A hearty Turkish baked vegetable medley of eggplant, zucchini, potato, and peppers, simmered in a light tomato sauce until tender.
Turlu is Turkey's version of a mixed vegetable stew or bake, a summer-heavy dish that layers eggplant, zucchini, potato, green beans, and peppers with a light tomato sauce and bakes or simmers everything together until each vegetable is fully tender and has absorbed the sauce's flavor. It's a dish built for using up a full basket of seasonal vegetables at once, deeply tied to Turkish and broader Ottoman-influenced vegetable cookery. The technique that separates a well-made turlu from a mushy vegetable soup is frying or sauteing some of the sturdier vegetables -- eggplant and potato especially -- briefly before combining everything in the tomato sauce, which develops flavor and prevents them from turning waterlogged during the bake. Layering vegetables by cooking time, with faster-cooking ones like zucchini added later, keeps the final dish textured rather than uniformly soft. Served warm or at room temperature, often with a side of rice or crusty bread, turlu is vegetarian by nature (though some versions include cubed lamb) and is a summer staple across Turkish households when eggplant, zucchini, and peppers are at their peak.
Serves 5
Toss cubed eggplant with a pinch of salt and let sit 15 minutes, then pat dry.
Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic 4-5 minutes until softened.
Add eggplant and potato, cooking 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned on the edges.
Stir in green beans, green pepper, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Cook 3 minutes.
Add water or stock, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook 25-30 minutes until all vegetables are tender.
Add zucchini in the last 10 minutes of cooking so it doesn't turn mushy. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and garnish with parsley before serving.
Salt and dry the eggplant before cooking -- this reduces bitterness and prevents it from soaking up too much oil.
Add zucchini later than the other vegetables; it cooks much faster and turns mushy if simmered the full time.
A generous final drizzle of good olive oil, added after cooking rather than during, brightens the whole dish -- a common Turkish finishing technique called 'zeytinyagi' style.
Kuzu turlu: add cubed lamb shoulder, browned first, for a heartier, meat-based version.
Bake in the oven at 190C/375F for the last 20 minutes instead of simmering on the stovetop, for a more concentrated flavor.
Add okra in season for extra texture, a common addition in southern Turkish versions.
Refrigerate up to 4 days in an airtight container; the flavor deepens as it sits. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave; it also tastes good served cold or at room temperature.
Turlu-style mixed vegetable dishes are common across the former Ottoman Empire, with regional variations found in Greek, Balkan, and Middle Eastern cuisines under different names, all sharing the technique of slow-cooking a variety of summer vegetables together in a light tomato sauce.
Yes -- simply increase the amount of zucchini and potato slightly to compensate, though eggplant's texture and flavor are fairly central to the traditional dish.
They were likely all added at the same time and simmered too long. Stagger the additions -- sturdier vegetables first, softer ones like zucchini added in the last 10 minutes.
It's naturally vegan as written, using vegetable stock and olive oil -- no adjustments needed.
Per serving (320g / 11.3 oz) · 5 servings total
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