When we traveled along the Aegean last September I could not get enough of samphire (deniz börülcesi) while my Russian mom insisted on potatoes in every meal we cooked. She parboiled them first and then pan-fried in olive oil to create a cozy crust. A few meze (with the compulsory samphire), grilled wild sea bass and the mom’s potatoes have become the dinner we cooked many times on that trip.
I don’t know why the idea of getting samphire and new potatoes to meet in a single dish did not occur to me back then. Some things take time to distill. And now I think of samphire and new potato salad as the best summer meal ever.
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For two breakfasts I have been serving this chickpea bread to my guests. For those interested, it’s grain-free. For everybody else, it is a rather amazing creation. I have not seen anything quite like that around.
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Artichokes start flooding Istanbul food markets in March, and the peeled, ready-to-go-in-your-pot artichokes hearts are hard to ignore. However, my first spring in Istanbul I was watching artichokes from a respectful distance.
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Exuberant Indian thali almost beats generous Turkish breakfast. Yes, you heard a Turkish breakfast fanatic saying that. Thali is a meal that includes variety of dishes served in small tins on a large tray and often (oh, danger!) refilled until you stop (or drop, whichever happens first) if you are eating out. When I lived in India, I was enamored with the thalis from Mumbai, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. Despite the regional differences each thali includes a curry or two, a dish of fried vegetables, a pickle, a curd and a carbohydrate binding it all together - think a pile of rice, a stack of warm roti (Indian flat bread) or delicious dosa (a South Indian thin pancake made of fermented rice flour).
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Last Sunday I attended the biggest and the most lavish buffet of the town: piles of fresh oysters accompanied by sparking wine, chocolate fountains and Turkish delight mountains, trays of exquisite small bites aka meze, boxes of Asian fixes, slices of freshly baked pizza, artisanal and not so artisanal coffee, ice-cream of every imaginable flavor, assorted grilled meats and rivers of booze. Pair this menu with a Bosphorus view, top notch location by the water and good weather, and here is your recipe for a successful Istanbul party. And the Timeout folks know how to throw one: that’s why they have chosen this setup for their food festival 101 Istanbul Lezzeti / 101 Flavors of Istanbul.
After rubbing my back with other eaters the whole Sunday I thought it would be fair to say that the food establishments that participated in the event and the offering they created for the day is a good indication of what Istanbul eats. “Parayı veren düdüğü çalar / He who pays the piper calls the tune,” as a Turkish saying goes meaning that the young and solvent folks such as those who joined the party create demand and ultimately shape the current offering of the Istanbul restaurants. And if so, here is a snapshot of what Istanbul eats.
Note: If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you know that I have mentioned many worthwhile eateries that participated in the festival. No name dropping here.
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