Why buy it?
The laidback beach town of Yamba on New South Wales’ north coast is about as far away from Ankara, the bustling capital of Turkey, as one could get. Yet, that is where Sevtap Yüce has been sharing the food of her homeland in a pretty little cafe for over 10 years. Locals lap it up, visitors come from further afield and Australians from across the country buy , of which she now has three.
It’s Yüce’s uncomplicated style that is so appealing – a few ingredients, freshness, toss it all together and voila, deliciousness on the plate. This is Turkish cooking at its heart, but she has distilled it for her audience much like Bill Granger (she worked for the celeb chef in the early 90s) and donna hay do for Mod Oz.
In her latest title, Turkish Fire, the chef deviates from her best sellers Turkish Flavours and (pretty much straight-up recipes books) with a vibrant cookbook-cum-travelogue. While it’s light on history and Yüce’s writing is straightforward, the evocative location shots, captured with a photographer over seven weeks, visiting old haunts and exploring the scintillating city of Istanbul, paint a vivid, must-go-visit picture. (You can spot curly-haired Yüce in a number of the pics, too). The moody recipe shots add to this truly pretty book, reinvigorating the selection of classic Turkish recipes (ostensibly just ‘street food and barbecue’, but the title is more hook than indicative) that many global cooks have likely tried before. We’ve come a long way with food, us Aussies, but there’s always space for another good-looking cookbook on the counter, right?
Cookability You’ll find a ton of midweek meal inspiration here (chapters are divided into Breakfast, Noon, Night and After Dark) and most ingredients are available at the supermarket. Make more out of the book by following Yüce’s lead and dine Turkish-style: salads for breakfast, soups at all times of the day and fresh green chillis to nibble on with every meal. Same dishes, different experience.
Must-cook recipe Be it Italian polpetti, Spanish albondigas or, in Turkey’s case, kofte, we can’t go past a good meatball. There is a handful of tempting options to choose from in Turkish Fire, including an intriguing vegetarian lentil and walnut version, but the ‘sizzling kofte’ with lamb and cumin looks too good to pass. Oh, and the seven egg dishes for breakfast, from spicy beef sausages with baked eggs to boiled egg and parsley salad.
Most surprising dish There were few surprises in the classic line-up, but a cake of pistachio meal layered with rose petals sounds divine and wonderfully exotic.
Kitchen wisdom You’ll learn a lot about fresh produce eating like a Turk. Chickpeas, for example, are savoured as sweet peas straight out of the kernel when they’re in season, shares Yüce.
Ideal for Fans of Sevtap Yüce, Turkish food lovers, culinary travel book collectors, cooks who like to keep food simple but big on flavour.
Cook the book
Source: Turkish Fire
Source: Turkish Fire
Source: Turkish Fire
Source: Turkish Fire
