Turkey Blogger Ban Getting Really Annoying

I was in London this weekend and when I got back late last night, I was really hoping that things might have resolved themselves.

But I was wrong.

 I tried to put up a post today and this time the photos won't download properly and since in a cooking blog, photos are of the essence, I deleted it. But it is all so dismaying. Last week the photos were fine, I just couldn't preview my own blog and  I couldn't comment. Well, I still can't comment on either my own blog or anybody else's.

The only thing I seem able to do at this moment is read other people's blogs through anonymouse.org and even then I can't comment. But if you are outside Turkey, everything is as normal so if you comment, I CAN read it and it's great!

I will try again later and see if the situation has changed.

Otherwise it's back to my sister - yes, Ali??

Oven-baked Sea Bass

Here in Istanbul we are surrounded by water: the Sea of Marmara, the beautiful Bosphorus and Golden Horn, and then the Black Sea. You would think that fish would be cheap - but it isn't, and dinner in one of the many fish restaurants especially by the sea can be surprisingly pricey.

a wet day  for the fishermen in Karaköy

 All fish meals always start with any number of meze followed by the fish traditionally grilled, baked or fried and served with a salad. For me the meze are almost enough in themselves but I am always persuaded to have a fish afterwards. The most popular drink with fish especially in summer is rakı but a bottle of nice dry white wine is equally acceptable.

I love the traditional fish places like Karaköy and Kadıköy for their displays and atmosphere but in my experience the fish counters in the supermarkets do a better job of cleaning the fish especially if you want fillets.

We were having friends round so I thought I would get some fillets of sea bass/deniz levreği, generally considered to be the queen of the fish, so I headed for my local Migros which has a great fish counter. I bought 3 beauties which were meticulously prepared and sliced into 6 fillets. This recipe adapted from Alev Kaman's Modern Türk Mutfağı calls for a delicious sauce which I thought would make a change!

Ingredients for Oven-baked Sea Bass  

Serves 6

6 sea bass fillets

20 mushrooms

3 green peppers/sivribiber (the long thin green ones, not the stuffing variety)

2 tomatoes

3 spring onions

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup cream

1tbsp flour

1 cup water

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 180C/360F.
• Wash and slice the mushrooms. Wash and de-seed the peppers, then slice. Trim the spring onions and slice thinly. Peel the tomatoes and chop. Wash and pat dry the fish fillets.

• Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the mushrooms and gently saute for 5-6 minutes. Add the peppers, spring onions, tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook for a further 5 minutes on a low heat.
• Put the flour in a mug and gradually add the cup of water, stirring all the time. Using a whisk, add the cream. Add this mixture to the vegetables in the pan stirring all the time, and bring to the boil. 
• Place the fillets on an oven tray or suitable ovenproof dish and pour the sauce over. Bake for 30 minutes.



the sauce is underway



ready to go in the oven

Some potatoes and a green salad are all you need to go with this delicious fish dish.

Afiyet olsun!



Turkish Çay demystified

I love tea and I especially love Turkish çay.

look at that!

It has its own special ritual something akin to fixing cocktails at 6pm with its own clink of glasses and the sound of filling the kettle and then the wait.  I think it all comes down to anticipation while getting those seductive little glasses out. By the way, did you know that they are affectionately known as Ajdas, after Ajda Pekkan, the iconic - and curvaceous - singer?

remember this, Mark? buying kilims and sofras at Hasan and Adnan's

Offering a glass of çay is part of the fabric of life here so you'll find yourself sipping it at the butcher's, in the bank, while debating the purchase of a carpet in the Grand Bazaar ...Turks use çay as a social lubricant, a sign of their great hospitality, the thinking being that any situation will be better if tea is served. And so it is.
But there is a huge difference between good tea and average tea, between brewed and stewed. Not everyone can make good tea, not even Turks as they readily admit. 8 times out of 10, my çay tastes very nice but the other 2 times, it can be downright horrible. The skill lies in knowing how many spoonfuls of tea to put in the pot.

these are market çaycıs: they offer tea to the stallholders

So what do you need to embark on making Turkish çay? First of all, get yourself a nice çaydanlık seti: this is a set of 2 kettles one on top of the other like a Russian samovar. The smaller one on top is called the demlik while the larger one on which it rests is the çaydanlık.  I am assuming that you have already succumbed and bought yourself a set of those enchanting tulip-shaped glasses with the little saucers.

The best çay comes from Black Sea areas like Rize and the supermarkets have shelves full of different varieties. We like Ahmad Çayı which is a nice strong tea. Turks are very fond of making their own blends eg by adding a hint of Earl Grey. Until very recently the best present you could bring a Turk was a packet of that oh so English of teas back from the UK. You will also see packets of demlik poşet which are special teabags made just for making tea in the Turkish way and are quite new on the scene. They are not instant like PG Tips.

If it is just my husband and me, I will put one very heaped teaspoon each plus one for the pot just like we do with English tea, in the smaller kettle.  The idea is that the leaves will warm while the water below is coming to the boil. When it does, you pour some on top of those leaves so it is quite liquid, and give it a good stir before turning the heat down and timing it 10 minutes. No more no less. I use a timer for this crucial part of the process! Too long and it will taste bitter. Never try to make English tea like this.

Pouring the tea depends on how your guests like it: it is a good idea to ask. I like it demli which means strong but many prefer it açık or weak. So adjust how much you put in the glasses- a finger is about right -, and then continue filling from the larger kettle. When you finish pouring, don't forget to top up both kettles. I use my electric kettle to boil more water speedily just for this. For large groups, many Turkish hostesses have 2 çaydanlıks on the go plus their electric kettle.

this is a good glass of çay: on the ferry to Karaköy

Colour is the thing: a good glass of çay should be tavşan kanı or the colour of rabbits blood! We aim for this but others might find it too strong.

One of the greatest sources of pleasure or keyif in Istanbul is drinking çay on a vapur or ferry as you cross the Bosphorus on a sunny day with the seagulls swooping overhead, that unforgettable skyline of the Old City ahead of you and a tost or one of those delicious toasted cheese sandwiches in your hand. Don't miss the opportunity!

çaydanlıks on the ferry

Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Loaf Cake

With the snow falling outside and temps down to 1C, what better  to warm the heart than a delicious teacake made from seasonal  ingredients such as apples and walnuts combined with natural yogurt? This is indeed the time of year in which to invite friends who live locally or those neighbours that you’ve been putting off as indeed I am guilty of not doing, to tea as all other activities especially in Istanbul when you have to trek to the other side (of the Bosphorus) either by car and risk massive traffic, or take a minimum of three modes of public transport, are out.  This latter is all very well but not when it is absolutely miserable out there.

This cake is the one I made when Son Cem was coming recently. It is a very moist cake thanks to the apple but what makes it is the delicious sweet topping made by drizzling toffee sauce mixed with a bit of cream over the finished loaf.  Every bit as good as it sounds, believe me! The recipe comes from BBC Good Food Magazine http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/  - such a great magazine and website.

Ingredients for Caramel Apple Loaf Cake

Cuts into 8-10 slices

175g/6oz soft butter, plus extra for greasing

175g/6oz golden caster sugar (in Turkey just use normal toz şeker)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

225g/8oz plain flour

½ tsp cinnamon

4 rounded tbsp plain yogurt

2 eating apples

50g/2oz walnuts, very roughly chopped, plus 1 tbsp extra, chopped

50g/2oz soft toffees/karamel

2 tbsp double cream (in Turkey use cream from those little packets eg Pınar or Tikveşli)

Method

· Pre-heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease a 2lb loaf tin and line the base and ends with a long strip of baking paper.

 

· Beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla until pale, then beat in the eggs, one by one. Tip in the flour, cinnamon and yogurt. Peel, core and chop apples into small chunks, then add to the bowl and mix everything together with a wooden spoon.

· Scrape into the tin, smooth the top and scatter the walnuts down the middle. Bake on a middle shelf for 1hr 20-30 mins until a skewer poked in comes out clean. Cool in the tin.

· To decorate, put the toffees in a small saucepan with the double cream. Gently heat, stirring until toffees have melted into a smooth caramel sauce. Cool for about 1 min while you gently turn out the cake. Slowly drizzle the toffee sauce over the top of the cake. Scatter immediately with the extra walnuts – they should stick where they hit the toffee. Leave for 10 mins before serving.

·  Best fresh but will keep in an airtight tin for 3 – 4 days. Also suitable for freezing before decorating.

Tips

1. This cake does take a long time to cook.  Make sure you test it before removing from oven. I gave mine two extra lots of 10 mins as it was still coming out too moist.

2. It may sound like a drag to have to line the tin but there is always a reason when a recipe states this. It means that any potential disaster like the cake sticking to the tin at the end will be avoided. So I always do it. I would hate my cake to collapse after all the effort of making it!

3. I used a caramel bar not toffees. This was actually fine: as it was a chocolate caramel bar it melted perfectly. But toffees are easily available here and really it would be better without the extra taste of chocolate. Yes , I mean it!

Afiyet Olsun!

A Mouth-watering Bulgur Pilaf from Refika

Son Cem (pron: Jem) flew in from London very recently for a lightning visit. We were all prepared for him to stay on the other side (of the Bosphorus) with Daughter No 1 who lives in trendy Cihangir but to our joy, the thought of the comforts of ‘home’ prevailed and home he came proving yet again,

East, west, home’s best!

Of course part of the attraction is finding good food in the fridge and on the table! I had made a cake in anticipation – more of that another time -  as I knew that we would certainly see him at some stage, but nothing much else. We ourselves don’t eat a lot of meat but Cem is a true Turk in this respect:  he loves it.  Call it intuition or something, very luckily I had  bought and frozen some bonfilet/fillet steak just the week before which was  quickly defrostable. (The butcher had described it as ‘lokum gibi’ – as tender as Turkish Delight!) But of course it needed something to go with it so I seized the opportunity of making this bulgur pilavı which I’d had up my sleeve for some time. You see, when it is just my husband and me, we try hard to eat healthily. Instead of potatoes or rice, we have a slice of brown bread, for example. But this turned out to be a  real treat for all of us as you will see!

I made this pilaf from Refika’s Cooking New Istanbul Style and it was so successful that we had three helpings each! Can you imagine! As usual, what her recipe lacks in detail, it more than makes up for in scrumptiousness.  Here is the recipe somewhat interpreted by me:

Ingredients for  Refika’s Bulgur Pilavı

Serves 6 – 8

2 cups bulgur (large grain)

2 medium onions, chopped

2 tbsp pepper paste

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tomatoes, grated

4 cloves garlic, each cut into 8 pieces

1 tin chickpeas (400g)

½  carrot, grated

hot water – about 4 cups*

1-2  tbsp olive oil

3 sprigs fresh thyme ( I used dried kekik)

Red flaked pepper/dried mint/ sumak/sumac/ salt and pepper to taste

Method

·         Gently saute the chopped onion in  the olive oil. Add the garlic. When the onion starts to soften, add the grated tomato. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then add both the pepper paste and the tomato paste.

·         Add the washed bulgur and stir. Add the grated carrot, chickpeas and spices. Pour in the hot water to a level of about 3 cm above the ingredients. (Check note below).

·         As Refika says, the mixture in the pot may look like a soup at first, but you will be surprised at how the bulgur will absorb the liquid.

·         Bring to the boil then lower the heat and  cover with the lid. Check every 10 mins or so. Resist the temptation to stir while it is cooking. You will know it’s done when little pits ‘like small craters’ emerge in the bulgur. Taste one grain just to make sure.

·         Turn off the heat and let it rest still with the lid on for 15 minutes.  Give it a good stir so that all the ingredients are evenly mixed together and serve!

Tips

1.       Refika is not specific about how much water to add and I know that if you are not used to cooking bulgur, you might agonize over the amount.  I have checked other recipes and see that for this quantity of bulgur, about 4 cups water is recommended. But I wouldn’t worry. Bulgur isn’t vulnerable like rice: the grains will not collapse or go soggy. And if more water is needed, just go ahead and add it but make sure it is hot.  Bulgur is a very accommodating grain. The resulting pilaf should be moist but not wet.

2.       A good tip at the end, when you have turned the heat off, is to place a clean dry teatowel over the pan and place the lid on top. Then it can rest and the excess moisture is absorbed into the teatowel.

3.       A word about grating tomatoes: this is a very Turkish thing to do and it works a treat, especially with those nice juicy Çanakkale summer tomatoes. This way you don’t need to open a tin!

I defy you not to like this! Go on, try it!

Afiyet olsun!

The First Artichokes of the Season

Monday = market day in Selami Çeşme!

So earlier this week despite a rather fearful sky, off I set. Would there be any signs of spring in terms of produce,  I wondered or was it still a bit early?

After all those carrots and potatoes, onions and leeks, it did the heart good to spy piles of  enginar or artichokes. These are a real treat here as the hearts, sold in plastic bags containing acidulated water to stop them discolouring, are beautifully cleaned and prepared on the spot ready for cooking.  They are graded and priced according to size.  The biggest and best today were 2.50 TL each: about £1 so not given away. Apparently these early ones are coming in from N. Cyprus ie where the climate is milder. Later the bayrampaşa ones will make an appearance and they are magnificent both in size and flavour. It is still very much early days.

anyone for artichokes?

Occasionally  I fly against tradition and buy the artichokes whole. Then I boil them and we eat them with a sharp vinaigrette of olive oil and lemon juice mixed with French mustard, sucking each leaf tip one by one, the heart the tantalizing jewel in the crown to be eaten with a knife and fork after pulling out the spiky choke.  It’s a bit of a process: this way is definitely not Turkish!

Turkish-style is zeytinyağlı or done in olive oil, filled with chopped potatoes, carrots, and peas. This is the mix you find everywhere and the veg is cubed. Or perhaps broad beans once they are in season which is any minute now.  I like this slightly different presentation that Alev Kaman describes in her book Modern Türk Mutfağı: instead of peas, there are little pearl onions, and  the potato is shaped into beautiful globes with the help of a melon scoop. A sprig of fresh dill sets the dish off perfectly and makes enginar an ideal starter. We find the taste just exquisite.

I also like the look of little hearts done in the same way when they are one of several meze. Big ones are better on their own. One of my friends rebelled against the traditional filling a couple of years ago and substituted shrimps instead! Which of course works very well but again, not Turkish.

Ingredients for Zeytinyağlı Enginar or Artichokes done in Olive Oil

Serves 8

8 artichoke hearts

2 carrots

2 potatoes

16 pearl onions

½  cup olive oil

2 tbsp flour

3 cups hot water

Juice of 1 lemon

4 sugar lumps

1 tsp salt

Sprigs of fresh dill to decorate

afiyet olsun!

Method

         
The artichoke hearts will discolour if left too long. Prepare the carrots: chop into small pieces and then using a melon scoop, scoop out balls of potato, trying to keep the rounded shape as well as possible. Peel  the onions and leave whole.

Pour the olive oil into the pan. Using a wooden spoon, add the flour and stir. Add the 3 cups hot water, salt, sugar, and lemon juice. When the liquid begins to boil, add the potatoes, carrot, onion and artichoke hearts. Cover the pan with lid. Cook for 30 mins on medium heat. Then lower heat and cook for a further 20 mins. Leave in the pan to cool.

To Serve: place the artichoke hearts on the serving dish and distribute the cooked vegetables in each.

Decorate with the sprigs of dill. Serve at room temperature.

Afiyet olsun!

Tips

I have seen nice little airtight bags of prepared rounds of  carrots, onions, and potatoes in the main supermarkets eg Carrefour, which would speed things up in the kitchen.

Blogspot Banned in Turkey!!

Dear faithful friends of my blog,

First of all, apologies for the lack of post yesterday, Tuesday, my usual day for posting.  Here in Turkey we are experiencing some unprecedented problems with Blogger : my blog and indeed all blogs which use this programme cannot be accessed within the country right now and nobody can post anything directly on their blog.

So we will try another way and hope that all will be well! Check my blog on Saturday as usual and inşallah you will see my next recipe! Those of you outside the country will have no difficulty in accessing it and for those here in Turkey, my daughter or sister will post it on Facebook as per usual. It should be possible.

Many many thanks for all your hundreds and hundreds of pageviews: it all means a lot to me and I certainly plan to continue despite the odds : )).

Nobody knows how long this ban will last.

So in the meantime, warmest wishes to you all,

Claudia