Pide is a traditional Turkish dish made of dough shaped like a boat and filled with various mixtures of meat, cheese, or vegetables. At first glance, it catches the eye with its specific shape with folded, golden-baked edges that hold the filling safely inside.
While tourists often simplistically call it “Turkish pizza”, pide has its own identity, texture, and method of consumption, which differs significantly from its Italian counterpart.
The roots of this dish reach deep into the history of Ottoman cuisine, and the word itself is etymologically related to the Greek “pita”, which simply refers to flatbread. However, pide is not just about satisfying hunger but also fulfilled the function of a social meal in regions where ovens were the center of the community. In Turkey, there are specialized establishments called “pideci”, where only this type of pastry is baked and nothing else. Different regions have adapted the recipe according to the availability of ingredients – by the Black Sea, butter and cheese dominate, and an egg is often added (Trabzon pidesi), while in the interior, a version with minced meat and vegetables is more common (e.g., Mevlana pidesi).
Preparation begins with rolling out an oval flatbread, onto which the raw filling is evenly spread. The magic lies in shaping the edges – the baker skillfully folds them over and presses them together at the ends, thereby creating that characteristic boat. Baking ideally takes place in a wood-fired stone oven at a very high temperature.
Pide is served hot, sliced crosswise into strips, which facilitates sharing and eating with hands. An almost “mandatory” accompaniment is chilled ayran, a salty yogurt drink.
In the world, we can find several related dishes that work with the concept of bread dough and filling. The most famous is, of course, Italian pizza, but it has a different shape and a thinner center. A much closer relative is Georgian khachapuri, specifically the version from Adjara, which also has the shape of a boat.
The best place to taste pide is in specialized restaurants. One such place is the small establishment Pak Pide Pizza Salonu (see Where to Eat in Istanbul) a few hundred meters from Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. The place where you can eat your pide at a table is right next to the large oven and the simple kitchen where the specialty is prepared. The gentlemen who bake pide here are helpful and friendly. Pide here cost 32 TRY (1.80 EUR) and it was the best I have ever eaten. Absolutely fresh, prepared from quality ingredients, pulled from the oven right in front of you. A delicacy for which I keep returning to this establishment.
Bon appétit!
🇹🇷 Are you a fan of kebab or Turkish "pizza" pide? Want to discover more Turkish foods? Subscribe to my newsletter and I will send you for free everything you need to know about Turkish food and drinks.
