Four local flavours you shouldn't leave Çeşme without trying.
A beach day in Çeşme is not just sea and sun; the peninsula's distinctive flavours are part of it too. When we built our beach kitchen menu, we put these local tastes at its centre. Here are four you shouldn't leave Çeşme without trying, and their stories.
Kumru
Kumru is Çeşme's best-known street food, said to be named after its round sesame bun, which resembles a turtle dove (kumru). The traditional kumru is filled with sucuk, kaşar cheese and tomato and pressed in a hot toaster. A chickpea leaven in the bread gives it a slightly sour, unique taste. Çeşme's kumru shops are known for their long queues on summer evenings. On the beach we serve kumru with pickles and cold ayran.
Mastic
The island of Chios, just across from Çeşme, is famous for the resin of the mastic tree. Mastic is used in the Aegean kitchen in everything from ice cream and puddings to biscuits. Today mastic tree cultivation is being revived on the Çeşme peninsula too. Our Maraş-style mastic ice cream is the beach's most ordered dessert; mastic gives it both aroma and a stretchy texture.
Aegean greens
Perhaps the most special part of Aegean cooking is foraged greens: wild sea fennel, chicory, salsify greens, wild radish, mallow and samphire are just a few. They are usually blanched and served with olive oil and lemon, or used in omelettes and börek. The herb festival held every April in Alaçatı helps keep this culture alive. The Aegean Wild Greens plate on our menu changes with the season.
Melon and watermelon
In the summer heat melon and watermelon are never missing from Aegean tables. Kırkağaç melon from Manisa, with its yellow skin and sweet, juicy flesh, is one of the Aegean's best-known varieties. A plate of cold melon with white cheese is the best remedy for the midday sun.
Boyoz and the İzmir breakfast
At our weekend breakfasts we don't forget İzmir's morning classic, boyoz. Brought to İzmir by Sephardic cooks, it is a flaky pastry made with tahini, traditionally eaten with a boiled egg and black olives.
All these flavours are on our beach kitchen menu. In winter try boyoz and the Aegean herb omelette at our weekend breakfasts; in summer, kumru, mastic ice cream and melon.
What to eat, and when
In the hottest hours we recommend light plates rather than heavy meals: Aegean greens, melon with white cheese or a quinoa bowl at midday; a kumru and cold ayran after an afternoon swim; grilled octopus or the fish of the day at sunset. Save the mastic ice cream for the hottest hour; in Çeşme that's when it tastes best.
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