Turkish Nachos

October 31, 2017 by Nicole Collins

The vampires are going to stay faaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr away from us today!

Because, after we devour a batch of these Turkish Nachos, our garlic breath is going to be on point.

And, it's going to be worth every stinky minute of it!

Today's nachos came to fruition thanks to a picture I saw on Instagram. But the picture wasn't of food, like pretty much everything else I look at on Insta. It was a pic of a menu board for a local Turkish food truck.

The first (and pretty much the only thing) I saw in the pic was the menu item: Turkish Nachos.

My bestie, Sultan, is Turkish; so I immediately sent her the pic asking if this was a real thing. I thought maybe she and her family had been holding out on me.

Turns out, it's not. These nachos were just the brainchild of this amazing food truck...that I have yet to track down.

Actually, I can easily see their schedule, but they tend to hang in the city. I do not. City Driving makes me crazy, and city parking gives me anxiety for weeks.

I just couldn't get the idea of Turkish Nachos out of my mind. And then I started thinking about all of the amazing Turkish food I've been fed over the years. One of my favorite things that Sultan's dad makes is adana kabob. I knew I could adapt the kabob and turn it in to nachos.

And folks, that's just what I've done.

I went straight to the source and asked Sultan's dad how he makes his kabobs. The thing is, he's old school. He doesn't use recipes. So trying to pull information out of that man's brain was not the easiest things I've ever done. And in between talking to us about kabobs, he kept telling us these off the wall stories about his worldly travels. I definitely got some weird info that had nothing to do with kabobs.

So, I took what I got from him, what Sultan knows about the food, and the flavors I've picked out over the years, and started with the meat mix. I know he usually either uses ground lamb or ground beef, so I went with lamb. You could also use ground turkey, if you like. That gets mixed with some finely minced onions, garlic, and parsley.

Now, there's this amazing red pepper paste that her family always brings back whenever they go to Turkey. Apparently, making it is this labor intensive process that only 1 person knows how to do, so they load up and divide it out whenever someone goes. I couldn't tell you what's in it, but it's the most amazing addition to pretty much anything. Eggs, greens, bread, kabobs...

I know this red pepper paste goes in to the kabobs, but again, no one really knows what it is. The closest thing I've found to it here in the states is harissa, so that's what I use whenever I wish I had some of that pepper paste. And, that's what I put in my meat mix.

Usually, the kabobs go on the grill, but since we're leaving the mix ground, I added a touch of cumin to it to mimic some of the smokiness you get from the grill...so good!

Now, adana kabobs get served with this amazing tomato onion salad and pita bread, so I added those components, as well!

The tomato onion salad is what makes the kabobs, and it acts like the “salsa” on our nachos. It's a very simple mix of tomatoes, thinly sliced onions, parsley, sumac, salt, and pepper. Sumac is a Mediterranean spice that you can get online, in a specialty food store, or at the Mediterranean market. It's kind of lemony, and can be substituted with a little lemon juice if you don't feel like going on the hunt for sumac.

Now, every plate of nachos needs chips, right? For these nachos, we're making pita chips!

Pita chips are soooo easy to make. Cut up some pita bread, spritz it with olive oil cooking spray, season it with a pinch of salt and pepper, and pop it in the oven. DONE!

To finish our nachos, we crumble some feta on top, and we give the nachos a couple dollops of a garlic greek yogurt sauce. Now, the feta is definitely not traditional with the adana kabobs, but what kind of person would I be if I served you nachos with out cheese. That would be sacrilegious.

Remember those vampies we're trying to keep away? This garlic sauce is how we're going to do it. It's literally just yogurt and garlic. It's so pungent and tangy, but it's exactly what these nachos need to tie everything together. And garlic yogurt is a classic Turkish sauce.

And there you have it. Turkish Nachos! I'm still a little curious to see what the Turkish Nachos on the Doner Bros food truck is all about, but I'm not sure anything can beat what I've done here. Just saying...

So, I hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween! Don't let the vampires bite!

P.S. Make sure you “borrow” some candy from the kids while you're “inspecting” it, because you know I've got a plan to help us use it up!

Let's eat!

Turkish Nachos

Serves: 4 Print

Ingredients:

For the Meat Mix:

1 lb ground lamb or beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup onion, minced
½ cup fresh parsley, minced
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp cumin
1 tbsp harissa
1 tbsp olive oil

For the Tomato Onion Relish:

2 roma (plum) tomatoes, seeded and diced
¼ cup sweet onion, thinly sliced
½ cup fresh parsley, minced
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ tsp sumac

For Yogurt Sauce:

¼ cup plain greek yogurt
1 small clove garlic, minced
1-2 tsp water

For Serving:

4 pita rounds, split in half through the pocket and cut in to eighths (whole wheat or plain is fine)
olive oil cooking spray
salt and pepper, to taste
2 oz crumbled feta

Directions:

Make the Tomato Onion Relish: In a small mixing bowl, add all relish ingredients. Stir to combine. Set aside.
Make the Yogurt Sauce: In another small mixing bowl, combine yogurt, garlic, and 1 tsp water. Stir to combine. Add up to 1 more tsp of water if the sauce is too thick for your liking. Set aside in the fridge.
Make the Pita Chips: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Arrange pita slices in a single layer on the tray. Spray the pita with olive oil cooking spray. Flip the pieces over, and spray the other side with olive oil cooking spray. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, to taste. Bake for 9-11 mins until the chips are crisp and golden.
Make the Meat Mix: Combine all meat mix ingredients except olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Mix together with your hands to make sure everything is fully incorporated. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the meat mix. Cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fully cooked through and no longer pink.
Assemble the Nachos: Arrange pita chips on a plate or serving platter. (If serving as individual portions, divide chips to 16 chips per plate.) Top with meat mix, tomato onion relish, crumbled feta, and yogurt sauce. Serve.

Recipe notes:

*If you're portioning this out as a make ahead meal, store everything separately. Assemble when you're ready to eat. The pita chips can be kept in an airtight container for up to a week.

*The yogurt sauce is garlicky! If it's too strong for you, double the greek yogurt.

*I chose to use ground lamb, but ground beef would work too. You could even use ground turkey if you like.

*Sumac is a Mediterranean spice that you can find online or in a Mediterranean market.