Katmerci Zekeriya Usta

Katmer is a pastry dish made with very thin large circular leaves of dough that are folded over into a square. It can have a savory filling or a sweet filling. In Gaziantep, when someone says they ate katmer, they are referring to the latter … filled with clotted cream and pistachios, and garnished with a dusting of pistachios … often served with ice cold milk.

Since we had dinner plans for tonight, we decided to skip lunch and just have a snack at one of the best known katmer cafés … named for its chef, Zekeriya Usta. (The word usta translates as master of or expert.)

I had my first taste of the Gaziantep version of katmer in 2019. Frankly, I didn’t care for it much … too much clotted cream and over-the-top sweet. The version we had today was perfect for my palate … just enough filling and not very sweet.Read more