Cappadocia

Lamb, vegetables and spices sealed inside a clay pot and slow-cooked in a wood oven. The pot is brought to the table intact and broken open with a small hammer. The steam carries the smell of the clay into the dish. This is a meal that requires advance ordering at most restaurants. The experience of breaking the seal at the table is part of the ritual.

A slow-cooked stew of lamb or beef with onion, pepper, tomato and herbs, sealed inside a hand-thrown clay pot from Avanos and baked for hours in a wood-fired oven. Unlike testi kebab the pot is wider and shallower and the lid is lifted at the table rather than broken, so the same pot can be used many times. The clay holds the heat slowly and evenly, giving the meat a falling-apart texture and concentrating the broth. A Cappadocia winter staple, served at the traditional restaurants in Ürgüp and Göreme with bulgur pilav and pickles.

Cappadocia's volcanic soil and high altitude produce wines with mineral character and lower alcohol than Mediterranean regions. The main local varieties are Emir (white) and Öküzgözü (red). Several family wineries around Ürgüp and Avanos offer tastings and direct sales. Turasan and Kocabağ are the most established names. Try Emir with the local cheeses before dinner.

Grape molasses (pekmez) thickened to the consistency of dark honey and served alongside fresh walnuts from the Cappadocia orchards, a simple sweet eaten at breakfast or as an afternoon snack with bread. Pekmez is the staple winter sweetener of Central Anatolia, produced from the late-harvest grapes after the wine pressing is finished. The walnut tree grows well across the plateau and the kernels are dense, oily and slightly bitter — the right counterpoint to the molasses. Sold at roadside stops and village markets across the region.

White beans slow-cooked in a sealed clay pot in a wood-fired oven for several hours with tomato, pepper, garlic and sometimes a small piece of pastırma or kavurma. The pot is cracked open at the table. The clay holds the heat evenly and the slow cooking gives the beans a creamy texture without breaking them. A Cappadocia winter staple, served at the traditional restaurants in Ürgüp and Göreme with bulgur pilav and pickles. The pot itself is local pottery, often sold as a kitchen souvenir.

Nevşehir is one of Turkey's main pumpkin seed producing regions, with the volcanic soil of the Cappadocia plain particularly suited to the variety grown for seed. The seeds are roasted with salt and sold by weight in shallow paper bags. Eaten as a snack throughout the day, particularly with tea or while talking. The producers and roasters in the region are well-established; the seeds you find in the rest of Turkey often come from here. A staple of the rural çay culture.