Welcome back to Culinary Compass! Today, we’re sharing a fantastic, gourmet recipe straight from Izmir: a creamy yet crisp Zucchini Meze (a traditional Turkish cold salad or appetizer). This recipe is far superior to standard restaurant versions because we reveal critical professional techniques, including the secret to preventing the yogurt sauce from becoming watery and the unexpected ingredient—sugar—that enhances the savory profile.
Learn how to use **Professional Cooking Techniques** to properly drain the zucchini using salt, achieve the perfect sauté texture (slightly crisp, not mushy), and craft stunning, crispy phyllo dough garnishes that elevate this dish for any dinner party. Whether you call it Mücver Salad, Turkish Zucchini Meze, or just the best summer side dish, this recipe is perfect for **Healthy Living** and **Culinary Education**. We focus on ensuring the finished product is high-quality, flavorful, and excellent for **Nutrition**.
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**FULL RECIPE: Turkish Zucchini Meze with Walnuts and Crispy Phyllo**
**INGREDIENTS:**
* 2 lbs (approx 6) Zucchini Squash
* 1 Large Onion, grated
* 1 tsp + 1/4 tsp Salt (divided)
* 1 generous tsp Sugar (crucial tip!)
* 1/4 cup Olive Oil or Sunflower Oil
* 1 Phyllo Dough Sheet (for garnish)
* 1/2 cup Coarsely Chopped Walnuts
**YOGURT SAUCE:**
* 2.5-3 oz Strained Yogurt (or 1.5 cups regular homemade yogurt)
* 2 cloves Garlic, crushed
* 1/2 Lemon, juiced
* 1 Bunch Fresh Dill, finely chopped
**INSTRUCTIONS:**
1. **Drain Zucchini:** Grate the zucchini using the large holes of a grater. Mix with 1 tsp salt and place in a colander to drain excess water (about 15-20 minutes). Squeeze out any remaining water before cooking.
2. **Prepare Garnish (Optional):** Cut the phyllo sheet into strips, roll tightly onto a skewer, and wet the end to seal. Cut the rolls into 1-inch pieces. Deep fry in hot oil until a rich caramel color is achieved. Set aside.
3. **Sauté Zucchini:** Sauté the grated onion in olive oil until golden. Add the drained zucchini, 1 generous tsp sugar, and 1/4 tsp salt. Sauté for 7-8 minutes on medium-high heat until slightly crisp (not mushy). Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool completely.
4. **Prepare Yogurt Sauce:** Mix the strained yogurt, crushed garlic, and lemon juice. Add the finely chopped dill and mix gently. (Do not add salt, as the zucchini is already seasoned).
5. **Assemble:** Combine the cooled zucchini mixture with the coarsely chopped walnuts and the yogurt sauce. Mix well.
6. **Serve:** Transfer to a serving dish, garnish generously with the crispy phyllo rolls, and serve chilled.
Sending lots of love and greetings from Ismir everyone. Welcome to my kitchen. Today I’ve prepared a fantastic salad mezz recipe for you. It’s a very special recipe. Let’s dive in. For this mess we’re making with zucchini, we’ll need six zucchini. These aren’t large zucchinis. Now, I have three extra zucchinis here whose outer layers I used for another dish. Yes, if you have zucchinis like these two, you’ll be able to use them up. You can make this with about 2 lbs of zucchini total. You can make this recipe with either zucchini squash or Lebanese squash. We won’t be peeling the zucchinis, but there might be some bruised spots. I’ll just trim those parts off with my peeler. This is one of those recipes I make very often during the summer. If you haven’t made it before or haven’t made it this way, you definitely have to try it. All right. Now, I’m going to grate these nicely using the large holes of my grater. It’s way more delicious than what you get at restaurants, but there are a few key tips for that. Now, watch this. I’m adding one teaspoon of salt to the grated zucchini and placing it in a colander. While I do the other steps, the grated zucchini will be sitting here in the col. It will release its excess water. I can already hear you asking, “Can we make it without squeezing the water out or waiting?” However, I’m going to give you the authentic recipe, and what you do next is up to you. Since it’s a yogurt-based dish, the waiting is important. Let our zucchinis wait then. Now, I have one fil sheet. I’m laying my fo dough sheet on my counter and cutting off the edges about a four finger width. Basically, I’m turning it into a long rectangle. You can also make it simply without the felo dough, but this way both the presentation and the flavor will be extraordinary. Then I’m dividing the remaining filo dough into four parts. Of course, I’ll be using the pieces I cut from the edges. But to make it easier, I’m cutting them all like this. Using a skewer, I’ll roll these fo pieces up tightly. Yes, like this. About four fingers away from the end of the roll. I’m wetting it generously with water so it doesn’t come undone. They won’t come apart. Let me show you another piece. Okay, we’ve removed the skewer and it will stay like this. Rolling it up tightly. The tightness is important. Then with about four fingers left, we’ll dampen it with plenty of water. You might be wondering what we did with the edges. You can be sure we rolled those up, too. But when they’re in this shape, it becomes a longer, neater rectangle. I want to emphasize that. Now, we’ll cut the rolls we prepared into pieces about 1 in thick. Yes, like this. I’ll set these aside for now. We’ll use them later. This shape is ideal, just perfect. All right, back to my cutting board. And I’m grating a large onion. Don’t think we’ll be squeezing the onions juice. Okay, I’ve got it all gathered. Now I’m heading to the stove and into a wide pan I’m adding about 1/4 cup of olive oil or sunflower oil and I’m adding the onions. Once the onions turn golden we can move on to the next stage. What was that stage? Remember we were waiting for the zucchini in the colander. The water has drained out. Of course you don’t have to throw this water away. You can use it as a toner. I’m now adding the zucchini to my sautéing onions. As I’m doing this, my stove is on medium heat, high flame. We’re adding a generous teaspoon of sugar. This is a little known trick, but it’s a crucial tip for yogurt-based zucchini dishes. Yes, definitely add 1 teassp of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Remember, we already used another teaspoon of salt when we were letting the zucchini drain. All right, let me give it a quick stir. In about 7 8 minutes, when I see it’s ready and has started to release its water, I’ll turn off the heat. They’ll remain slightly crisp, not mushy at all. And then I’ll let them cool down. While the zucchini cools, we’ll prepare the sauce. We’ll need a bunch of fresh dill, two cloves of garlic, and half a lemon. Please finely chop the dill as finely as you can. And I’m crushing the garlic. As I mentioned earlier, I’m only using half of the lemon. All the ingredients are in the video description below. So, if you want to try it, you can quickly check there. You can try it out. I’ll be using strained yogurt, but friends who don’t have strained yogurt can use about 1.5 cups of regular homemade yogurt. You can also use that. I used about 2.5 to 3 o of strained yogurt, which is roughly 8 N tablesp. First the garlic and then half a lemon. After adding the lemon juice, I’ll mix it for a bit. I’ll mix it once. I’ll add the dill in the next step and won’t mix it too much. I didn’t add salt to the yogurt sauce because our zucchini is salty enough. And our sauce is ready. I’m putting that in the fridge, too. By the way, remember our filo dough? We’re going to make these pieces nice and crispy in a moment. In a small pan, I’ve added enough oil to cover the bottom about two fingers deep. And on high heat, they’ll get to this color. Actually, I’d say even a shade darker. I’ll let it sit for a bit longer for that. When they turn a caramel color, I’ll take out my felo pieces. I often make this without the felo, but they look so beautiful for presentation, and they’re also a real treat to eat. And yes, the zucchini has cooled down. I took them out of the pan to help them cool faster. Another essential part of the recipe is walnuts. We’re adding walnuts. Coarsely chopped walnuts.
Dining and Cooking