Do
you remember when I first discovered this strange yellow fruit in Istanbul?
If
not, please check back to this old post: Bu Ne?
Loquat Var. Back then, I had no idea what to do with these delicious,
tangy, but sweet fruits.
During
our last trip to Istanbul earlier this spring, I “smuggled” a package of fresh
loquat from the bakkal back to Poland. (Oh, to the lengths I will go to have Turkish food back
at home!) We had just eaten at Çiya
Restaurant where loquat kebabs were featured on the menu, and I wanted
to make them at home. In spring, loquat kebabs also are popular in the
southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep as written about on Istanbul Food.
Turns
out, loquat kebabs are fairly easy to make at home. Like most Turkish cooking
though, there’s a lot of prep work involved. The loquats need to be halved and
stuffed with a minced-meat mixture similar to making köfte. I decided to use this köfte recipe by Ozlem’s Turkish Table,
but only used ground beef since lamb is very difficult (and expensive) to find
in Warsaw.
To
prepare, slice each loquat in half, remove the seeds, place on a skewer and stuff with a meatball
in the middle, alternating with slices of red pepper. I placed three loquats
and three meatballs on each skewer. Then I drizzled each skewer with a bit of Turkish
olive oil and nar ekşisi (pomegranate
molasses).
Since
we don’t have an outdoor grill, I placed my loquat kebabs on a baking tray in the oven and baked
at 200 C for about 20 minutes.
 |
| The loquats caramelize nicely in the oven are absolutely delicious with the kebabs. |
To
round out our Turkish meal at home, I made my fresh Tabbouleh
salad recipe as well as bulgur with a dab of tomato paste and my Herbed
Yogurt Dip, which we generously topped our kebabs with. Luckily, I
can stop at a local Lebanese shop to find some decent flat bread (lavaş). Hopefully, you’ll have the same
success wherever you live and can make your own Turkish loquat kebabs at home
too.
Afiyet olsun!
 |
| A complete spread of Turkish food, including the loquat kebabs, at home in Warsaw. |
 |
| Tabbouleh Salad is so fresh and one of my favorites! |
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6 comments:
We call the loquats 'yeni dünya' in Fethiye. Not sure if that's countrywide as Fethiye seems to adopt its own name for lots of fruit and veg. ;) They've just gone out of season here but this recipe looks fab. Might try it with some different fruits. :)
@Julia, evet, I've seen them labeled as yeni dünyası too! And I bet plums or apricots would be just as tasty as kebabs!
Such a delicious spread Joy, eline saglik:) Well done keeping Turkish cooking in Poland! cok sevgiler, Ozlem xx
We've moved on to the same recipe, but with apricots, now that loquats are out of season.
Çok teşekkürler! And thanks to you for sharing your yummy Turkish recipes!
@Annie, I'll have to try with acricots just as soon as they arrive here in Poland! Still berry and cherry season right now. ;-)
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