Turkish breakfast plate (Kahvaltı tabagı)

Breakfast plates like this one are sold at many eateries in Turkey. Take this recipe as a suggestion and create your own combination.

• serves

  2

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Whenever I return to İstanbul, I long to enjoy a leisurely kahvaltı at one of the kahvaltı evi (breakfast cafés) by the Bosphorus, idly watching the boats passing by with my family, sipping çay (Turkish tea). Kahvaltı tabağı, or variations of it, is on offer at many eateries in the city. I love the varied elements and complementary flavours, from salty beyaz peynir and olives with refreshing cucumbers, tomatoes and sivri biber, to kaymak (indulgent, thick cream, typically made from the water buffalo milk) with jam or honey, spicy spreads and flatbread – my mouth waters just at the thought of it. A variety of cheeses, fresh seasonal fruit, as well as dried fruit and nuts, simit, various börek and pastırma (spiced, air-dried cured beef) can all make an appearance too. The tradition in my family is to have a few plates to share, including a variety of egg dishes.

This is my dream Turkish breakfast plate, a suggestion only – feel free to curate your own kahvaltı tabağı feast. And, as we do in my family, enjoy it for breakfast, brunch or all day.

Ingredients

• 4-5 cherry tomatoes, about 70 g (2½ oz), halved
• 2 baby cucumbers, about 80 g (3 oz), sliced
• 2 sivri biber or 4 padron peppers, roughly chopped or kept whole
• 60 g (2 oz) kaşar or Cheddar, sliced
• 60 g (2oz) beyaz peynir or feta, drained and sliced
• 60 g (2oz) Turkish or other good quality black and green olives
• 60 g (2 oz) acuka (walnut and red pepper dip)
• ¼ cup kaymak or clotted cream
• 2 tbsp vişne reçeli (sour cherry jam) or your choice of jam or honey
• 1½ tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
• 80 g (3oz) sucuk (dried cured beef sausage), skin peeled and cut into 5 mm (¼ in) slices
• 2 medium eggs, soft-boiled (or as you prefer)
• dried oregano, for sprinkling
• pul biber, for sprinkling
• 1½ tbsp (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• Flatbread or other bread, to serve

Instructions

1. Arrange the tomatoes, cucumbers and sivri biber on one side of a large sharing platter. Add the cheeses, olives and Acuka, and place the kaymak and vişne reçeli near to each other.
2. Meanwhile, pour the olive oil into a wide pan and place over a medium-high heat. Add the sucuk and fry the slices on one side for 2 minutes, then flip and fry the other sides for 1–2 minutes, until sizzling and starting to crisp at the edges. Add to the platter.
3. Slice the cooked eggs lengthways, add to the platter and season with salt. Sprinkle dried oregano and pul biber over the eggs, olives and beyaz peynir and drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the vegetables, beyaz peynir and olives.
4. Serve immediately, with flatbreads on the side.

This is an edited extract from Istanbul by Özlem Warren (Quadrille, AU$55). Photography: Sam A. Harris.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.