Girit ezmesi
My favourite meyhane meze dish, of Cretan origin.
Without cheese, there’s no meyhane. Not only will you be offered a slice of beyaz peynir, the Turkish name for what you may know as feta cheese, as soon as you sit down. No doubt, someone in your company will request girit ezmesi, a Cretan cheese meze, too. If I’m at your table, I’ll definitely be that person.
Girit ezmesi is an Aegean meze that most likely hails from Crete. It’s name (literally “Cretan mash”) certainly suggests so. It’s a relatively simple variation of the slice of white cheese – but with more layers that make it extremely more-ish. And the perfect match for the toasted bread that is customary at meyhanes.