This is a kind of answer to the question, ‘Do they cook with turkey in Turkey?’ The normal answer is ‘not often’, and then only on New Year’s Eve in westernised families. There is, however, a traditional Ottoman desert called tavuk göğsü, apparently with ancient Roman origins, that uses shredded chicken breast. I decided to see if turkey breast would work as well.

But first let’s talk about the bird. It originated in South America, and the first Europeans who saw it