Image: Peabody Awards · CC BY 2.0
The Turkish Cookbook
- Year
- 1961
- Era
- 20th century
- Origin
- Turkey · Middle East
- Language
- English
- Category
- Middle East
The Turkish Cookbook by Irene Day, issued in London by André Deutsch in 1961, is among the earlier English-language treatments devoted exclusively to the cuisine of Turkey. Aimed at British home cooks of the postwar period, it introduced readers to mezze, pilavs, kebabs, stuffed vegetables, and syrup-soaked pastries, helping to establish Turkish cookery as a distinct subject within the broader anglophone literature on Middle Eastern food.
Cooking from this book
Imam Bayıldı
Signature dishFew dishes capture the romance of Turkish cooking quite like Imam Bayıldı, the slow-cooked aubergine stuffed with onions, tomatoes and garlic in a generous pool of olive oil. Served cool, it is the showpiece of the meze table and a touchstone of any introduction to Turkish food for English readers. Irene Day's 1961 volume, issued by Andre Deutsch, helped bring such classics of the Ottoman repertoire to British home kitchens at a moment when Mediterranean cookery was beginning to capture popular imagination.
An editorial note on a dish associated with this book, written for The Coquinist. It is not a reproduction of the book's recipe.
