🥩 Pastırma (Basturma)
Pastırma is air-dried cured beef coated in a thick, brick-red paste called çemen, made from ground fenugreek, garlic and paprika. Sliced paper-thin, it is dense, chewy and intensely savoury, with a pungent aroma from the fenugreek. It is eaten cold as part of a breakfast or meze spread, or warmed briefly with vegetables.
Diets
Allergens
None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 200 g pastırma, thinly sliced
- 2 tomatoes, sliced
- 1 cucumber, sliced
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- Handful of parsley
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Method
- Pastırma is cured over several weeks, so buy it ready-made and slice it as thinly as possible.
- Arrange the slices on a platter at room temperature.
- Toss tomato, cucumber, onion and parsley with olive oil and lemon juice.
- Serve the salad alongside the pastırma as part of a breakfast or meze table.
How to make it lighter
- A 30–40 g portion is enough: the flavour is strong and the meat is protein-dense.
- Pair it with plenty of fresh vegetables to round out the plate.
- Pastırma is salty, so balance the meal with water-rich sides such as cucumber and tomato.
History
Cured, pressed beef has a long history in Anatolia, and Kayseri in central Turkey is the city most associated with pastırma today. Under the name basturma it is also widely eaten in Armenia, Lebanon, Egypt and across the Balkans.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →