If you know nothing about how to find a worthwhile Istanbul fish restaurant a good rule of thumb is look for one by a fish market or big water. That way you can be sure their kitchen receives the freshest catch from a high-turnover fish mongers or directly from the fishing boats.
That is why I felt so suspicious when Özgür suggested Sita Balık, place near his old house when we were in the area. The area is Mecidiyeköy, a busy residential and commercial center 2 metro stops away from Taksim. No fish market or big water, understandably.
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Italy has been on top of my mind recently. I have finished reading Bill Buford’s “Heat” on his pursuit of real food at the Italian kitchens in NY and Italy. My sister has reported on her yet another trip to Italy and shared a plan to return this summer for more. Russian TV-chef celebrity Julia Vysotskaya has launched a new culinary show she films in Tuscany. Piled up these facts translated into an urge to get on a plane and savor Italy. Until it occurred to me that I live in Italy .. simply of another kind.
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I met Marina after a long while of no see. We have filled in each other on the happening of the past few months over a tall glass of lemonade at Fazıl Bey, a respectable coffee spot and simply a institution.
As we parted ways Marina, once local to the area but now a proud resident of Büğükada, the largest of the Princess Islands, asked me for a fresh idea, “Where can I grab something to eat? Not a big meal but rather little something?” I thought of all the usual suspects and could not come up with anything exciting for my low-card dieting friend. Until it occurred to me I have been ignoring the obvious, “Gözde! Why don’t you go to Gözde? They have great meze and a few tables outside!”
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Tomato paste, or domates salcası is probably the most fundamental Turkish cooking condiment. Closely followed by red bell pepper paste (biber salcası). Both thick deep-red pastes enclose the essence of summer and its flavors - that of tomato and red bell pepper. You would add both to possibly every third Turkish dish: aromatic red lentil soup and bulgur pilaf, Turkish take on tabbouleh (kısır) and nearly any Turkish stew you can think of.
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Living in two homes is something I have been doing for the past 5 years. I would find one place I am really happy at.. and then would almost immediately find the other. So I would be shuttling between the two.
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It is characteristic how we do not grasp certain things before experiencing them. And our intellectual capacity keeps quiet until our hands or hearts learns. I sort of knew that cooking for a crowd takes stamina and organization. But have not discovered it until anne got into the hospital and I stayed back at the kitchen of our farmhouse with 8 to feed. Every day.
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