For episode 8 of Around the World in 80 Dates, we’re heading to Turkey for a date night filled with rich, garlicky yoghurt, spiced lamb, buttery tomato sauce and, of course, plenty of Turkish delight.
I wanted this date night to feel like the kind of meal you’d order in a cosy Turkish restaurant, but with a fun homemade twist. The menu is all about sharing, with homemade-style manti, crispy-edged doner kebab stuffed into warm flatbreads and a little Turkish delight to finish.
The star of the show has to be the Turkish manti. These tiny lamb-filled parcels are traditionally made with dough and can take a little time to prepare, so I’ve used wonton wrappers cut into quarters to make this much quicker and easier for a date night. They’re topped with garlicky yoghurt and a sizzling tomato butter sauce flavoured with Aleppo pepper.
Then there’s the homemade doner kebab, made by blitzing lamb and beef with spices, pressing it into a thin rectangle and roasting it before finishing it under the grill for those delicious charred edges.
And because no Turkish-inspired date night is complete without something sweet, we finished with Turkish delight. I used shop-bought Turkish delight to keep things simple, but you could absolutely make your own if you have more time.
Turkish Manti
For the filling
250g lamb mince
Handful finely chopped parsley
½ onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper seasoning
Salt and pepper
150g wonton wrappers, cut into 4 (or make your own dough)
Garlic yoghurt
300g yoghurt
2 grated garlic cloves
butter sauce
4 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon tomato puree or pepper paste
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper chilli blend
To serve
A little finely chopped mint or dried mint
Sprinkle of sumac
Method
Start by making the manti filling. Add the lamb mince, finely chopped parsley, onion, Aleppo pepper seasoning and a generous pinch of salt and pepper to a bowl. Mix everything together until well combined.
Take your wonton wrappers and cut each one into four. Add a small amount of the lamb mixture to the centre of each wrapper. Wet the corners with a little water, then bring the two opposite diagonal corners together on each side, pressing them firmly to create little parcel-shaped manti.
Set the manti aside while you prepare the sauces.
For the garlic yoghurt, simply mix the yoghurt with the grated garlic and set aside.
For the tomato butter sauce, melt the butter in a small frying pan. Add the tomato puree and Aleppo pepper chilli blend, then let everything gently simmer together until the butter becomes rich, red and fragrant. Turn off the heat while you cook the manti.
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and carefully add the manti. Boil for around 6 minutes, then remove them with a slotted spoon or drain them. Allow them to steam dry slightly, or gently pat them dry.
Spread a layer of garlic yoghurt over the bottom of each plate, then arrange the manti on top.
Heat the tomato butter sauce again until sizzling, then spoon over the manti. Finish with a little more yoghurt, finely chopped mint and a sprinkle of sumac.
The combination of the juicy lamb, creamy garlic yoghurt and spicy tomato butter is honestly so good.
Homemade Doner Kebab
For the doner
250g lamb mince, 20% fat
250g beef mince, 10-20% fat
2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic granules
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes / powder
1 teaspoon mild chilli powder
1 teaspoon onion granules
1 tablespoon Greek yoghurt
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ onion
Salt and pepper
To serve
2 flatbreads
¼ onion, thinly sliced and mixed with ½ teaspoon sumac
Handful quartered cherry tomatoes
¼ cucumber, sliced
2 tablespoon garlic sauce or mayo
Lettuce, to serve
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Add the lamb mince, beef mince, paprika, garlic granules, Aleppo pepper, mild chilli powder, onion granules, Greek yoghurt, olive oil, ½ onion and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper to a blender. Blitz until you have a smooth, sticky paste.
Lay out a long sheet of baking parchment and add ¼ of the meat mixture. Place another sheet of parchment over the top, then press and roll the mixture in both directions until you have a thin rectangle. Peel off the top sheet of parchment.
Fold the meat mixture up from the bottom, continuing to fold until you create one long, compact rectangle. I’d recommend referring to the video for this step as it’s much easier to see how I fold it.
Place onto a baking tray and cook in the oven for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and carefully unravel the parchment. Place the doner under a grill on full for a couple of minutes until the outside is nicely charred.
To build your kebabs, lay out a flatbread and spread over some garlic sauce. Add lettuce, cherry tomatoes, sumac onions and cucumber, then rip the doner into pieces and pile it on top.
Finish with another drizzle of garlic sauce, fold everything up and serve straight away.
The combination of the spiced, juicy doner with the fresh cucumber, tomatoes and sharp sumac onions makes this such a good homemade kebab.
Turkish Delight
For dessert, I kept things very simple with Turkish delight.
I used shop-bought Turkish delight here to save time, but if you want to go all-out with the Turkish theme, you could make your own. There are loads of different flavour combinations you can play around with, from rose and pistachio to lemon and orange.
Sometimes the best date-night dessert is the one that requires absolutely no cooking!
The perfect Turkish date night
This was such a fun one for Around the World in 80 Dates. I love that you can take the flavours and dishes that you’d normally order when eating out and turn them into something you can makeat home.
The manti are definitely the dish that takes a little more patience, but using wonton wrappers makes them much more achievable for a weeknight date. Meanwhile, the doner is surprisingly simple to make and is such a fun alternative to ordering a takeaway.
