It can be challenging to find authentic cultural cuisine at restaurants-especially when you are also trying to eat healthy.  Typically you just end up with some Americanized version of Mediterranean, Asian, Latin, etc.  We, however, enjoy trying new and authentic dishes not normally found on restaurant menus, but it can be challenging to find restaurants that hail true to their cuisine’s cultural roots.  Enter Café Istanbul.  A little gem of a Turkish restaurant we stumbled across on Valentines day, offering traditional dishes found in Turkey (at least they seemed authentic to us!).
 

I ordered lamb and beef stuffed-cabbage rolls.  The rolls were served with a traditional tomato sauce and homemade plain yogurt…they were so simple, yet to die for.  The most fun was coming home and trying to re-create the dish in my own kitchen.  I still like making it myself over eating out because I know exactly what’s in it, the quality, and I can control for things like sodium. 

So here is my version.  I was pleasantly surprised by how well it turned out and I cannot wait to make them again! I think I actually liked mine better due to all the fresh flavors!
 
Here’s a link to my tomato basil marinara recipe that pairs perfectly with these little beauties 🙂