Topik

This recipe is from Classic Turkish Cooking by Ghillie Basan, a very good cookbook with excellent photography and many regional as well as classic recipes. Topik is a dish that I was not at all familiar with before, but I liked the picture and the recipe seemed promising. Although the book did not mention it, my Internet research revealed that Topik is an Armenian dish traditionally eaten during the seven weeks of Lent when meat and dairy are forbidden. Apparently nowadays it is more widely known as many restaurants in Turkey serve it as a meze. I also saw an appealing alternative serving idea where the chickpea paste was shaped as small balls rather than a bigger pasty.

Zeynep, Yurdaer and I loved Topik. (Mehmet and Rana, who both have a much simpler taste in food, would not touch it.) When I make it again, it will probably be for company who can truly appreciate its sophisticated taste.

4 oz chickpeas, soaked for 8 hours and cooked
4 oz potatoes, peeled and boiled
1 tbs olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
Filling:
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp pine nuts
1 tsp currants
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbs tahini
Salt and black pepper to taste

Mash the potatoes and chickpeas to a paste. Bind with the olive oil. Mould into a ball and set aside.

For the filling, cook the onion with the garlic in the olive oil. Stir in the pine nuts, currants and sugar and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the spices and bind with the tahini. Season to taste.

Roll the potato and chickpea paste into a rectangle. Spread the filling down the middle and fold over in half, making a large pasty. Pinch the 3 edges together to seal in the filling. Wrap in cheesecloth or waxed paper and rest in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Sprinkle with cinnamon and cut into slices to serve.