We are always on the lookout for exciting recipes from Turkey that are perhaps not so well known. This goes so far that some recipes are really only known in certain regions - and we love that. Everyone knows lahmacun and chickpea stew anyway, and of course they're delicious. But it's much more fun to think outside the box. That's why we have such a delicious and regional recipe from the south of Turkey for you today: terettür!
Terettur is a type of mezze (Turkish appetizers and dips). We don't know exactly what the name means. But with a little knowledge of Arabic on our part, we can say that it is of Arabic origin. At the same time, its name is reminiscent of tarator (see our carrot tarator, for example), which is a mezze with (garlic) yoghurt. However, terettur is a little more sophisticated. Here, lettuce is prepared with a yoghurt tahini dressing. Our terettür recipe, sometimes also called "terettur", is therefore easy to prepare and tastes extraordinary. Exceptionally delicious!
The taste of the tahini salad dressing is very reminiscent of Levantine cuisine. However, this is not so abstract, as the home of the terettur is practically a short boat trip away from Syria and Lebanon. The mezze with yoghurt tahini dressing is attributed to the region around Adana. This is also where our delicious onion salad comes from, for example.
Tip for the tahini salad dressing
Regardless of the recipe with tahini, the result is only as good as the tahini (or "tahin" in Turkish) used. Inferior tahini tastes bitter and has an unpleasant flavor.
However, we always advise you to choose a high-quality product. Here in Turkey, for example, you can find sesame paste fresh from the village for bottling. But even in Germany and Austria, you can usually find a small selection of tahini in Turkish supermarkets.
Ultimately, you can of course use the salad dressing with tahini for all kinds of salads. Seasoned with lemon and garlic, it is deliciously nutty, spicy, hot, creamy and simply good.
What is the best way to serve terettur?
As teretur is a typical mezze, it is served on a small plate with many other starters and dips. It is therefore best to dip fresh bread in it and enjoy the creamy delight. You can find a little reel for this recipe on Instagram. But we've decided that we're not good at videos and the like.
In general: is it just us, or does Instagram seem kind of soulless? We prefer to stick to our blog, which certainly (and hopefully?) has more soul and personality than our few square food pictures on Instagram :) But now to the Terettür recipe...
Terettür recipe: Salad with yogurt tahini dressing
Ingredients
1/2 head of lettuce
For the salad dressing with tahini
- 100 ml/little less than 0/5 cup tahini*
- 3 tablespoons (firm) yogurt
- 3 cloves of garlic
- juice of a whole lemon
- a little salt
To garnish
- sumac*
- Pul Biber
- parsley
Preparation
Step 1: Wash the lettuce, drain and chop into small pieces.
Step 2: Mix all the ingredients for the sauce with a whisk. This will make the sauce nice and homogeneous.
Step 3: Mix the salad with the dressing, serve on plates and garnish with sumac, pul biber and chopped parsley.
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