GustoAtlas

A finely chopped mezze from Gaziantep made with tomatoes and peppers, blended with paste, vinegar, and spices; an indispensable accompaniment to kebabs.

A grilled meatball from Akçaabat, Trabzon, known for its balance of meat and garlic.

From Gaziantep cuisine; roasted eggplant is mashed with garlic yogurt, topped with sautéed diced meat or ground meat. The smoky flavor combines with the coolness of the yogurt on a single plate.

A hearty Southern classic where large stuffed meatballs meet small bulgur meatballs in a sour broth; the name comes from the two types of meatballs.

A classic dish named after the capital, where lamb is baked with orzo. It represents the cuisine of Ankara.

A regional variation of piyaz where white beans are combined with tahini, distinct from the classic version. It is a traditional lunch dish served with meatballs in the area.

A festive dish where small meatballs made with rice combine with meat, chickpeas, and yogurt; the official local recipe documents the main structure.

A winter table arrangement where spicy chicken soup is served alongside a separately cooked and cooled dough; it is the name for both the soup and the way of eating it together.

The avelok herb gathered around Bitlis in spring is cooked with chickpeas and bulgur; a dried version kept for winter is also common. The herb's own sourness is the measure of the dish.

A dish from the Ankara-Beypazarı region where meat and rice are slowly cooked in a casserole; it is the second representative of the pilot city on Atlas.

A strong start to the mornings in Gaziantep: lamb shank cooked overnight meets boiled rice and plenty of garlic in a hot stone pot. It is a tradition to begin the day with spiciness.

A baked product made from layered, fatty dough, closely associated with Izmir; it is linked to Sephardic culinary heritage and is eaten with boiled eggs.

A pastry from Balkan immigrant cuisine that combines stretched dough with a filling of minced meat and potatoes; it is baked in a rotating tray.

A version of lamb cooked in a pit, associated with Siirt and Bitlis; it is a tradition that runs out by lunchtime, originating from a morning tradesmen custom.

A lamb kebab from the Erzurum region, cooked over wood fire on a horizontal skewer; slices are served cut with small skewers called 'cag'. It has a geographical indication.

An Erzurum cheese made from skimmed milk and pulled open into fine strands; also known as cecil. It is eaten at the breakfast table and alongside dried curd. It carries a geographical indication.

A hard, sharp cheese made from the highland milk of the Savak herders and ripened in a skin. As it matures it crumbles and its scent deepens. It carries a geographical indication.

A Mediterranean dish made of bulgur meatballs complemented with a garlic and tangy tomato sauce, without meat.

A Southeast Anatolian pilaf where the smoky aroma of firik distinguishes it from regular bulgur; firik pilafs are recorded in the inventory of Gaziantep.

A kebab that is synonymous with Konya, made from lamb meat cooked slowly in a stone oven in its own fat; served on bread.

Fried anchovies, a symbol of winter in the Black Sea region, are coated in cornmeal and fried in a pan, arranged in a circular pattern. When in season, they are the main attraction on local tables.

A Black Sea baked dish that combines anchovies, greens, and cornmeal; a local form where fish meets bread.

A baked rice dish from the Black Sea region where anchovies form an edible crust around the rice; this structure is documented in Rize.

The soured kofte of the Elazig-Harput tradition: small balls kneaded from fine bulgur and minced meat are boiled in broth and soured with pomegranate molasses or tomato paste. It is a dish of wedding and holiday tables.

A sweet made from unsalted fresh cheese cooked with semolina and sugar; the same name is given to different sweets in various regions, with the Balıkesir family being one of them.

The large manti of Eastern Anatolia: dough parcels filled with minced meat are boiled and served under garlic yoghurt and browned butter. Smallness is not the measure here; the parcel is large and the dough left thick.

A tradition from Sakarya-Adapazarı: meatballs served with bread soaked in meat broth and fried with peppers.

A feast dish from Southeastern Turkey where the rib cavity is filled with rice and cooked for a long time.

The ceremonial sweet of Erzurum: shredded kadayif is wrapped around walnut, dipped in egg, fried and then taken into syrup. It carries a geographical indication.

The long, closed or open pide of the Black Sea baking tradition is known for its varieties with meat, cheese, and egg. Wood-fired ovens and dough mastery are key elements.

A roll made with black cabbage leaves from the Black Sea region, typically filled with corn and bulgur.

The product of a Swiss-style hard cheese tradition that settled in Kars at the end of the 19th century; large wheels ripen for months and the cut shows large eyes. It carries a geographical indication.

A Kars dish of lamb, chickpeas and tail fat cooked for hours in small earthenware pots; a tradition shared with Caucasian cooking. The broth is taken into a separate bowl and the meat eaten over bread.

Small dumplings filled with minced meat are boiled and served with yogurt and hot sauce. In Kayseri tradition, the small size of the manti is considered a measure of skill.

A winter dish in which dried cabbage or chard, chickpeas, bulgur and preserved meat are cooked together for a long time; garlic yoghurt and hot fat are poured over it. It is a record shared by the tables of Van and Mus.

Kemalpaşa Dessert from Bursa-Mustafakemalpaşa is made from cheese dough that is dried and cooked in syrup; it is topped with clotted cream.

A pastry of the Erzurum and Kars region: a filling of flour roasted in butter is spread over the dough, rolled up and baked on a griddle or in the oven. It is the classic of tea time and of food taken on the road.

A ceremonial dish made by pounding wheat and meat together for hours; it symbolizes weddings and communal work. It was registered in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2011.

A Konya classic where minced meat filling is spread over long, thin dough and baked in a wood-fired oven; unlike lahmacun, the dough is distinct and the filling is simple.

A Southeastern classic where drying summer vegetables brings them into winter cuisine; the aroma of dried eggplant differs from that of fresh.

The Malatya way: lamb, tomato, pepper and onion are wrapped in greaseproof paper and baked in their own steam. The paper holds the juices, so no separate sauce is added.

Although it is called a pastry, it is a dessert with milk pudding; it represents Rize's place in special occasions, and its origins are not definitively dated.

A certified heritage of Kahramanmaraş, characterized by a stretchy texture achieved by beating milk and salep; it can be cut with a knife.

A thick mezze from Hatay-Aleppo made with walnuts, pepper paste, and bread crumbs; it is a close relative of the breakfast spread acuka.

A classic breakfast dish from the Eastern Black Sea region, made with cornmeal, butter, and stringy fresh cheese cooked in a copper pan. The quality of the mountain butter is essential to the dish.

A wedding dish from the Siirt region; a baked rice pilaf with almonds and chicken, enclosed in a thin pastry. Its closed form symbolizes abundance.

A Marmara dessert made by cooking fresh unsalted cheese with semolina; it is particularly strong in Tekirdağ and Çanakkale regions.

A long, small-shaped meatball from Thrace, known for its unique filling and serving tradition; often served with piyaz.

A showy dish from the Cappadocia region, where meat and vegetables are cooked in a sealed clay pot over embers. The pot is broken open at the table.

A dish that transforms stale bread into a main course with meat broth, yogurt, and spiced oil; it cannot be tied to a single city or type of meat.

A known example of Istanbul Armenian culinary heritage: a cold appetizer filled with tahini, onions, and spices, encased in chickpea and potato skin.

A soup from Central Anatolia made with yogurt, grains, and often chickpeas; it is a regional relative of yayla soup.

A steppe soup where green lentils meet small pasta in a yogurt-based sauce; records from Çankırı document lentils, tutmaç dough, and yogurt together.

Made by folding into the curd the wild herbs gathered around Van in spring — sirmo, mendi, heliz and others; the scent of the herb passes into the cheese as it ripens. It carries a geographical indication.

A labor-intensive soup where tiny dumplings combine with chickpeas and sour water; it gets its name from the dough shaped like a thimble.

A dish made with lamb cooked slowly with pearl onions and whole garlic cloves; it is documented in the official recipe records of Çankırı.

This walnut chicken, associated with the heritage of Caucasian migration, has become one of the delicacies of the meze table in Turkey.

A half-moon pastry filled with raw minced meat, associated with the Crimean Tatar cuisine and Eskişehir, that puffs up in hot oil. It serves as a flavor carrier of migration memory.

The Bursa-Inegol kebab keeps the spices simple and relies on resting the meat mixture; the onion-based filling is distinctive.

The skill of the köfte family relies on the thin bulgur shell carrying a moist meat filling, showcasing handcrafting techniques.

A fermented drink from the Adana-Mersin region made with purple carrots, turnip, and bulgur flour; it accompanies kebabs and çiğ köfte.

A dish from Gaziantep that brings the season of fresh garlic to a yogurt-based meat dish; dried garlic does not provide the same texture.

A dessert from Gaziantep made of thin baklava dough folded into triangles with a filling of clotted cream and pistachios; it has a creamier filling than baklava.