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Every summer, I go on a mission to make sure I am eating as much watermelon as I can. It’s probably because it was one of my favourite fruits growing up, and my mom would serve it with sliced fresh halloumi for that sweet & savoury snack, or end to a meal.

Fruit salads are a great way of getting a variety of fruits in, but also making it so fun. And if you’re like me, and love a tart fruit salad with that contrast from the sweetness of the Summer fruit, you’re going to love this sumac & lime dressing.

Ingredients for this fruit salad:

• Watermelon - To choose the sweetest watermelon, look for the yellow ground spot, which means it is ripe.

• Strawberries - Select the plump strawberries with no dark spots, and always check the bottom of the container to avoid ones that might have gotten moldy.

• Raspberries - Fresh raspberries work perfectly for this salad. They are very fragile, so you can add them after mixing the rest of the fruit to avoid it breaking apart.

• Cherries - During late summer, cherries are sweeter and also much cheaper compared to Spring. Make sure to pick out the darker cherries for sweeter flavour!

• Mint - Brings that freshness to this salad without overpowering. I can’t do without it!

• Lime - Necessary for the brightness to cut out the sweetness of all the fruit.

• Sumac - An unexpected addition that brings a floral note to the salad.

When you make this salad, I recommend you serve immediately. It will get watery overtime, causing the freshness to disappear and fruit getting softer.

If you want to prepare it ahead of time, you can have the cut fruit be ready in a container, and mix in the dressing right before serving!

So give it a try before the end of Summer, and enjoy!

Xoxo,

<3

Idil

Watch recipe video

Summer Fruit Salad with Sumac & Lime

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 250 g watermelon, cut into chunks

• 150 g strawberries, cut into quarters

• 170 g fresh raspberries

• 100 g cherries, pitted

• 15-20 mint leaves, roughly chopped

• Juice of 1 lime

• 1 tbsp sumac

Directions

Mix the lime juice and sumac and set it aside.

Cut up the fruit, and add to a large bowl. Add in the mint, and the dressing.

Gently toss and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

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Hi friends,

Welcome to this month’s roundup! Every month I’ll be sharing a little peek behind the scenes, what we cooked, what’s coming next, things I’m loving, and everything you may have missed. So grab your coffee, tea, or favourite drink, and let’s dive right into it!

August in Recipes

I’ve really been feeling the pressure of making sure I utilize all of Summer’s abundant produce in August. It’s also been hard to come to terms with the fact that summer is almost over, which, as you can tell is my favourite season of the year. Maybe that’s because I’m dreading the Canadian winters, but seeing some leaves on the ground every day was a consistent wake up call to make sure I continue cooking with summer produce.

This month I continued to cook and write recipes, but couldn’t share as much as my cat Teddy has been dealing with some health problems and that has really emotionally drained me. Who knew cats get this thing called cat acne?? He has had a cone on for 7 weeks now, and has been on antibiotics for a while. This combined with balancing my 9-5 job was a lot this month. But as he has gotten better in the last couple of weeks, I feel a bit more refreshed, and ready to take on September!

Here’s what I shared in August:

A delicious salad that can work both as an appetizer or a side dish to any meal.

A light & fruity cake inspired by one of my favourite Turkish cookies, but in a cake form.

A vanilla & Orange version to my chocolate cake soaked in chocolate glaze recipe.

My favourite this month: Its hard to choose, but I think the charred apricot salad. The fact that it was sweet, salty, creamy and crunchy checked all of the boxes for me, and I’ve made it 2 more times since I posted it!

Your favourite this month: Definitely the Vanilla & Orange cake! I received lots of comments on Instagram asking for the recipe and got some messages of people making it for themselves! But honestly this is such a unique cake with sauce as well as more sauce served on the side, so I’m glad you all enjoyed it!

Behind the Scenes

This month I…

• Saw ground chicken on sale and got 4 packs of it, 1 kg in total. Then batch made 70 meatballs with it, and baked them. I stored them in the freezer in a ziploc for easy meal prep! This was such a game changer actually, I might make it more often!

  

• Really struggled with making a baked Alaska cake. I made this cake for a collaboration with Better Homes & Gardens, and my god… it was a struggle. First of all, softened ice cream is super hard to work with. You have to ensure it is not too melty and not too frozen to give it that dome shape. Then for the meringue, as soon as you top the frozen ice cream with it, it gets melty so you have to work very fast. Annoying, but the payoff was AMAZING!

• Got started with making a cake, and realized I was missing like 3 ingredients. This is definitely not a new experience, but oh baby was it sooo discouraging! To make sure I save some time when I got back from the store, I first made the cake, and got it out of the oven to cool while I got the groceries. Honestly I think this was the perfect solution bc I used the time I would’ve just waited around to get my leftover ingredients!

• Made 2 delicious galettes - one plum & cornbread, and one with tomatoes & tapenade - and by the time they baked, sunshine was nowhere to be found, so the final pics turned out dark. This always discourages me!

• Craved froyo so badly, but didn’t want to drive to get it. So I blended frozen mangos, yogurt and honey and made the most incredible homemade froyo. I can’t stress how good this was.

  

In my kitchen right now

A few things I’ve been reaching for lately:

Seasonal Ingredient: Definitely corn. Fresh corn is at its peak right now so I have been eating as much as I can. I also like to prep them for winter so I’ll cut fresh corn kernels off the cob and freeze to use throughout the winter!

Kitchen Tool: My Zwilling Milano pans - These are incredibly non-stick, and one of my favourite pans to use.

Cookbook: Bowls & Broths by Pippa Middlehurst

Drink: Genmaicha Matcha Cloud from MATCHA MATCHA in Toronto. Roasted rice tea with notes of English pear, topped with a soft matcha cloud

Pantry Staple: Rice papers! One of my favourite quick lunch is a shrimp fresh roll, with lots of herbs and veggies. Rice papers are such a staple due to their long shelf life, and I just grab one whenever I feel like fresh rolls, and put together a quick snack.

Music: Tame Impala. I went to his concert at the end of July and by far it was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to.

Restaurants/Food I loved this month

1. Plaza Latina - 9 Milvan Dr, North York

Here’s what we got:

• Tacos - Al Pastor, Chorizo, Chicken

• Birria Torta

• Camarones served with rice & salad

I’ve heard of Plaza Latina, but never visited it personally. Finally this month I made the trip and my mind was blown. Authentic food, incredible energy, and a great value all together. The shrimp was mind blowing, and the birria torta had the most tender meat. I will be back!

2. Pho Junction - 394 Pacific Ave, Toronto

Here’s what we got:

• Phở Tái Nạm Gân / Rare Beef, Brisket + extra rare beef

• Iced Vietnamese Coffee

This is one of my favourite Vietnamese restaurants in the city. The flavour of their broth is unmatched, and the ingredients are always fresh. Their iced Vietnamese coffee is a new obsession of mine, and I find myself here once a week to get my fix lol.

3. Tom’s Dairy Freeze - 630 The Queensway, Etobicoke

Here’s what we got:

• Vanilla sundae with chocolate shell & Oreo

• Hot fudge sundae

I can’t believe this was the first Tom’s Dairy ice cream I had this year! I find I avoid going because of the long lines, but their ice cream is truly the best. Perfectly sweet, so creamy and best with the crunchy chocolate shell as my fav topping!

• Pizzeria Badiali - 181 Dovercourt Rd, Toronto

  Here’s what we got:

• Burrata Marinara slice

• Vodka pie slice

Another Toronto restaurant with a huge line, but so worth it. If you have an extra 30 mins to wait in the line (which can be even longer in Summer), I recommend you give Badiali a try. The pizza was perfect - crunchy crust, perfect amount of sauce, and lots of fresh basil on top. Their vodka pizza is also incredible, but burrata is my fav!

Looking Ahead

Lots of cozy recipes in September, with a new Vintage series on the way :)

But please, tell me what you’d like to see!

Leave a comment

Thank you for being here, for cooking alongside me, and for supporting Thinking About Food. I genuinely love getting to share these recipes with you <3

See you next month,

Xoxo,

Idil

Hi! Thank you for reading Thinking About Food. If you aren’t subscribed, consider joining my newsletter list to receive new posts and support my work. I’ll send you a variety of weekly recipes, and more

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You heard that right!!! The OG chocolate cake I shared this year that lots of you guys loved is back with a new version, and I honestly love her.

One thing about me is that I’ve always loved things with an orange flavor. Growing up, I would get those orange peels dipped in chocolate as a snack, and I think I really learned that from my mom because she was obsessed with them, and we would always have them at home! So as years went by and I moved to Canada, I found my new obsession to be the Terry’s orange chocolate to fill the gap and oh man, they are one of my favourite things ever.

But for some reason, we always combine the orange flavour with chocolate, buuut.. I think that the combination of orange and vanilla is so delicate together and work really well. So I rolled up my sleeves, got to work and made this delicious cake. In a way it reminds me of Tres Leches because of the fact that it’s soaked with sauce and then served with more sauce. But it doesn’t taste similar and has different texture altogether.

This cake batter makes a really spongy and soft cake texture and if you have some vanilla bean paste at home, it would make it even better. Once the cake is cooked, you take the whole thing out of the pan and turn it over so that each slices you serve has that flat surface, which I think looks incredible!

Key Ingredients you need for this orange vanilla cake:

1. Vanilla: I used vanilla extract. I got from Mexico, which turned out really delicious and delicate. But if you have some vanilla bean paste at home, I think it would look beautiful with those specs around the cake, and a really strong flavor. It is pretty crucial in this recipe because it works really well with the orange flavor.

2. Orange Zest: I like to opt in for real orange zest instead of orange flavouring or artificial flavouring because you really don’t need a lot to achieve great results.

3. Marmalade: This recipe requires 2 tablespoons of marmalade in the batter, which you might think doesn’t do much, but it really elevates the whole thing. It gives it a deeper flavour! I used marmalade that my mom and I made last year which didn’t have the peel but feel free to use regular marmalade.

4. Milk: Not only milk is used in the cake recipe itself, but it’s also used as the sauce that you need to soak the cake in as well as the sauce that we top the cake off at the very end. I like to use 3% because I think it’s richer but feel free to go with a 2% option.

I hope you give this recipe a try and let me know what you think!

Xoxo

<3

Idil

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There is a very specific crunchy cookie I grew up eating, called Acibadem.

This is an almond flour based cookie, with a crunchy, yet chewy texture and I remember how addictive it was. It has 2 distinct layers, and is practically 2 cookies, pressed together when it’s still warm, to create this cookie sandwich.

The cookie is very fragrant, and has an almost caramel like smell, and is very light due to its meringue base. It’s crunchy when you bite it, but turns chewy as you continue chewing! It’s sweet, nutty, and the perfect cookie with a glass of Turkish tea.

I have always preferred the chewy cookies over crunchy ones. They’re so satisfying! So I thought, if I love this cookie so much, why not make it into a cake?

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My boyfriend was away last weekend, and that meant two things. One, I could have dinners with little to no protein, and two, I could indulge in lots and lots of Pistachios. There is a reason why you don’t see many nuts in my recipes… My boyfriend is allergic to most nuts that I grew up eating, so we have a no peanut/pistachio/cashew policy at home. But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy all of those when he’s away ;)

So, like any other pistachio-deprived girlfriend would do, I made a gorgeous salad, with no meat, and looots and lots of pistachios on top. How refreshing… tv on, watching Legally Blonde with a glass of wine in my hand, and this amazing salad on the coffee table with lots and lots of fresh bread.

Using seasonal ingredients, a big bowl of salad is like the epitome of summer for me. Usually when I’m building a balanced bowl of salad, there are 6 boxes I’m trying to check off.

1. Leafy green base

2. Sweetness - can be fresh fruit, cooked fruit, dried… so many choices

3. Some type of herb

4. Salty crunchy topping

5. Some element of dairy

6. Dressing that brings it all together

Since there’s already a lot of sweetness happening from the charred apricots & figs, I really wanted to keep the dressing bring and sharp. So instead of a full lemon juice base, I opted in for lemon & orange juice that I freshly squeezed, and the classic olive oil, and dijon to emulsify into the perfect dressing for this salad. I loooove a salad that doesn’t really feel like a salad, and this is definitely one of those. I hope you give it a try!

Xoxo,

<3

Idil

Grilled Apricot & Fig Burrata Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the salad

• 5 apricots, halved and pitted

• 5 figs, halved

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 140 g arugula

• 1/4 cup of fresh basil leaves

• 1 large burrata (250 g), brought to room temperature

• Handful of shelled pistachios, roughly chopped

• A pinch of black pepper on top

For the Honey Orange Dressing

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 2 tbsp orange juice

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp honey

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

• ½ tsp flaky salt

• Freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat until very hot.

Brush the cut sides of the apricots & figs with a little olive oil and place them cut-side down in the skillet. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the edges are deeply caramelized and charred but the apricots & figs are still holding their shape.

Remove and let cool slightly.

For the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, orange juice, lemon juice, honey, Dijon, salt and pepper until emulsified.

Spread the arugula over a large platter and arrange the warm apricots over top.

Tear the burrata into big pieces and scatter it over the salad, or leave the whole ball in the middle.

Add the chopped pistachios and drizzle everything with the dressing.

Finish with flaky salt and lots of freshly cracked black pepper.

Enjoy!

Thanks for reading Thinking About Food!

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Hi friends,

Welcome to this month’s roundup! Every month I’ll be sharing a little peek behind the scenes, what we cooked, what’s coming next, things I’m loving, and everything you may have missed. So grab your coffee, tea, or favourite drink, and let’s dive right into it!

July in Recipes

July is without a doubt my favourite month of the year. Everything is fresh, inspiration is at it’s peak, and the amount of daylight we have in a day make me feel like I can create endlessly. So I was very very busy this month.

1. The Dream Aperitivo Table
   Calamari, pan con tomate, sardine & pickle skewers, parm chips

2. Butter bean, grilled zucchini & peach salad
   The perfect seasonal salad

3. Flank steak with gremolata & crispy shallots
   Fire up that BBQ

4. Potato salad with crispy prosciutto & toasted almonds
   Lettuce has left the chat

5. The dream summer table

   Stuffed chard, sour cherry & yogurt dip, tomato salad, baked okra with basil

6. Viennetta Ice Cream Cake

   The most elegant dessert of the early 2000s

My favourite this month: Viennetta, because I remember how FANCY it felt when my parents bought this ice cream growing up, like it was THE fanciest ice cream you could get! So, recreating it felt super special, and I cannot describe how good it ended up being!

Your favourite this month: Butter bean, grilled zucchini & peach salad! I got some messages on how much you guys liked this recipe and I mean you have good taste!!

Behind the Scenes

This month I…

• Tested 4 versions of the Viennetta before landing on the final one.

  • I first tried a batch that is a classic no-churn ice cream, and the next day when i tasted it, it tasted very heavy and not like the light ice cream I was going for.

  • The second batch was a test with a higher cream to condensed milk version, and this time although it tasted better (I also noticed I put way too much salt) the frozen texture was off, and it was still very heavy.

  • By the third batch, I realized this needs to be a Semifreddo recipe, where you incorporate Swiss meringue buttercream to whipped cream to create a stabilized frozen ice cream. I made a smaller batch in a small container, and waited until the next day. This was perfect!

  • The final product was then made, using a semifreddo recipe, and I then filmed everything!

• Bought way too many cartons of heavy cream from the grocery store.

  

• Burned one batch of crispy shallots. Who knew if you look away for a couple of minutes, these little guys just burn to a crisp!!!

• Filmed in my boyfriend’s mom’s garden. Sometimes you gotta chase the sun!! When I’m not getting enough sunlight to get good lighting, I will start texting her if I can film in her garden lol.

  

• BEHIND THE SCENES: Trying to film my Turkish Reyhan Serbeti recipe, and a storm came out of nowhere.

In my kitchen right now

A few things I’ve been reaching for lately:

Seasonal ingredient: Lots of leafy greens, like chard and kale. Of course lots of tomatoes, and I’m also thinking of canning some, come September.

Kitchen tool: KitchenAid 5 Speed Ultra Power Hand Mixer

Cookbook: Oaxaca: Home Cooking from the Heart of Mexico by Bricia Lopez

Drink: Iced mango green tea, Iced matcha with banana syrup!!

Pantry staple: Orzo. I add them to weeknight soups, make a refreshing salad with it, make orzo rice with it… it’s been a staple.

Music: I am OBSESSED with the new turkish girl band - Manifest. I’ve never been into this genre of music, but I am not kidding, I listen to the songs EVERY DAY while I cook. Manifest on Spotify

Restaurants I loved this month

1. Bar Vendetta - 928 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON

Here’s what we got:

• Fennel Salad with celery, grapes, walnut, blue elizabeth

• Burrata with rhubarb compote, shallot, basil, pistachio praline

• Meatballs with tomato sauce, basil pesto

• Albacore Crudo with ajoblanco, grapes, almonds, red onion, jalapeño

Honestly an incredible dinner. My favorites were definitely the fennel salad, and crudo. Highly recommended!

2. Cafe Polonez - 195 Roncesvalles Ave, Toronto, ON

Here’s what we got:

• Cucumber salad in sour cream & dill dressing

• Pork cabbage rolls

• Pierogi - cottage cheese & potato

• Hungarian potato pancake with pork goulash, served with carrot, beet & cabbage salads

This is a classic for me. I absolutely love this restaurant! I even took my parents here last year when they visited from Turkey and can vividly remember my dad not speaking the whole dinner. He was shookkkk

3. North of Brooklyn - 229 Geary Ave, Toronto, ON

I got the Killer Bee slice - Sauce, Mozzarella, Calabrese Sausage, Jalapeños, Pickled Red Onions, Honey.

My friends got the Green Out - Mozzarella, Spring Cream, Spinach, Semi-Dried Tomatoes, Salsa Verde, Pecorino. & Pepperoni.

We also got the Arugula salad to share. This was the perfect night out pizza experience. A couple of drinks before the pizza + wine bar afterwards!!! Perfect night out with old coworkers <3

Looking Ahead

Lots of seasonal recipes in August, with some dutch oven recipes, as well as a focus on dessert. I need more cake in my life!

But please, tell me what you’d like to see :)

Leave a comment

Thank you for being here, for cooking alongside me, and for supporting Thinking About Food. I genuinely love getting to share these recipes with you <3

See you next month,

Xoxo,

Idil

Hi! Thank you for reading Thinking About Food. If you aren’t subscribed, consider joining my newsletter list to receive new posts and support my work. I’ll send you a variety of weekly recipes, and more

Subscribe now

This was the fanciest thing in the freezer when I was a kid.

I genuinely don’t think there was a dessert that felt more luxurious than Vienetta growing up.

Maybe it was the fancy commercials that made it look like it belonged at the world’s fanciest dinner party!! Or maybe it was those elegant swirls piped across the top.. But whatever it was, seeing that long blue & white box in the freezer immediately meant something special was happening!

My family didn’t buy a lot of ice cream growing up, but you really knew a special event was coming up when you saw Viennetta. It usually came out when we had guests over, or after a special dinner, and somehow that made it feel even more exciting :)

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Making the most delicious and soft layer cake is easier than you think! I use a reverse creaming technique, which always yields the best results for this lemon cake. Apart from the cake, the raspberry sauce is cooked down until thickened, vs. using a cornstarch slurry, and the buttercream is my favourite!

This recipe came to mind of course because of 1. Fresh flowers, and 2. Seasonal berries! I baked the cake the day before, and once cooled, wrapped in cling wrap and kept in the fridge overnight. This helps keep all of that moisture in, so your cake layers do not dry out by the time you’re ready to assemble. I made the raspberry sauce and Swiss merringue buttercream next day, and picked up some flowers from a local florist. Some of the little flowers are picked fresh from the garden too :)

So weather you have a birthday, anniversary or a celebration coming up, this is the perfect layer cake you can make for a low effort but a gooorg cake!

Key Ingredients you need for this lemon raspberry layer cake:

1. Raspberries: It will be super convenient to use frozen raspberries, but I took advantage of the summer berries and used lots of fresh raspberries. By cooking them with some sugar and lemon juice over medium low heat until thicekend, you can also omit the cornstarch which I think gives a better texture overall to this cake.

2. Lemons: It is a lemon cake after all! Make sure to have lots of fresh lemons on hand. Lemon juice will just not give the same results, and the zest is also a huge component here that you wouldn’t want to skip.

3. Butter: I use a reverse creaming method for this recipe, so there is a good amount of butter needed. I prefer to get unsalted, so that I can adjust the salt myself vs. losing the balance from using salted butter.

4. Egg Whites: This recipe uses a Swiss meringue buttercream, and the key component for this buttercream is egg whites. They must be in room temperature, so take out your eggs from the fridge 30 minutes before starting the recipe!

Macerate first, then reduce

Letting the raspberries sit with the granulated sugar and some lemon juice for 15-20 minutes before starting to cook and ultimately reduce them allows the natural juices to come out first, which omits the need to add any water to the sauce.

Step by step

I hope you make this cake! I’m sure you will love it, and let me know if you give it a try :)

Xoxo,

<3

Idil

Lemon Raspberry Layer Cake

• 120 g unsalted butter (softened)

• 250 g all purpose flour

• 260 g granulated sugar

• Zest + juice of 2 lemons

• 230 ml whole milk

• 1 1/3 tsp baking powder

• 1/3 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp salt

• 3 tbsp neutral oil

• 3 eggs

Simple Syrup

• 50 g granulated sugar

• 50 ml water

Directions:

Rub lemon zest into sugar for a couple of minutes, until you have a fragrant sugar mixture.

Mix with flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add softened butter and using a hand mixer, mix for a couple of minutes. You should get a dry mixture, with crumbs of butter mixed with flour.

In another bowl, mix lemon juice + milk, then whisk in eggs, oil, and extract. Then, slowly mix wet into dry.

Bake in two 8-inch pans at 325°F for around~25 mins.

Once baked, let cool on a cookie rack over parchment paper, and wrap with cling wrap when cooled. Let rest 2-3 hours, preferably overnight.

Make the simple syrup: Mix sugar and water in a small saucepan, and let it heat up over medium heat. Do not let it boil. Once sugar has dissolved, set aside.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

• 2 egg whites (around 80ml)

• 160 g sugar

• 160 g butter

Gently heat egg whites + sugar over a bain marie (pot of boiling water, and a heatproof mixing bowl over the pan, without the bowl touching the boiling water) until sugar dissolves. This process can take anywhere between 4-7 minutes.

Once the egg whites are ready and you no longer feel sugar granules when rubbing a small amount of the mixture between your fingers, your meringue base is ready. Let it cool for a couple of minutes on the countertop.

Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks, around 5-7 minutes. Then, slowly beat in butter until smooth and fluffy.

Raspberry Filling

• 300 g fresh or frozen raspberries

• 60 g granulated sugar

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• Dash of lemon zest

In the pot you will cook the sauce, combine all ingredients and let it macerate for 15-20 minutes.

Let the mixture come to a boil over medium heat, and once boiled, reduce to medium low, and cook until thickened, around 10-15 minutes. Stir often to avoid burning.

Assemble the cake:

If using a cake stand, first spread a teaspoon of buttercream on the bottom of the cake stand, and then add the first cake layer. This will help prevent the cake layer from moving around.

Then, pipe the half of your buttercream to the first layer. Top with all of the raspberry sauce. Add the other cake layer, and decorate with the remaining of the buttercream. Using flowers, and some fresh raspberries, decorate the cake and you are done! Remember to serve this cake at room temperature for the optimal texture!

I don’t mean to choose (but I will…) but Summer is when I feel most inspired to cook. Something about the sunshine… fresh produce… I just want to cook all dayyyyy.

And I think we can all agree that there’s something about walking through a farmer’s market and seeing everything at its peak. That exact feeling makes me want to bring everything I can carry back home, and lock myself in the kitchen all day, creating new recipes that always seem to come from the way I learned to cook. And if you ask me, this table is exactly that. Flavours from another lifetime, all enveloped with lots of scents and textures.

So, here’s a collection of dishes that celebrate the ingredients I look forward to all year, served during the time of year I feel the most inspired!

Stuffed Chard with Garlic Yogurt

Stuffed chard is one of those ingredients that immediately reminds me of grape leaves, but with a little more colour and a slightly different texture. The Turkish in me wants to immediately roll them up and make stuffed chard loll.

The chard leaves are soft and tender, while the filling is packed with fragrant rice, herbs, and little bursts of sweetness from currants. The currants are my favourite part! They add just enough contrast to make every bite sweet & salty.

The final touch is a cool garlic yogurt sauce, which brings everything together and makes these impossible to stop eating :)

Sour Cherry Whipped Feta & Yogurt Dip

This is one of those dishes where the combination sounds unexpected until you taste it!

Sour cherries have such a unique flavour. They’re fruity and bright but with that tartness which keeps them from feeling overly sweet. I love pairing them with creamy, salty ingredients because that contrast is what makes the dish so special!

So here, the cherries are lightly cooked until they become glossy and jammy, then spooned over whipped feta + yogurt. You get this creamy, tangy, sweet, and savoury combo all at once and it’s addictive! I do feel like some lemon zest on top was a total miss on my end, so if you do give it a try, pls add some lemon zest!

Southern Turkish Summer Tomato Salad

There are few things I look forward to more than summer tomatoes…

This salad is inspired by the flavours of southern Turkey, where tomatoes are often treated as the main event rather than just a side ingredient. The fun ingredient in there is “Isot” which is a local dried pepper type from the Gaziantep region, and it really adds a deep smoky flavour to the salad. It’s also quite oily which I think makes it even better!

You can find it here - Isot Pepper on Amazon

Fresh bread is not optional here. It’s the only way to properly enjoy every last bit :)

Baked Okra with Fresh Tomatoes & Herbs

Okra deserves sooooo much more love.

I think a lot of people have only experienced okra in ways that don’t show what makes it special. When cooked with care (and looots of love) , it becomes tender, flavourful, and kinda one of my favourite dishes ever…

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I hope you give this spread a try!!

Xoxo

<3

Idil

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I really think potato salads have a bit of an unfair reputation. Like when did they become associated with heavy dressings, overcooked vegetables, and something that sits forgotten in the corner of a BBQ table??!

And don’t get me wrong, I of course have a special place in my heart for a reallly good classic potato salad. But I don’t know if I can have it as often as I want to have this Baby potato salad with crispy prosciutto & toasted almonds!

So, because I know a potato salad can be so much more than that, I feel like it was finally time I share one of my favourite recipes. This salad is fresh, vibrant, and full of texture. Instead of drowning the potatoes in a creamy dressing, this version lets each ingredient really shine. There’s the tender baby potatoes, crisp green beans, seasonal asparagus, salty crispy prosciutto, and buttery toasted almonds!! The perfect combination if you ask me ;)

And the other thing with this salad is the contrast. You have the softness of the potatoes, the crunch from the almonds, the freshness of the herbs, and those little salty bites of prosciutto throughout…. The lemon Dijon dressing ties everything together with brightness and acidity, coating every bite without making the salad feel heavy!

This is the kind of salad that works beautifully as a side dish for a summer dinner, but honestly, it’s hearty enough to be the main event too.

I hope you give it a try, and lmk if you do :)

Xoxo

<3

Idil

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Hiiiiii!

So for the longest time, steak was one of those ingredients I’d walk right past at the grocery store. It wasn’t that I didn’t love eating it, oh truuust me I did, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that I was one wrong move away from turning an expensive piece of meat into something dry, chewy, and disappointing, and I hate that feeling so much!

It turns out I had built cooking steak up in my head far more than it deserved.

Because once I started understanding a few simple things, like letting the meat marinate, using high heat, checking the internal temperature instead of guessing (had to learn this the hard way lol) and giving it time to rest before slicing, it quickly became one of my favourite things to throw on the grill.

I’m still nowhere near smoking a brisket for six hours (one day…), but a perfectly medium-rare flank steak? That now feels completely achievable.

One of my favourite ways to serve it is with an Italian gremolata. If you’ve never had it before, think of it as the bright, herby finishing touch that wakes everything up. The lemon cuts through the richness of the steak, the fresh herbs add so much freshness, and together they make the whole dish feel lighter and more summery, perfect for the szn! I also love adding crispy fried shallots over the top for a little crunch :)

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I am so excited to finally share my summer salads recipes with you!!

But to be clear, not just any salads. These will be the kind of salads that make you actually look forward to preparing, sharing it with those close to you, and feel proud of (Yep that’s a feeling I get when I make a rlly good bowl of salad).

And no hate on iceberg or romaine, but I’m not talking about a pile of lettuce with dressing on top, but a full meal with different textures, flavours, and ingredients that make every bite interesting!

If you ask me, the best salads have a few things in common.

• They need something hearty, and beans are one of my favourites. They add creaminess, texture, and make a salad feel super satisfying

• They need something sweet, like a juicy summer fruit, to balance everything out

• They need some alliums for a little kick, and red onions are always a good pick

• And a vegetable with enough personality to hold its own, and a multi colour zucchini is just the perfect thing

And when it comes to vegetables like zucchini, I will always choose grilling over anything else. The smoky char and caramelization completely changes everything… Then you add lots of fresh herbs, and finish everything with a bright, mustard-forward dressing, and you have the kind of salad that tastes like summer in a bowl <3

So I present you…. The first recipe in the Summer Salads series: Butter bean grilled zucchini & peach salad!!

I hope you give it a try!

Xoxo

Idil

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Butter Bean, Grilled Zucchini & Peach Salad

Ingredients

For the salad

● 1 x 540ml can butter beans

● 1 green zucchini

● 1 yellow zucchini

● 1 peach

● 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

● A handful of arugula

● 1/4 cup fresh basil

For the dressing

● 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard

● 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

● Juice of 1/2 fresh lemon

● 1/2 tsp salt

● A pinch of black pepper

Directions

Start by preparing the zucchini. Cut the zucchini into medium-thick rounds (about 1/2 inch thick). You want them thick enough to get a beautiful char while still staying juicy inside.

For the BBQ:

Preheat your BBQ to medium-high heat, around 300°F. Lightly coat the zucchini slices with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place them directly on the grill and cook for about 3–4 minutes per side, until you have beautiful grill marks and the zucchini is tender with slightly charred edges.

For the stovetop:

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and pan-fry the zucchini slices in batches, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Cook until golden brown and slightly charred on both sides.

While the zucchini is cooking, prepare the rest of your ingredients.

Drain and rinse the butter beans, then coat them with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pepper, and the juice of 1/2 lemon. Set aside.

Cut the peach into rough slices or chunks and set aside.

For the dressing, whisk together the Dijon mustard, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper until smooth and emulsified.

Build the salad:

Start with a layer of butter beans, then add the grilled zucchini and peaches. Continue layering with more beans, zucchini, and peaches until everything is beautifully mixed together.

Finish with thinly sliced red onion, lots of fresh basil, arugula, and a generous drizzle of the mustard dressing.

Serve immediately and enjoy the taste of summer!!

I don’t think there’s a better way to eat than having a table full of little things!

Like who doesn’t love a perfect mix of crispy, creamy, salty, and fresh? Oh and don’t forget about something to pile onto bread.

Isn’t it crazy that somewhere along the way, we’ve convinced ourselves that meals need a centrepiece? A roast. A pasta. A main event. But truthfully some of my favourite afternoons (and cozy dinners at home) have been with grazing tables, and lots and lots of aperitivo. Just a handful of small plates, strong flavours, and everyone building their plates with their favourites!

And something about lots of dishes to share feels like such a Mediterranean way of eating to me - we love sharing plates! So of course after my trip back to Turkey last month, I’m still in this mindset :)

That mindset ended up inspiring this table! Nothing here is particularly complicated (and I promise calamari isn’t that complicated to make) but together they somehow become that perfect aperitivo table that I could easily finish my myself lol.

Calamari

This calamari is exactly the kind I always hope arrives at the table when I order it at a restaurant! Super light, crisp, and actually tender. I think I consumed like a kg of calamari a day when I visited Turkey and I can not think of anything else truly. The trick really is getting it tender, because we all know how tough calamari can get, and it would actually ruin my day.

Pan Con Tomate

The pan con tomate is probably the simplest thing here, but also the one that means the most to me. My great-grandma used to grate tomatoes into a bowl with olive oil and salt, hand me a piece of bread, and call it lunch. I don’t think she ever realized she’d accidentally create one of my favourite food memories.

Now that tomatoes are in season and they’re so flavourful, this is your call to grate one and try it ASAP!! You’ll love it.

Sardine, Olive & Pickle Skewers

The sardine skewers bring the salty, briny bite every good grazing table needs. I will admit that up until a couple of years ago, I actually wasn’t a huge fan of sardines. Then, after having a good can, I noticed that I was the problem lol, I never had really good sardines! So now, every now and then, I treat myself to some good sardines, and always find myself having them with pickles and olives. So why not make things more fun and put em on a skewer!!!

Parmesan Potato Chips

Parmesan chips are there because every table deserves something you can snack on while pouring another drink. Like it really doesn’t sound like it would be that good maybe, but trust….it’s so good.

I really hope you give this spread a try!!

Xoxo

Idil

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Hiiii!

This recipe came together while I was visiting my family, and apricots were at their absolute peak. They were super sweet, fragrant, and almost impossible to walk past without buying a bag.

My mom has always been a huge jam person, so whenever fruit is in season, there’s a good chance there’s a pot of something bubbling away on the stove.

The original plan was simply to make apricot jam. But somewhere between buying the fruit and getting home, I started thinking about what I actually wanted to eat with it. And to me, homemade jam has always belonged on a piece of warm bread with a slice of salty white cheese. So naturally, bazlama had to be part of the plan too.

A little jasmine goes a long way.

Apricots already make one of my favourite jams because they’re naturally floral and beautifully fragrant without needing much else. On the walk back from the farmers market, I passed a few jasmine trees that were in full bloom, and the idea came almost instantly!!

The jasmine doesn’t overpower the jam. Instead, it gives the jam a strong floral flavour. If you don’t have fresh jasmine where you live, dried jasmine flowers work beautifully too!

And then there’s the bazlama.

If you’ve never had bazlama before, it’s a Turkish flatbread that’s cooked on a pan instead of in the oven. It’s incredibly soft, suuuper fluffy, and one of the most rewarding breads you can make at home.

What I love most is how approachable it is. The dough comes together quickly, doesn’t require any complicated techniques, and once it hits a hot pan, it puffs up like magic! Tear off a piece while it’s still warm, spread on the jasmine apricot jam, add a slice of salty cheese, and you’ll understand exactly why I couldn’t make one without the other :)

I hope you give them a try!!

Xoxo,

<3

Idil

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Jasmine Apricot Jam

Prep Time: 2 hours (including macerating)
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: Approximately 2 cups

Ingredients

• 290 g ripe apricots, pitted and chopped

• 200 g granulated sugar

• 85 ml water

• Juice of ½ lemon

• 25 fresh jasmine flowers, cleaned (green bases removed)

Directions

1. Make the jasmine sugar

Place about 60 g of the sugar into a bowl with the jasmine flowers. Rub everything together gently with your fingertips until the flowers become fragrant and slightly bruised. Stir in the lemon juice and let the mixture sit for 30 minutes.

2. Macerate the fruit

Add the chopped apricots and the remaining sugar to the jasmine mixture.

Let everything sit for 1–2 hours, until the fruit has released plenty of its juices.

3. Cook the jam

Transfer everything to a saucepan along with the water.

Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook for 25–35 minutes, until the apricots have completely softened, the syrup becomes glossy, and the jam coats the back of a spoon.

4. Finish

For an extra floral finish, stir in another 5–6 fresh jasmine flowers during the final few minutes of cooking.

Allow the jam to cool before storing.

Turkish Bazlama

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Rise Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 bazlama

Ingredients

• 500 g all-purpose flour (add gradually as needed)

• ½ cube fresh yeast (or 1 packet active dry yeast)

• 1½ tbsp olive oil

• 360 ml warm water

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp granulated sugar

Directions

1. Make the dough

In a large bowl, combine the warm water, yeast, sugar, salt, and olive oil.

Gradually add the flour, mixing first with a spoon and then with your hands until you have a soft dough that’s still slightly tacky.

2. Let it rise

Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for at least 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Tip: Giving the dough the full hour (or a little longer) is what gives bazlama its signature light, fluffy texture.

3. Shape

Punch down the dough and divide it into 4 equal pieces.

Shape into balls and let them rest for about 10 minutes before rolling each one into a round about ½ inch (1–1.5 cm) thick.

4. Cook

Heat a dry skillet over medium heat.

Cook each bazlama, flipping every minute or so. After about 4 turns, the bread should puff up beautifully and cook through evenly.

Serve warm with plenty of jasmine apricot jam and a generous slice of salty cheese.

There’s a reason I love tapas so much. You get to try a variety of different dishes without committing to huge portions, and enjoy them slowly with good company and a Mediterranean way of eating where nothing feels rushed and everything is shared.

What is a meze table?

Meze lives in that same universe, but it moves differently.

You get Turkish dishes-many of them yogurt-based, so I hope you’re a yogurt person-alongside olive oil driven plates, fresh herbs, seafood, and seasonal vegetables. You’ll see the classics everywhere: hummus, acılı ezme, stuffed grape leaves. And depending on where you are, you’ll also find more regional or seasonal dishes that shift from kitchen to kitchen.

But if I had to explain what a meze table actually is, it’s this: small dishes arriving slowly, not all at once, and a table that keeps growing over time.

People grazing. Sharing. Talking. Reaching across the table without thinking.

And somewhere in the middle of it all, raki appears. And the evening quietly begins to stretch.

How to build your meze table

As soon as you sit down at a proper meze restaurant, there’s usually a moment that feels almost overwhelming in the best way. A tray arrives at the table filled with small plates, showing you everything the kitchen has to offer. Not a menu you read, but one you look at all at once.

And then comes the question: “Which ones would you like?”

This is where I always feel two things at the same time: excitement and complete indecision. Because you’re not choosing a single dish, you’re building a table in real time. Something fresh, something rich, something sharp, something creamy… even if you don’t say it like that, your brain is trying to balance it all.

Once the mezes are chosen, the drinks arrive. Most of the time, that means raki.

Raki is a clear spirit made from distilled grapes, but it’s not just a drink, it comes with its own ritual. It’s poured into a glass first, then topped with cold water, instantly turning cloudy white. Ice comes last, never first. That transformation alone has its own quiet ceremony. It’s even called aslan sütü, lion’s milk.

And once it’s on the table, the night changes pace.

Why it all makes sense

Nothing on a meze table is random, even though it feels completely casual.

No dish is trying to be the main character. Everything sits next to something else that balances it out. Something creamy next to something sharp. Something rich next to something fresh. Something warm against something cold.

The table only works when it’s in balance, even if nobody is consciously building that balance. So that’s exactly why it’s so hard to make that order when the huge tray of choices come up to you in the beginning! :)

Some of the mezes you’ll find on almost every table:

• Hummus – silky chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon, and garlic, finished with olive oil. Soft, rich, and grounding.

• Acılı Ezme – finely chopped tomatoes, peppers, parsley, chilli, and pomegranate molasses. Bright, sharp, and slightly fiery.

• Semizotu Yoğurtlaması – purslane folded into thick garlic yogurt. Cool, tangy, and refreshing.

• Atom – strained yogurt topped with hot chilli-infused butter or oil. Creamy with sudden heat.

• Yaprak Sarma – vine leaves stuffed with rice, herbs, currants, and pine nuts. Fragrant, slightly sweet, always moreish.

• Fava – Aegean split fava bean purée with olive oil and dill. Smooth, earthy, quiet.

• Deniz Börülcesi (Sea Asparagus) – wild coastal greens blanched and dressed with lemon, garlic, and olive oil. Salty, bright, and deeply seasonal.

• Hamsi Marine – Black Sea anchovies marinated with vinegar, lemon, and olive oil. Bold, briny, unforgettable.

• Ahtapot Salatası – tender octopus with olive oil, lemon, and parsley. Simple, coastal, and perfect with raki.

And then there is bread.

And so so so much bread to dip into all of the meze.

It’s more than what’s on the table

Of course, a proper meze dinner isn’t just about the food.

In many traditional meyhanes, live musicians move between tables playing familiar Turkish songs that almost everyone recognizes. Sometimes people sing along quietly. Sometimes the entire room joins in without planning to. Glasses are raised mid-chorus. It’s hard not to smile in this atmosphere!

Another plate is ordered “just because.” Then another. Bread keeps arriving. Hours disappear without anyone noticing. Some inside jokes start happening, and as the hours pass by everyone starts enjoying the moment!

That’s the part I always remember.

Not just the food, but the way the evening stops feeling like something you’re doing, and becomes the best practice of mindfulness.

Maybe that’s the real art of the meze table. Not the recipes, not even the dishes themselves, but the way it turns dinner into an entire evening without ever asking for permission :)

Love,

<3

XOXO

Idil

My mom once told me that when I was little, she’d use slices of tomato to get me to stop crying. Of course, it had to be tomatoes. It was my favourite!

I’ve always loved them, and even now as an adult, the sound of a ripe tomato being sliced and sprinkled with Maldon salt would probably still get me to stop crying. And those days definitely exist.

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Earlier this week, I shared a recipe for ramp milk buns, and since May is peak ramp season, it only felt right to share another recipe while they’re still around. Ramps, also known as wild garlic, have such a short season that I end up wanting to use them in everything while I can :)

This recipe goes in a completely different direction from the buns though. Instead of something warm and buttery, this is much more of a spring salad situation. I’ve always loved pearl couscous salads because of how versatile they are. They’re filling enough to feel perfect for a lunch or dinner, but still light enough to load up with fresh vegetables, herbs, and different textures.

The real star here is the ramp sauce (obviouslyyy). Blending blanched ramps with peas, feta, olive oil, and white wine vinegar creates this incredibly vibrant green sauce that coats the couscous beautifully!! Once everything gets tossed together with crunchy cucumbers, radishes, herbs, salty feta, and bright pink pickled onions, it becomes the kind of salad that tastes super creamy, savoury, fresh, and sharp all at once.

And honestly, the colours alone make this one worth making :)

So I hope you give it a try, and let me know what you think!!

xoxo,

<3

Idil

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May is peak ramp season, and once they show up, they tend to disappear just as quickly!! They’re one of those ingredients that remind me Spring is finally here, and they feel almost fleeting. They’re only around for a short window where you get to cook with them at their best, before they’re gone again for the year.

Ramps have this really distinctive flavour that sits somewhere between garlic, leek, and green onion. Because they’re so aromatic, they don’t need much to shine. You can grill them (makes a great ingredients for a spring salad) fold them into butter, blend them into sauces, or just keep things simple and let them sit in the background of a dish :)

My favourite way to use them is turning them into a ramp paste. Blanching them briefly helps soften their sharpness and lock in that deep green colour, and then blending them with neutral oil turns them into a smooth and silky paste. It’s the kind of base that can be folded into doughs, spread into pastries, or stirred into anything that needs a savoury, spring flavour!

The combination of these milk buns + ramp paste and the savoury glaze was perfect, so I really hope you give it a try!

Xoxo,

<3

Idil

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Ramp Milk Buns with Honey Black Sesame & Chilli Oil Glaze

Prep time: 45 minutes active

Proofing time: 3 hours (including final rise)

Bake time: 20–25 minutes

Total time: 4.5 hours

Yield: 10–12 buns

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 g all-purpose flour

• 7 g dry yeast

• 12 g sugar

• 350 ml warm milk (or water at ~43°C)

• 10 g (2 tsp) salt

• 30 g butter, room temperature

Ramp paste

• 130 g ramps

• Neutral oil (canola or similar), 60ml

Glaze

• 45 g honey (about 3 tbsp)

• 1 tbsp black sesame paste

• 1–2 tsp chilli oil (adjust to taste)

Directions

1. Make the dough

In a bowl, combine warm milk, yeast, and sugar. Let it sit briefly until slightly foamy (if using active dry yeast).

Add flour and salt, then knead on low speed for about 8 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

2. Incorporate butter

Add butter in two stages:

• First 1 tbsp, mix for 3 minutes

• Second 1 tbsp, mix until fully incorporated and the dough becomes soft and slightly glossy

3. First proof

Cover the dough and let it rise for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

4. Make the ramp paste

Blanch ramps in boiling water for 2–3 minutes, then transfer immediately into an ice bath to lock in colour.

Drain well, squeeze out excess water, then blend with neutral oil until smooth and vibrant green.

5. Shape the dough

Once proofed, gently press out the air and roll the dough into a large rectangle.

Spread a generous layer of ramp paste evenly over the surface.

Cut lengthwise, then roll each strip (1.5 in) into buns to create a natural swirl. Place onto a tray.

6. Final proof

Let the shaped buns rest for 45 minutes, until slightly puffy.

7. Bake

Brush with egg wash and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 20–25 minutes, until golden brown and fluffy.

8. Finish

Mix honey, black sesame seeds, and chilli oil, then brush generously over warm buns.

And since we can’t stop Thinking About Food;

Give these a try too!

I love love love cornbread!! Not the dry, overly crumbly kind, but the softer versions that feel so warm and comforting before you even take a bite. Also bonus points if each slice is decorated beautifully, like this version with my favourite. Clotted cream. This cake has a strong cornbread flavour while being a little sweeter, a little more tender, something you can slice thick and eat slowly with coffee in the afternoon :)

This loaf sits somewhere between an olive oil cake and cornbread. The cornmeal gives it a really tender texture without making it heavy, and the olive oil keeps it soft for days, and so moist!! I also rubbed lemon zest into the sugar before whipping the batter, which gives the cake a really strong citrus flavour all the way through without overpowering it. Finally, the honey rounds everything out and the glaze settles into the top of the loaf giving you the best cornbread loaf cake ever!

I really hope you give it a try, and let me know if you do!

Xoxo,

<3

Idil

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This panna cotta sits somewhere between delicate and nostalgic for me. It’s soft, lightly set, and not overly sweet, which is the kind of dessert that will make me keep coming back because of it’s simplicity.

The main flavour here is mastic, which is a traditional ingredient used in dishes across Europe and Middle East. It’s a dried resin that comes from a tree and is ground into a fine powder before being used in cooking. The flavour is subtle but very recognizable once you’ve had it: slightly piney, a little citrus-like, and almost herbal in a really good way. It’s one of those ingredients that doesn’t overpower a dessert, but instead gives it an entirely different flavour profile!

I love pairing it with a sour cherry sauce for that tart tangy and fruity finish, and honestly I could easily eat the whole batch!!

I really hope you give it a try!

Xoxo,

<3

Idil

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Mastic Panna Cotta with Sour Cherry Sauce

Prep time: 15 minutes
Chill time: minimum 4 hours (preferably overnight)
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

Panna cotta

• 80 ml 2% milk

• 7 g unflavoured gelatin (1 packet / 0.25 oz)

• 180 ml 2% milk

• 400 ml heavy cream

• 90 g granulated sugar

• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp mastic powder

Sour cherry sauce

• 100 g pitted sour cherries (fresh or frozen)

• 50 g sugar

• 1 tsp lemon juice

• 1 tsp lemon zest

Method

1. Bloom the gelatin

Pour 80ml 2% milk into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let it sit for 5–10 minutes until it absorbs the liquid and becomes spongy.

2. Heat the cream base

In a saucepan, combine the heavy cream, 2% milk, and sugar. Warm gently over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is hot but not boiling.

Remove from heat and stir in the mastic powder.

3. Dissolve gelatin

Add the bloomed gelatin mixture into the warm cream base and whisk until fully dissolved and smooth.

4. Strain (optional but recommended)

For an extra smooth texture, strain the mixture through a fine sieve to remove any undissolved gelatin or mastic bits. Add in the vanilla.

5. Set the panna cotta

Divide evenly into 6 serving glasses or molds.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or until fully set and lightly wobbly!

Sour cherry compote

I usually make this in summer when sour cherries are in season. I pit them, freeze them in batches, and keep them on hand for desserts like this. They hold their colour beautifully and keep that bright, tart flavour even after freezing!

In a small saucepan, combine the sour cherries, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Cook over medium heat until the cherries break down slightly and the mixture becomes syrupy, about 10–12 minutes.

Let cool completely before serving.

To serve

Spoon the sour cherry compote over the chilled panna cotta just before serving.

Notes

Mastic can vary in intensity depending on the brand, so start with a small amount and adjust next time if you want a stronger flavour. It should stay subtle, and more aromatic than dominant! And also make sure you ground it up pretty well as it may be grainy if you don’t! Enjoy!! :)