Sebze: Vegetarian Recipes from My Turkish Kitchen

by Özlem Warren

"Sebze" translates as vegetables in Turkish and so this cookbook is a collection of 90 vegetarian and vegan recipes celebrating Turkey and her food.  Inspired by thousands of years of rich and diverse culinary heritage,  Sebze  champions dishes such as Stuffed Flatbreads, Menemen, Baked Fig and Feta, and Baklava, with recipes that are easy, accessible, seasonal, and sustainable—not to mention utterly delicious.  A passionate and skilled advocate for her national cuisine, Ozlem will show you how to make meals that you want to—and can—cook, making  Sebze  the perfect introduction to Turkish food for the home cook.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

Published April 9, 2024

About the author

Born and raised in Turkey, Özlem is passionate about sharing the historical and cultural riches of her homeland through its cuisine. Her journey into the culinary world started on a different continent and a long way from her homeland.

In 2005 she joined Central Market Cooking School in Texas teaching Turkish cookery classes as a guest chef in Austin, Houston and San Antonio. Then her family moved to England in 2009 prompting her to launch her Turkish recipe blog “Özlem’s Turkish Table” (www.ozlemsturkishtable.com) so she could connect with Turkish food lovers around the world.

10 years on and her love for Turkish cuisine has opened up new and exciting opportunities for her teaching classes at JA University in Amman, Jordan; London’s Divertimenti Cookery School, Blid and Hatton Gatherings and the Istanbul Culinary Institute in Istanbul.

Reviews

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sebze means “vegetable” in Turkish, a fitting title for this Turkish vegetarian cookbook by Özlem Warren. Her own family in Turkey was not vegetarian, “but the majority of our diet has always been based on vegetables, mostly cooked in olive oil,” as Warran explains in the introduction.

Whether vegan, vegetarian or pursuer of the much-ballyhooed Mediterranean diet, there’s plenty here to love. I’m a lazy slob in the kitchen, so I’m not going to mess with phyllo dough (filo), kneaded breads, draining vegetables for ages, making my own jam or potato chips — none of that Near Eastern Martha Stewart stuff! No problem! Warren provides a super-easy Balon Ekmek (Easy Puffy Bread), all-day breakfast recipes, lovely salads, and delicious vegetables. There’s a lot here for everyone, even the most confirmed carnivores.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

This was a really nice cookbook, full of different and creative ways to eat vegetables. I do think it needed more pictures, not every recipe had an accompanying image which I think is necessary especially for readers who have little to no knowledge of Turkish cuisine. I also don't think this is super vegan/lactose intolerant friendly, there's a lot of cheese and yogurt for example, and while the author offers some substitutions it changes the dishes a lot. If you live in a small town quite far away from the middle east, some of the ingredients the recipes ask for will be hard to source and expensive to buy, so I'd recommend using this book more as a source of inspiration.

[Darlene Messenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous book in design and content. The book itself is illustrated by Nic & Lou with paintings of vegetables. Photos by Sam A. Harris of recipes and sourced local foods, markets and preparations make for a well curated book. My local library had this on display as a featured book in a well stocked section and it immediately caught my eye in part for the cover and the fact Diana Henry wrote a review. If she recommends this book then it has to be good.
Can’t wait to try some of the recipes as method and the idea of sustainability in meal planning intrigues me.

[Nadia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of great recipes here plus beautiful visuals! I'm especially excited to try the Turkish Coffee Marbled Cake

[Cherie Hsu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and concise. Effective and straight to the point with delicious recipes.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and tasty recipes. A few didn't have photos to my disappointment.