Midye Dolma

Midye dolma is mussels stuffed with spiced rice, closed back around it and steamed in their own shells. It's Istanbul's street food, sold from carts and trays along the ferry docks, eaten standing up straight from the shell with nothing but a squeeze of lemon.

What it actually is

Mussels are opened just enough to stuff without fully separating the shells, and a mix of rice, softened onion, allspice, black pepper and a little tomato is packed inside before the shell is closed back around it. The stuffed mussels are stacked tightly in a pot, weighted down, and steamed with a little water until the rice inside is fully cooked and the mussel itself has firmed up.

They're sold cold or at room temperature rather than hot, stacked in trays, and eaten directly from the shell using the shell itself as the only utensil — the empty half becomes a small scoop.

How it's served

• Cold or at room temperature, stacked in a tray or paper cone.
• With a squeeze of lemon at the moment of eating, added by the customer, not the vendor.
• One at a time, by hand, the shell itself doing the job of a fork.

Writing it on a menu

• Flag molluscs clearly; it's the entire dish, not a garnish.
• Say how many pieces make up a portion, since it's traditionally sold and priced by the piece rather than by the plate.
• Note that it's served cold, not hot; a guest expecting a steaming shellfish dish should know this one is deliberately cooled.
• Mention if you make them fresh in-house or buy them prepared, since the labour of stuffing each shell by hand is a real point of craft worth naming.