My thanks to Rosemary Ali who gave me a possible sausage identification of the Turkish hairy variety I sampled as a mezze dish while on holiday in northern Cyprus.
“The sausage,” she writes, “was probably basterma which is made from dried meat, hence the stringy/hairy texture.”
Having obtained dubious results when I searched for “Turkish hairy sausage” on the internet, I tried “basterma” and found a number of recipes for this delicacy, one of which says you can use a number of good cuts of beef, even “fillet minion”.
The meat is salted and left in a bowl for a few days or maybe longer. Then you wash it thoroughly and then “hang in a cool, dry, preferably windy place for eight days and possibly longer.” An alternative recipe suggests 14 to 15 days of hanging in “some place windy, maybe balcony”.
I won’t be making any.
Thank you, too, to Derek Cook, of Gorleston, who often writes about my picture, as drawn by That Monday Feeling’s artist. The truth is that when I’m out shopping a number of people have come up to me and asked: “Are you Lynne Mortimer,” and when I admit I am, they add: “I thought so, I recognise you from your cartoon.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here