Write: Nilgün Tatlı, Photo: Emel Ernalbant

Delicacies From the Land of Bblack Diamonds: Zonguldak Cuisine

The first province declared following the founding of the Republic of Turkey, Zonguldak has a deep-rooted history that has been host to numerous civilizations. In addition to seafood in its coastal areas, agricultural and animal production in its inner parts define the region’s gastronomical culture.

One can hardly get enough of the baby chestnuts growing in the forests of Zonguldak. In addition to its chestnuts, chestnut honey is also a delicacy quite unique to the region. A dark, bitterish concoction, this honey is known as an “elixir of youth” due to its rich content. In addition to chestnuts, the forested area in Zonguldak and its vicinity is populated by cranberry, blackberry, medlar, rosehip, basil, bay, wild strawberry, and wild cherry. The local population exploits these flavors in its cuisine to a considerable extent.

Particularly in Ereğli in the Black Sea region, there is a type of Ottoman strawberry that grew here, once regarded as highly delicious and named eponymously…. The building blocks of the local cuisine are made from wheat and corn flour. Ovmaç, kesme, pumpum, and öğre soup; hüpbülü beet dish, cimcük pasta, gırtıl, beddam mancar, vinegar bambam, çükündür mancar, tıntış, laylanga, hodan roast, flour gulu gulu, kirli ayşe, merdane dessert, and güccek are delicacies unique to the region. After reminding you briefly of foods peculiar to Zonguldak and Bartın, we leave you alone with four recipes… Bon appetit.

Pumpum soup

Ingredients:
For Dough: 7 tablespoons corn flour, 5 cups water, 2 cups milk, salt and pepper to taste, 2 tablespoons butter, 2-3 loaves diced bread, 1 small bowl diced sausage (or pastrami or browned ground meat).

Preparation:
First combine water, milk, and corn flour in a deep pot, mixing well. Melt butter in another pan, adding sausage and bread and browning these, and then put everything into the boiling soup, having it boil once. Serve. (Note: It is said that the soup’s name, “pum pum,” is because the soup is somewhat dark and makes a “pum-pum” sound as it boils.)

Ugly beet dish

Ingredients:
2 medium finely diced yellow/white onions, half a bunch goosefoot, half a bunch chard, half a bunch nettle, half a bunch mallow, half a bunch red beet, half a bunch spinach, 3–4 leeks, 3 tablespoons coarse bulgur, 1.5 tablespoons tomato/red pepper paste, 1 cup olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, 4–5 cups hot water (and other greens to taste)

Preparatıon:
Sauté onion until pink. Add washed, diced vegetables and cook on low heat until wilted. Add bulgur on top and mix. Dissolve tomato/pepper paste in hot water and add more water, salt, and black pepper, cooking top greens on low heat until soft. Serve hot or warm. (Note: According to local tradition, lighting an “ugly fire” and collecting “ugly herbs” is still commonplace today, in order to rid oneself of all evils prior to summer (in the spring). Therefore, one eats this dish, which contains seven kinds of greens, in order to be purified of all sicknesses and evils.)

Ingredients:
One finely diced onion, 300 g beef mince, 4 cups hot beef consommé or water, 1 tablespoon red pepper/tomato paste, 5 yufka (phyllo) dough sheets, 2 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:
Spread dough sheets on a medium-size tray. Sautee onion and mince in a pan, and then add red pepper/tomato paste, salt, and pepper. Add hot consommé/water and then bring to boil. Pour mixture equally atop dough with a spoon and cover with a lid. Allow dough to rise for about five minutes. Add pickles if desired and serve.

Sweet pastry (with pumpkin)

Ingredients:
1 cup crushed walnuts, 300 g shredded pumpkin, 2 cups confectioner’s sugar, 6 sheets phyllo dough (moistened by hand), 2.5 tablespoons melted butter.
For syrup: 5 cups confectioner’s sugar, 3 cups water, juice of half a lemon. Boil sugar and water until dark, adding lemon juice and then removing from heat.

Preparation:
Mix shredded pumpkin in a bowl with two cups confectioner’s sugar and walnuts. Grease an oven tray and cover it with a sheet of dough, drizzling oil on it and dressing it with the pumpkin mixture. Repeat until the dough is covered fully. Bake at 170 degrees Celsius for 20–25 minutes (until lightly browned), cut into squares, and drizzle with syrup. Cover so that it absorbs the syrup and serve.