The Turkish Cuisine Workshop held at the Yunus Emre Institute (YEE) in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires taught many Argentines how to make the traditional Turkish dish "yaprak sarması," otherwise known as stuffed vine leaves.
The workshop on the classic olive oil-based dish concluded a series of gastronomy activities that started with celebrations of "Turkish Coffee Day" in Buenos Aires.
Turkish culture enthusiasts showed great interest in the event that taught the fundamentals of wrapping the perfect roll.
Highlighting that there is a great interest in Turkish cuisine in Argentina, YEE Buenos Aires Coordinator Aydın Bayat said: "There has been a great demand for Turkish cuisine for a long time. For this reason, we held our Turkish cuisine workshop in December, and we offered Argentines the opportunity to get to know Turkish cuisine better."
He also noted that the Argentine people showed far more interest in Turkish cuisine than expected. "Thanks to these workshops, we had the opportunity to observe the interest of the Argentine people in Turkish cuisine. For example, there is also immense interest in other traditional Turkish dishes such as baklava, mantı, döner and pide. We will continue introducing such cuisines to our people."
Belen, a local who attended the workshop, expressed her satisfaction after tasting the food. "I have never done it this way before. In Tucuman and Santiago del Estero in the north of Argentina, my family makes it with chard leaves."
Software developer Franco said it was the first time he prepared stuffed vine leaves and that he has never encountered anything similar in Argentine cuisine, adding, however, that his Italian grandmother made similar dishes.
Another participant, Candela, said it was fun making the dish, adding: "It looks strange right now, but I hope to make it better with practice. I loved Turkish food when I tasted it. I always wanted to do it, so it was a good experience."
After preparing the stuffed vine leaves with great care, the Argentines enjoyed devouring them accompanied by Turkish tea.
