Cilbir – Coskun Uysal

This is a dreamy Turkish egg and butter dish with a great story. It’s the signature dish at Tulum, a contemporary Turkish restaurant in Melbourne, and it stars in the Tulum cookbook. As chef Coskun Uysal says, “This has got to be my favourite dish in this book, and it is very emotionally tied to my mother. Working all the time to support our family, she would then come home to me, a small boy who had been playing all day and was crying out to be fed. So, before cooking the main family meal, she would quickly make this dish especially for me. She would whip the yoghurt with garlic, a poached egg and burnt butter. With some warm pide to dip, I was the happiest boy in the world.”

When Coskun opened his Melbourne restaurant, he created a slightly cheffier version of the dish that put a glow into his childhood. I’ve now adapted it for Thermomix with Coskun’s blessing.

Chicken Skin

4. This part of the recipe can be done a day or two ahead. (You can also forget about the chicken skin and serve the dish with pita bread instead.) Preheat oven to 180°C (360°F).

5. Scrub the chicken skin with a knife to remove excess meat, then season with salt.

6. Place the skin between 2 sheets of baking paper and weigh down with a pan before placing into the oven. This prevents the skin from shrinking.

7. Roast for 25 minutes, or until the skin becomes crispy and golden in colour. Set aside. If not using straight away, store in a container in the refrigerator. Skin can be crisped briefly in the oven if it gets soggy.

Brown Butter Sauce

8. In a small pan, melt the butter over high heat until it becomes a nutty caramel colour, then add the spices and set aside.

Smoked Yoghurt

9. This step can be done a day or two ahead. If you have a smoking gun, fill it with pine chips and cold smoke the yoghurt for 15 minutes. If you don’t (I don’t!) it’s easy to smoke using a pan. Have a look at my Smoked Kingfish recipe to see me do it in a wok; head to about 2:35 in the video. For the yoghurt, I put a tablespoon of tea leaves and wrap them in foil. I put them in a heavy-based lidded pan and turn the heat to high. When it smokes quite a lot, turn the heat off. Quickly remove lid and put in the bowl of yoghurt. Replace the lid and leave the yoghurt there for 5 minutes or more to infuse with smoke. Stir through a pinch of salt. That’s it!

To serve

For each person, crack an egg onto a serving bowl or plate. Spoon in some yoghurt. Scatter over some crumble. Arrange the chicken skin. Pour over burnt butter sauce generously at the table.