Meliz Berg - Meliz’s Kitchen: Simple Turkish-Cypriot comfort food and fresh family feasts

Meliz Berg is a self-taught cook, recipe developer and food content creator. Inspired by her Turkish-Cypriot heritage, and experience of growing up in a household that combined both traditional Cypriot and London living, she created the blog and instagram page Meliz Cooks.

Meliz Cooks is loved for its easy-to-follow recipes, addictive combinations of flavours and spices, and for highlighting the mixture of beautiful cuisines evident in Cyprus. Her recipes have featured in Co-op Food and Asda Good Living Magazine, as well as for Good Homes and the Guardian.

Find her @melizcooks

Anneciim (my mama), thank you for always letting me be a part of your kitchen, for always having your door open so that friends and family could come over, and for keeping our traditions alive by feeding us the food that has shaped our beautiful island and its people. I also want to thank you for your gz karar (eye judgement) methods, and for never giving me a single measurement in grams or millilitres; this is what drove me to get all these beautiful recipes written down. Im sorry I would wreck your kitchen on the daily and leave you with piles of washing up (which I continued to do whilst writing this book), but it was never done in vain, and here we now are. Baba (Dad), thank you for teaching us to be humble, to appreciate everything we have, for your love of the simple life, your delicious yet unassuming soup concoctions and for always making sure I put that extra teaspoon of black pepper in everything. Yeliz and Taylan, for giving me the space I needed in mum and dads kitchen by never learning cook when you were younger (haha), and for now being two of my biggest supporters I love you all.

To my wonderful, greatly-loved late grandparents Fatma Nene, Ahmet Dede, Ali Dede, (great grandmother) Meyrem Nene, my surviving Melek Nene, and all my aunts and uncles, especially Seluk Day, Meyrem Teyze, Aysan Teyze, and my late Izzet Day; thank you for all the memories, the celebrations, for teaching me about our family history and our food traditions, without even realising you were doing it. Our beloved mer Day and Terazi angels, you are always in our hearts. Emine Hala, thank you for your Kolokas recipe and for making every Christmas of our childhood so special the combination of roast turkey, hummus , salata, nohutlu pilav and Cyprus roast potatoes have left me with the best Christmas Day memories. Revza Abla and Halit Abi, thank you for subtly inspiring my love of cooking from a young age, introducing me to the Turkish recipes, ingredients and methods you acquired throughout your youth, connections and travels.

Elyse, for all the photography advice, for lending me things that I had no idea how to use but can now proudly say I do; love you, my Turkish Delight. Dan, for capturing the essence of those beautiful family and prep shots with Hannah. Daisy, thank you for introducing me to Juliet, as without you this book may never have happened. Juliet, for your belief in me and Terazi from the outset, my recipes, my story, and for always making sure my voice can be heard through my words. You are my professional voice of reason. Laura, I cant thank you enough for taking a punt on me and welcoming me to Ebury; I have missed you these past few months but you certainly left me in very capable hands. Sam, you are so much more than an editor; you have listened, conversed, laughed, been frank, taken the time to research and look into every concern I have raised, pushed me, pulled me back, calmed me, raised me up and have even cooked some of my recipes. You are an absolute gem and I am so grateful that I had you here to guide me through all of this. Thank you for taking so much time to get to know my family too. Vicky and Laura M, for going through everything with a fine toothcomb; you may now even be able to add fluent in the Turkish Cypriot dialect to your C V! Clare, for bringing my photography and recipes to life with your beautiful, vibrant designs. Sam H, LouLou and Lucy, thank you for holding things together during the final push week. My ideas, my visions, have all been fulfilled and I am over the moon and so grateful to the stellar team at Ebury for creating something so special.

And finally, my number ones. My babies, R & A; your love of being in the kitchen with me, cooking (and eating), is honestly what keeps me going. I really hope you continue to cook these recipes in your own kitchens one day and I will be asking for Badadez Kftesi and Magarna Frnda when you do. Joel, you make me feel like there is nothing I cant do; every time I get scared and want to give up, you give me that lift, that pep talk, that hug, that kick up the backside I need to keep going. You are my biggest supporter, the best, yet slightly over-worked, washer-upper (sorry), and the most honest feedback-giver of all. Weve encountered a pandemic, home schooling (twice!), a house-move, relocation and renovation all whilst writing this cookbook, but we got there. I love you so much Xx

Cypriot breakfasts are both beautifully simple, and simply beautiful. While rushing to get ready for school in the mornings, my mum would always place a hot, freshly toasted Kbrs pidesi (Cypriot pitta bread) wrapped in kitchen paper in my hands; the inside of the pide pocket would be dripping with melted butter and loaded with thickly cut slices of uncooked hellim (halloumi) and tomato. This breakfast would be my fuel to start the morning, alongside a hot cup of black tea infused with cinnamon bark, cloves and aniseed. Those sweet Cypriot smells still evoke memories of the speedy midweek breakfasts of my childhood, as much as the slightly more extravagant spreads that we would all share as family on Sunday mornings.

Sunday morning breakfasts at home really were an event; my younger sister, Yeliz, and brother, Taylan, would set the table, while my dad would hand-slice a loaf he had picked up from the Turkish grocers the day before, half of which we had already eaten for Saturdays lunch or dinner. He would toast the bread under the grill with halved slices of pastrma (a Cypriot cured and spiced beef sausage), hellim and a large handful of zeytin (black olives slight digression here, but if youve never had izgara zeytin (grilled black olives), either under the grill or on the barbecue, then you simply must try them). Mum would be cutting up cubes of Cheddar (or kaar peyniri a smooth, firm, pale yellow cheese made of cows milk, similar to Gouda or Edam if Dad had picked some up from the shop), slicing up thin, crook cucumbers she had already peeled vertical strips off, and cutting wedges of tomatoes and green peppers. I would be peeling the shells off the hard-boiled eggs and pouring cups of spiced tea from the teapot. In the summer, there would always be half a huge karpuz (watermelon) on the table, too. The only difference with eating this kind of breakfast in Kbrs (Cyprus) is that the warm sun beats down on you as you grill the bread and olives on the outdoor mangal (barbecue), alongside hot pide filled with helva (a sweet and slightly crumbly spread made from tahn (tahini), hot syrup and nuts) that melts under the heat of the coals, while listening to the chorus of crcr bcei (cicadas) in the distance.

Aside from long and lazy Sunday mornings, quick midweek Cypriot-style breakfasts are also easily achievable and mostly dependent on having a select few ingredients in your fridge, as well as some pre-made baked goods such as Tahnl (Tahini Pastries, ) efficiently stocked in the freezer. The beauty of Cypriot breakfasts is that they arent just suited to the breakfast table, and the variety of simple ingredients are naturally befitting to various times of the day, from quick on-the-go snacks to table-laden brunch and brinner spreads.