Greek Artichokes Braised in Olive Oil

Suddenly April comes to its end, and we are racing with time here in Alaçatı. As if someone in the weather department banged the table with their fist and barked, “Enough rain and chill!” Summer arrived the very next day with a sly smile knowing better than anybody that it has been late this year. That’s right: from winter we have moved right into the summer. Last week we shared breakfast with our friends Figen and Oğulcan, owners of Kesre Hotel, in their lovely garden. T-shirts and all, after breakfast we had to move away from the generous sun under the shade to continue drinking tea and chatting about the final preparations for the season.

The days pass to the sound of hammers and drills from all over the village. Any construction and major repairs will be banned starting from May not to disrupt the peaceful mood of the early holiday makers. While waiting for the wooden slabs to be polished in the local wood warehouse we shared a tea with the owner, a local tycoon of sorts who built his wealth serving the never ending needs of the hotels, restaurants and summer houses in Alaçatı. So the man complained how he could not get a builder he knows very well to come and fix the roof of his villa because the builders are few and on the highest demand this time of the year.

Luckily we had completed all the major upgrades at Babushka before the new year and now working on the details of our garden that doubles as the restaurant floor. Part of the garden looks like a flower lab: some of my flowers are newly seedling, some are already transplanted in the garden and some (what a wonder!) revealed their first blossoms. Özgür is on a major DIY spree: after completing the bar and setting up the canvas root for the garden, he has built a new table for my cooking classes and now is making plans to roof the garden by day and fold the roof by night as we want our guests to dine under the stars.

On the weekends anticipating the potential guests I am speed-cooking. This Saturday at 10.50 am when I was inspecting about a hundred of fish lots on the marble table in the auction hall and working out my bidding strategy, my husband called to tell we would be having breakfast guests in 20 minutes. The auction started at 11 am sharp, and I had to let go my initial ambitions, snatch two of the first lots and run back to Babushka to prepare breakfast. At 11.30 I started cooking dinner and by 17.30 I was ready to serve seven starters, four mains and dessert.

I cook with what I fetch from the local farmer’s market meaning my prep table is covered with piles of green and tender cream colored produce. Green almonds and wild asparagus, green onions and fresh green garlic, broad beans and peas, fennel and artichokes.. Most of the spring produce calls for a substantial prep effort unlike the vegetables coming later in summer. Fetch a beautiful tomato, slice, add a sprinkle of sea salt and a splash of good olive oil - boom, here is your feast! Now think about shelling fava beans or peeling an artichoke, not a small feat to only extract the deliciousness than needs to be further cooked. The prep of spring produce helps practice gratitude and not take the post-winter abundance for granted. Yes, we do have more to cook with, but need to devote some time to get those beans, cores and tops express their best flavor and texture.

Here at the Alaçatı markets you can get peeled, trimmed and shelled produce saving you some trouble and time, but this might mean a wait. I don’t have an extra minute to spend at a market on Saturday, so I do the prep myself. Me and the spring vegetables, we are having long long conversations at the kitchen these days.

My favorites are artichokes, and I love cooking them simply by braising in olive oil along with the onions, garlic, carrot, potato and a few fronds of dill. Almost Greek style I would say, while Greeks call it City style, and everyone understands that when you talk about City you mean Istanbul. The dish has become a favorite at my spring cooking classes as I enthusiastically introduce people to the joys of extracting the tender delicious core of the artichoke hiding beneath the numerous leaves and thick fuzz. You can consult my a step-by-step how-to on peeling artichokes with photos, and below is the recipe I have cooked dozens of times this spring and plan to keep making as long as the supply of the local artichokes lasts.

Babushka Menu
April, 20-26 2015

Meze (served as a set)

1. Broad bean dip / Fava
2. Greek-style artichokes / Yunan usulü zeytinyağlı enginar
3. Roasted pumpkin and onions with cinnamon tahini sauce / Tykva
4. Green almonds braised in olive oil with green onions, fresh green garlic and apple / Zeytinyağlı çağla badem
5. Yogurt and samphire dip / Deniz börülceli katı cacık
6. Fresh fava beans braised in olive oil / Zeytinyağlı taze bakla
7. Carrot dip / Havyo

Mains

1. My mother-in-law’s zucchini fritters / Yeşil Tarator Soslu Zeliş’in Mücveri
2. Phyllo dough triangles with olives, sun-dried tomatoes and cheese / Fırında Muska Böreği
3. Ping pong meatballs served on the bed of sauteed greens / Ot Yatağında Pinpon Köfte
4. Ottoman lamb stew with dried fruits atop the charred eggplant / Osmanlı Süt Kuzu Yahnisi

Desserts

1. Semolina cake drenched in lemon syrup with ice-cream and lemon curd/ Dondurmalı ve Limon Kremalı Revani
2. Toasted cake with Seville orange jam and frangipane/ Bademli, Turunçlu Pare