DESTINATIONS TURKEY NATHAN FONG by PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHEL CHICOINE T48 TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL APRIL–JUNEurkish 2014 DESTINATIONS FACING PAGE Xxxxxx.THIS PAGE Xxxxxx TURKEY DelightAPRIL–JUNE 2014 TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL 49 DESTINATIONS TURKEY LYING OVER THE FORMER ancient metropolis of Constantinople, the once-glorious capital of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin and Ottoman Empires, I was overwhelmed by the sheer scope and size of ‘new’ Istanbul. This ancient city, which had been engrained in my memory since I was a child attending bible classes, has always been an area of intrigue, from its tumultuous beginnings under the Eastern FOrthodox Christians of the Byzantine Empire, to its capture by the Ottoman Empire, and final collapse in 1923 when the country was replaced by the new Republic of Turkey, named after its founder, Mustafa Atatürk. The capital was moved to Ankara, and the renamed Istanbul continued to thrive and grow as one of the most historically rich and diverse financial cities in the world. It is a city divided by polarizations, yet everything seems to work and blend harmoniously. Once the largest and wealthiest city in the Eastern Mediterranean, its fortune was due to its strategic position on the famed Silk Road trading route between the Aegean and Black Seas, at the meeting point between Western Europe and the glorious wealth and mystique of continental Asia… making it the only transcontinental city in the world! Driving through this traffic-crazed urban agglomeration of some 14 million, one forgets that the city was built along the steep shoreline of the swift- paced Bosphorus, the straight that forms the boundary between Europe and Asia, not to mention the soaring hills and narrow roadways that were originally built for horse and carriage. Istanbul’s lack of a decent rapid transit system and the challenges it offers the automobile are thought to be the main reasons Istanbul did not get the nod for the summer Olympics Turkey in 2020. Where on EARTH 50 TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL APRIL–JUNE 2014 DESTINATIONS Cook it TURKEY SERVES 6–8 Muhammara ROASTED RED PEPPERS ARE BLENDED with walnuts, olive oil and cumin to make a wonderful hot pepper dip. Originally made with the famed Aleppo peppers from Syria, this popular dip is found throughout the Middle East as well as Turkey. This recipe is from ‘In the Kitchen with Selin’ Turkish Flavours Cooking Class in Istanbul. Red Bell Peppers a paper bag and seal tightly, 3 large or place into a deep bowl Walnuts 1 3/4 cups and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let peppers sit until Tomato Paste 1 Tbs cool enough to handle, about Bread Crumbs 3/4 cup 15 minutes, then slip off the CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Xxxxxx Extra-Virgin Olive Oil charred skins and remove seeds 3/4 cup from the interior. Lemon Juice1 2 PLACE the walnuts in a food freshly squeezed, 1 Tbs processor and pulse several Hot Red Pepper times until they are coarsely coarsely ground, 1 tsp ground. Add the peppers and Cumin Seed 1 tsp pulse several times. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and and Salt Freshly add the remaining ingredients Ground Black Pepper and process into a coarse to taste paste, scraping down from time to time. Season with salt 1 ROAST the peppers over a gas flame and pepper, or with the other or under a broiler, ingredients until desired texture turning with and taste. Serve with warm pita tongs, until they or naan. are completely 3 MUHAmmARA can be kept in charred. Transfer an air-tight container for up to the peppers to a week. 1 Or pomegranate molasses. APRIL–JUNE 2014 TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL 51 DESTINATIONS … As our driver inches through the crowded streets, we are in awe of the countless palaces, imperial TURKEY Nothing is more mosques and minarets that line Istanbul’s hills, reminders of the city’s previous central role. We arrive Ottoman than aromatic at one of the city’s famous buildings, now the Ciragan … Palace Kempinski Istanbul hotel. Originally built as a private palace for the Ottoman Sultan Abdülâziz in kalbuni rice pilaf 1872, the ornate residence was destroyed by a spectacular fire in 1910 that left only the outer walls Cook P AUL AUL standing. The property stood in ruins for decades until K ELLER the hotel chain renovated it, bringing back its former it opulence, in one of the signature hotels in the city. Dining at the Tugra Restaurant (tugra means ‘Signature of the Sultan’) is the ultimate Ottoman dining experience. Set in the hotel’s historic palace wing with its ornate, vaulted marble ceilings, sumptuous crystal chandeliers and breathtaking views of the Bosphorus, it is certainly one of the most romantic dining venues I have ever seen. The style of cuisine, rich with ingredients from along the Silk Road, includes a cornucopia of hot and cold mezze starters, vegetable salads (not the leafy lettuce varieties we’re most familiar with) and ornately presented entrees of meats and wonderful seafood. SERVES 4 Menemen THIS POPULAR TURKISH DISH comprises of moist scrambled eggs gently mixed with onion, peppers, tomatoes, feta cheese and red pepper flakes is usually served with warm pita. Olive Oil 1 Tbs 1 HEAT the butter and olive oil Butter 1 Tbs in a medium sized frying pan over medium-low heat. Onion ½ small, finely chopped 2 STIR in the onion and bell pepper and sauté for a couple Green Pepper 1 small, of minutes or until soft. cored and seeded, finely diced 3 ADD the green onions, tomatoes and red pepper Green Onions flakes. Mix well. 2 finely sliced 4 BEAT the eggs into a bowl Tomatoes and add the feta cheese and 4, finely diced combine well. Red Pepper Flakes 2 tsp 5 STIR in the egg mixture to the Eggs 8 tomato mixture and stir well. Feta Cheese 6 SCRAmblE until the eggs 4 oz, crumbled are just set, retaining their Salt and Freshly Ground moisture. Season and serve Black Pepper to taste immediately. 52 TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL APRIL–JUNE 2014 DESTINATIONS Cook it TURKEY CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Xxxxxx SERVES 6 Cheese Borek TURKISH CUISINE IS KNOWN FOR its many varieties of layered pies and pastries called borek. This popular baked or fried pastry is made with yufka, which is slightly thicker than filo, Salads, a relatively new menu item in Turkey, began but is hard to find, so filo is a ready substitute. to appear towards the end of the Ottoman Empire, as Borek is made with cheese, spinach and herbs a seasonal meal during harvest. Salads are considered or aromatic minced meat infused with spices and can be made in a pan and portion cut, or as more than just a compliment to a meal and vary individual pastries. greatly, with combinations of cheeses, spices, dried fruits and fresh buffalo yogurt. At Tugra, we’re Feta Cheese 8 oz, with a piece of plastic wrap, introduced to a sublime mashed cucumber and crumbled then with a damp towel. Brush pistachio salad, richly interwoven with dense yogurt Ricotta Cheese ½ cup the bottom of a 9 x 13" baking infused with heady garlic, vivid green pistachios, and dish with butter, then lay down ruby pomegranate sauce. Eggs 2 large, lightly beaten and sheet of filo and brush it During the Ottoman Empire, people believed that with butter. Continue layering soups were an ideal and healthy meal that satisfied Italian Parsley and brushing with butter until chopped, 4 Tbs one’s hunger easily. Soups were therefore one of the you have used up about half most important dishes that young women of marrying Filo Dough 8 oz of the filo sheets (about 10) age cooked to prove their culinary talents, using Unsalted Butter 4 oz, then evenly spread the filling. recipes passed down through the generations. Many melted Repeat with layering and Ottoman meals started with a soup course. A buttering the remaining sheets traditional fihi ma fih soup, based on chicken stock 1 HEAT oven to 375°F. on top of the filling. with morsels of chicken and duck, is enhanced with 2 IN a large bowl WITH a sharp knife cut the borek rice, dried cherries, pomegranate, almonds and beans, 4 mix together feta, into squares, making sure to and finished with herbs and red pepper oil. ricotta, eggs and cut through all the layers. Place Külbasti is the method of quickly grilling thin parsley. Set aside. into the middle of the oven and cutlets, keeping the meat tender and moist. Flavourful bake until golden brown, about grill-marked lamb loins are served on smoky-rich 3 UNROll the dough 40–50 minutes. Serve warm or mashed eggplant with roasted tomatoes, onto a clean work at room temperature. pomegranate and red onion relish. And nothing is surface and cover more Ottoman than an aromatic kalbuni rice pilaf, APRIL–JUNE 2014 TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL 53 DESTINATIONS studded with chickpeas, almonds, and black before being converted into a mosque and now one of the city’s raisins, infused with cumin, mastic (the unique iconic museums. Diverse architectural styles are the hallmark of the TURKEY pine resin used in Turkish cuisine) and the Topkapi, the royal residence and palace of the Ottoman Sultans for intensity of their beloved saffron. some 400 years. The other renowned site is the immense, domed The Turkish enjoy their sweets and certainly Sultan Ahmed Mosque, popularly known as the Blue Mosque for the the most renowned is baklava. Although there is blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior, built in 1609. Four Seasons no well-documented history of this popular Hotels has two unique properties, one an intimate 65-room hotel layered-filo sweet, it became characteristic of the housed in a neoclassically designed prison (the one featured in Billy cuisine of the former Ottoman Empire.