How could I resist purchasing and carting home oodles and oodles of dried fruits and nuts from the Turkish markets? They looked so scrumptious, fresh, and were 1/4th the price of less appealing cousins available in Manila. We came home with several kilos of vacuum packed nuts such as walnuts, pistachios, almonds, etc. and the most incredible looking dried figs, apricots and dates… Tagged as “Turkish Viagra” at some shops in Turkey, I suspect the traditional links between nuts (high in Vitamin E) and libido are the source of the claim. It also helps that the lore of centuries past include all kinds of aphrodisiac associations with certain fruits and nuts…
Back home, I sought to replicate some of the stunning fruit and nut combinations we saw at buffets in several restaurants in Turkey. These were incredibly easy to assemble, and the key was to have wonderfully fresh and high quality basic ingredients. We did figs with walnuts, apricots with cashews, and dates with walnuts. Laid out on the coffee table for guests to munch on, this plate was wiped out in a flash…
These would also be wonderful served together with a cheese and fruit platter after a light meal. So simple and so incredibly good. Can’t eat too much of this while on a diet, but having one dried fig with some walnuts is far healthier than a lot of other things I could eat when nursing a sugar low mid-afternoon! :)
28 Responses
wow dried figs… i just had this once and i loved it…
you know pigs, figs… no but really, i love the crunch and texture of the little seeds and all.
we have a fig tree and enjoy the abundant fruits. the birds loved them, too! i like the dried ones better than the fresh ones. fig jam is delicious, too…
My mom took home dates with almonds from a business trip in Saudi Arabia. They were so good compared to the ones bought here in Manila
I got some stuffed fruits from Vic Market a couple of weeks ago, from one of the Greek stalls. One was dates stuffed with (creamed?) pistachio and the other one was figs stuffed with mascarpone. The beauty of it was it wasn’t saccharine sweet; great for “pang-alis umay” (how does one translate this???). The downside? All 6 pieces (about the size of a golf ball) cost about AUD16 (total). So I really, really savored the pieces, quartered, and just had a piece or two after a meal…
We had a fig tree in our garden. Figs are great. Once had a very good fig and cheese platter on a Finn Air flight…A friend brought us a box of nuts from Iran. I have to say, rthey were the best I’ve ever had.
The combination looks really good. I love nuts and dried fruit, especially apricots. Can’t have too many though due to the sugar content. Never had dried figs before so i guess fig newtons will have to do for the meantime.
MM. you said you are trying to loose some weight before the lechonan at Cebu eb. Just want to share this site. It says Apple Cider Vinegar can do miracles. I’ve tried it just last Tuesday night I’ve added just a teaspoon of ACV, a teaspoon of honey on a cup of warm water. The site suggest 1 tablespoon or 2 but I thought that’s too acidic for me.. but lo and behold! the whole day yesterday i’ve got detoxified, had frequent toilet visits the whole day! now I’m feeling normal after taking it again last night before bed time and just this morning before breakfast. Though some suggest it’s best before meals 3x a day. It can affect your teeth though it says, to consider vinegar = acid, they suggest to drink it using straw then gurgle lots of water after drinking the solution. Browse on this site to read more of ACV’s wonders, it says it’s good for someone who has hypertension too.
https://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/weight_gain.html#ACV
MM try drinking Aple Cider Vinegar to loose weight. I took just a teaspoon of ACV, a teaspoon of honey on a warm cup of water just this tuesday. It has plenty positive benefits as the site says like lowering your cholesterol body count, etc.. It will detoxify your body on your first take. And I mean detoxify like frequent toilet visits. I have to take gatorade and loperamide after some spells yesterday but I took it last night before bed time and just this morning before breakfast and now I’m all well. https://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/weight_gain.html#ACV
hmmm… nuts for the nuts. It makes sense :)
Are dried fruits healthy?
We once had a regional food festival at my former dorm, and there was a significant number of Filipino students from the Middle East. They brought dried figs and dates, and some were stuffed with a cream cheese and almond filling! Y-U-M! They were so delicious and I kept coming back to their stall..
it’s probably just me…the fruit/nut combination are quite cheeky…it’s just me…
This is what i send in boxes to manila. Im drooling. Dates and figs forever. Life is just no the same without. x
Yummy! I often drool over your posts but this one has really knocked me over. Dates are also great energy food, this is what Muslims traditionally eat to break their fast during Ramadan.
Confusing p and f seems to be hardwired in my lips (v and b, I gave up on a long time ago and simply conflate now just like the Spaniards do) and don’t even bring up gender of English personal pronouns but native speakers of English here in Canada and I am sure, in the US and England too where, in casual and unedited talk, make the same mistakes that a lot of Filipinos I know so self-consciously avoid but there is this really cultivated host for a program in the national radio here who so nonchalantly says fig newton instead of pigment (of imagination).
Where do you get the pretty dried fig and apricots here in Manila? I never saw anything looking this great here.
liz, these were purchased in Istanbul and brought back in luggage. I haven’t found a good supplier of fresh dried fruit here in Manila…
I’m just curious about the title “Dried Fruits and Nuts (Turkish Viagra?!)” Is it or could it really work as a viagra? Just a curious thought.:D
http://www.foodista.com
Yummy post!
Mrs. Sound, the logic is this, nuts are rich in particular minerals and thus are believed to help one’s whatever out… but frankly, I don’t think anyone has conclusively proven the connection… :)
where do u buy turkish food????
lots of recipes were created in turkey, much before viagra
;-) I think they work… btw I m turkish…
Merhaba
I’ve been craving for Turkish chai, sucuk and kemal pasha!! Please email me if you know a Turkish supermarket here!!
Tessekurler.
christine, hello, so far, I couldn’t find any turkish products. sucuk and kemal pasha is almost impossible to find here ;-(((( how do u know about them???
btw I have a little piece of sucuk, I can chare it with you ;-))) if you are so desperate ;-))))
Anybody here knows where I can buy lots of wallnuts here in Metro Manila?
Alfredo, try the baking supply shops in mandaluyong, Swet Heaven on Boni Avenue, and others…
If you are on a diet and you really want a good candy or pastry fix, have an almond sandwiched between two dried apricots. I swear this tastes almost like a macaroon.
Can I have a list of Dates suppliers in Manila? Pricelist also. Thanks