount of time in. Last night after wandering around Kadikoy for a bit I ended up at a restaurant with some friends that actually had an entire vegetarian section on their menu (!?! Almost unheard of here). I was excited to see what is rapidly turning into my favorite dish: mercimek koftesi (lentil “meat”balls for those of you who need it in English). I was a bit shocked to find that I actually think I prefer the version that is served in our school cafeteria over what I had at the restaurant (I didn’t think that happened with anything!). I’ve been promised a hands-on cooking lesson from the cleaning lady of a friend, but I thought I’d share a recipe I’ve found now, with a promise to follow up with what she really does. I hope you enjoy it if you ever get around to trying it.