Hungry for Turkey

By Julia
Bozacaada, Turkey

Turkey and I are a great fit – we both revolve around food.   As someone who once associated childhood friends with what snacks were available at their respective houses (Jen=Nilla Wafers, Liz = Dunkaroos, Ally= Doritos), you might say I’m a little obsessive in my constant quest for delicious fare.   Luckily for me, there is no limit to the al fresco dining, mouth-watering produce and exciting ethnic cuisine on offer throughout Turkey.

  It’s fortunate we have access to such edible riches, because I have embarked on a second, more selfless mission.  Thanks to what I now call “The Gray Hamburger Incident”, Tom lost 21 pounds this summer in Central America.  This was confirmed by a weigh-in on my parents’ frighteningly accurate scale.  As any self-respecting woman with an ounce of Italian in her blood (and a fair amount of Jewish too), I’ve since made it my duty to fatten him back up.   I’ve caught myself spouting mild accusations, such as “You’re wasting away,” and “If a strong wind came, you’d go with it,” while trying to coax him into a second helping of gozelme.  Although mathematically I’m decades too young to be uttering such phrases, my womanly instinct has kicked in to ensure I return Tom to state in which he no longer looks like Gandhi towards the end of his hunger strike. 

  It seems each region in Turkey we’ve visited has its specialty.  In Goreme, we feasted on a delicious chicken and vegetable stew slow -cooked in an individual terra coda vessel.  The waiter ceremoniously cracked the pot and poured the contents over our plates, which were already laden with rice, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh bread. 

  In Ayvalik, scene of my long-fantasized about Car Dream, I was able to indulge in preparing my own feast. This coastal town is renown for selling the Aegean region’s excellent olive oil.  A homemade tomato sauce was in order I decided.  After spending the afternoon in the town’s weekly market, inspecting the flawless tomatoes, onions, figs, peaches and other seasonal fruit, I returned to various vendors to make my purchases.  I was surprised when, on several occasions, the farmers simply refused payment from me and insisted I accept their produce as a gift.  It did not go to waste, as the pasta turned out delicious. How could it not when made from fresh olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, onion and basil and pared with a fine Turkish Merlot?  This ensured Tom ate his fill without my usual pleas of encouragement. 

Cooking at our hostel

  Another aspect of Turkish dining culture of which I highly approve is the importance of tea.  Turkish tea and apple tea are ubiquitous elements of daily life and are central to social engagements of the young and old.  Tea houses abound and are populated with figures as varied as twenty-somethings smoking an apple-tabacco hooka  to groups of white-haired men besting each other in 1001, a board game similar to Scrabble.   I even discovered pop-up tea houses along the shoreline of the Bospherous in Istanbul – entrepreneurs that sell tea out of thermoses to people resting on the public benches.  Tea is drank at any time of day and offered to friends, family and even passer-bys as a gesture of hospitality. 

Tea time  Aren't the tea cups cute?

  Turkey is similar in its Mediterranean neighbors  in enjoying a very social dining culture that is not limited to tea.  While walking through a park in Istanbul at dusk, Tom and I witnessed dozens of groups of family and friends breaking Ramadan fast in the company of loved ones.  Al fresco dining in the form of outdoor cafes, picnics, or snacks in the park is extremely common, and even more so outside of Ramadan (which ended today).

  On Bozacaada, the wine-producing island Tom and I settled down in for the past few days, we met a few young Turks at a vineyard intent on showing us a good time.  “We have a bottle of wine and we need people to help us drink it!” a friendly voice called to us while we were inspecting the grape-crushing machine.  Emre and his three friends were students from Istanbul on holiday and had made a day trip to Bozacaada.  After finishing a nice Cabernet, they invited us on a driving tour around the island and out to dinner.  Over dinner, they enlightened us to Turkish appetizers known as mezes; dips concocted of Greek yogurt, cucumber, artichoke and garlic, spiced rice wrapped in grape leaves, and sautéed seaweed.   Naturally, after a delicious meal we retired to a tea house for a quick cup before wishing them a pleasant trip home on the ferry. 

Our Turkish posse on Bozcaada

A choice of mezes at a harborside cafe

  Now, on our way back to Istanbul, we will enjoy a range of cuisine that such a metropolis has on offer with the added bonus of Ramadan coming to a close.  Although Turks are largely secular (and I get the feeling a large number don’t fast), Ramadan is a solemn period where it is taboo to eat in the open during the day even as a non-observer.   Over the past few weeks we couldn’t help notice the jovial atmosphere that came with the nightly cannon signaling the day’s fast over.  Cafes sprung to life, families emerged to picnic, trays of tea were passed around.   With Ramadan over, day-to-day life will be a bit livelier, but the nights will be no less festive.   

Turkish Lamb-Eggplant Pasta via Binnur's Turkish Cookbook

(Kıymalı-Patlıcanlı Makarna)

2 servings of mini bow tie pasta

1 medium eggplant
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1 + 1 tbsp butter

~200 gr lean ground lamb
1 medium size onion, sliced
1 small tomato, peeled, cut in small cubes
2-3 tbsp crushed tomato, in can
1 tsp fresh dill, chopped
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
Salt
Pepper

Yogurt Sauce:
1 cup Turkish yogurt, plain, room temperature
1-2 garlic cloves, mashed with yogurt

Boil the pasta with salty water following the instructions on the package, drain. Melt the butter in a pot. Toss the pasta and salt in it.

Meanwhile peel the eggplant in lengthwise strips. Cut into medium chunks. Soak in 2 cups of water with salt for about 20 minutes.

Place sunflower oil in a medium sized skillet. Squeeze the eggplants with your hand and dry them with paper towel. When the oil heats up, fry the eggplants on both sides until golden brown. Afterwords, place on a paper towel to soak up any extra oil.

Saute the onion with 1 tbsp butter, salt and pepper for 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Add the ground lamb and cook over medium-low heat until all the water evaporates while stirring. Add the tomato, crushed tomato, fried eggplants, crushed red pepper and dill, stir. Cook for about 2-3 more minutes, turn the heat off.

Place pasta on a service plate. Pour the cooked ground lamb&eggplant mixture all over it. Mix all the Yogurt Sauce ingredients and pour all over the ground lamb. Sprinkle some parsley over the top and serve immediately.