Özlem Warren's Tepsi Kebabi

On our Istanbul culinary tour, our friend and cookbook author Özlem Warren taught us to make the Antakya specialty tepsi kebabi, or “tray kebab”: a tray of juicy meat and roasted vegetables, in festive layers designed so that the flavors and juices meld in the oven.

Spiced meat, tomatoes, and loads of veggies are arranged in concentric circles, then pressed into a tray. The juices from the top layer of peppers and tomatoes drip down into the meat as they turn soft and bubbly.

Özlem makes hers a bit differently from the traditional format, as her mother does, by inserting potato wedges into the meat—helping the meat cook faster and more evenly, while soaking up the delicious liquid.

The central potato wedges, sopping with flavor, are the chef's prize.

Find Özlem's recipe in both her cookbook Özlem's Turkish Table and on her website.