Istanbul Bonito Fever and 5 Tips For Perfect Roasted Fish

This fall in Istanbul we are crazy about bonito (palamut). As other migratory fish (moving from colder Black Sea to the warmer Sea of Marmara- inevitably through the Bosphorus) is has always been one the most favorite fishes eaten in Istanbul. In fact so favorite and so important that bonito was depicted on some Byzantine coins. And this year sounds very much like those prehistoric times when abundant fish in Istanbul could be caught by hands or baskets.

Fishmongers’ stalls turned glittering gray dotted with the deep red gills as if exotic flowers thrown on for decoration. After the summer’s fishing ban when mostly farmed fish could be traded fish mongers are cheerfully turning big volumes. At my fish monger there is a dedicated guy who spends the day opening up the deep-red gills of the bonito indicating extreme freshness and then sorting the fishes by size. Attracted by the fishmongers’ creams “Three pieces for 10 TL!” the Istanbul shoppers went completely insane: the rock bottom prices easily make bonito the cheapest protein this season. Small bonito goes at 3 TL (US$1.7) and the largest - good enough to feed 2 serious eaters - costs 8 TL (US$4.5). Dinner for two under 5 bucks? Is that not a deal of the year?

No wonder this fall I have eaten and cooked more bonito than I care to remember. Atlantic bonito is a fish with firm dense flash kind of like tuna or mackerel - only oilier. Because of that dense flash I find that it is so easy to go mediocre with cooking bonito. In fact I used to dislike the fish since in most of the preparations it turned too dry and too heavy. Until I tried it at my favorite Balıkçı Lokantası that grills bonito steaks on the charcoal: it tastes as wonderful as it sounds - flavorful and juicy beyond imagination.

I also fried numerous pans of bonito at our own restaurant in Sapanca: we toss the steaks with lemon juice and a bit of salt and these two humble cooking condiments are just enough not to overpower fish but accentuate its flavor. Known for being bored with cooking the same thing over and over again (how can I work at a restaurant then?) after the 20th pan I got wondering about alternative preparations suitable of bonito for a home cook. Like if we rule out the possibility of using a charcoal grill and get beyond frying or baking fish where does it take us?

To roasting! On a rare free morning in Istanbul inspired by even more rare and wonderful occasion of my husband coming to the city I headed out to my fishmonger and ordered the largest bonito to be filleted with the skin kept intact. Few minutes later I was handed a bag two perfect fillets - smooth as your skin after the Turkish bath (besides fresh fish this is why I ADORE my fishmonger - they are meticulous at cleaning fish too). So I went home to roast them. And here a five tips on how you can too roast fish that is in season where you live.

1. Choose and prepare your fish right: Everyone knows that it is best to cook the fish whole - with bones and skin and head and tail on since this is how most of the juices are kept in and your cooking results in a more succulent fish. Especially right for roasting: if you could put your hands on a portion-size fish and you need only to clean it and take out the intestines that is like hitting a jackpot. Bonito we have here - even the smallest once - are rather thick fishes. I guess you can do them whole salt-incrusted otherwise it is hard to evenly cook them so I used the fillets, still rather thick. I have opted to keep the skin on so that the flavors will be “sealed” at least on one side of the fish.

2. Go light with marinade: Unlike many takes on baked fish when you season it with moisture-rich vegetables such as tomatoes or when you cover fish with a sauce of some sort roasting assumes a different approach. Instead of boosting fish flavor in a big way you are rather accentuating it with small quantities of additional ingredients playing strictly supporting roles. Besides that you don’t want your fish to be moistened by the marinade too much since roasting means cooking by dry heat: all the moisture stays inside your fish while its exterior dries up. In my case I went ahead with what I had handy and created a Turkish take on pesto - dill instead of basil, walnuts instead of pinenuts, some olive oil. In my mortar and pestle I ground black pepper and allspice. And when I tasted the marinate it heard it asking for a sweet note. So one large sun-dried apricot finely chopped did the job.

3. Do not crowd your baking tray: You need to give some space to that dry air that is going to circulate and roast your fish so do not overcrowd your baking tray. Put those two - four fishes and consider using one more tray if needed. I decided to roast some soft vegetables - zucchini and eggplant - since their cooking time matches that of the fish and I would not need to track time so midway I would pop in one more tray. Instead I have chosen to enjoy a chat with my husband uninterrupted for those 20-25 minutes (life, you’ve been so kind to me!). So those vegetables went on the second tray and again I allowed enough space in between the pieces.

4. Cook in a very hot oven: Dry air I have mentioned before has to come from somewhere. Pre-heating your oven to 220-230C (430-445F) gives you that. Slow roasting often applied for chicken will not do for fish which has a way more tender flash (even if that fish is the bonito in question). You would need to give your fish 20-25 minutes depending on the thickness: the best way is to pick into the middle of the thickest part to see if it flakes. When it does your perfectly roasted fish is ready!

5. Go for roasting when short on time but ambitious about the outcome: My bonito fillets came out perfectly roasted on the outside and soft and tender inside. Garnished with the roasted zucchini and eggplant and a simple salad of green lettuce mixed with thinly sliced onion, touch of olive oil and red pepper flakes. I served it with Turkish white of two rather splendid grapes - Sultania and Emir. Such an effortless treat I craved to create for a long while. I loved this roasting fish exercise because - like with any roast - it is such an simple way to create a very special meal. My husband used to grilled, fried or poached fish - pretty much like any fish-eating Turk - was surprised about the preparation but enjoyed it to the last bit. “It is kind of like chicken”, - he concluded. “Yes, kind of roasted chicken. A warm and festive family meal” - I thought.