Turkish Choban Salad

Food is unlikely subject on the blog, since most of you know that I'm not a natural cook ;-)  But this simple salad you see around Istanbul this time of year can't even stump me. It's easy and a nice alternative to the lettuce-based salads we are used to.

Basic ingredients include tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, olive oil and lemon. You can make a fine choban salad with just that. To spruce it up slightly, add dried mint, scallion (or green onion) and green pepper. We like to add pomegranate syrup which you can find here and has great flavour.

(On the internet you might see olives and feta cheese added to this - tasty, but not an authentic Choban Salad, it becomes an Akdeniz Salad, meaning Mediterranean Salad!)

This is the simple version we threw together the other night at dinner.

Afiyet olsun! 

(Bon appetit!)

20 words for snow

At home I am a creature of habit when it comes to my morning coffee. It's a satisfying cup, and I like it the same way everyday. When we travel, however, getting that reliable cup of coffee that tastes the way I want it becomes more difficult. I have yet to see an American-style drip coffee maker in Italy or in Turkey.

I realized yesterday that after 2 months of being here, we have amassed FIVE ways to make coffee in this house. I guess it shows you what's important around here - like how in the far North they have so many words for snow and cold weather, we have multiple methods for making coffee! :-)

First is the most traditional here, TURKISH COFFEE.  Not my favourite, and probably the last of the 5 ways I would choose to receive my caffeine intake for the day. Turkish coffee is strong and sludgy, and since it's a small cup, the satisfaction of lingering and savouring is pretty diminished.

The most famous brand of Turkish coffee is Mehmet Effendi. Turkish coffee grounds are ground very, very fine. It's almost a powder that you mix with your water and sugar in your pot on the stove. When you order your Turkish coffee, you would indicate how sweet you would like it: sade (no sugar), orta (medium) or shekerli (sweet). I go for orta:

Here's a little video on how to make Turkish coffee:



I love the cultural heritage of Turkish coffee and its many traditions... but the taste is far too strong for me and I usually only manage one cup of this stuff per visit. For me, Turkish tea or çay is a much easier custom to adopt.

Unless you are at a fancy coffee shop in Istanbul, if you don't want Turkish Kahve, you will be offered Nescafé as your next coffee option. They actually call it that, by its brand name. We have some of that hanging around too:

The slightly upper level version of this is something we lived off of last year, Starbuck's brand Columbian instant coffee. Is it that much better than Nescafé? Well, not really, but I enjoyed being able to vary flavour after a while.

When my sister-in-law came from South Africa earlier this month, I really wanted a quick and easy way to make 2 perfect cups of coffee for us quick and easy that would most resemble our at-home coffee makers. Enter the French Press:

I thought it would give us the best coffee the closest to a "drip" coffee maker. Here's a little tutorial on getting the best out of your French Press:



Did I follow all those steps? No, not really. Maybe for that reason our coffee was okay, but not great.

Our last coffee making device is the most messy and time consuming perhaps, but delivers the most satisfying cup, the Moka Pot:

Ozayr brought this back from Rome on his trip there this year, along with a bag of really great espresso coffee from Sant' Eustachio -

I didn't really understand how a Moka Pot works, but this diagram helps:

You put water in the bottom chamber, and espresso coffee grounds in the middle section. After a few minutes on the burner, the water in the bottom part begins to boil. The rising water/steam/bubbles go up through the coffee grounds, and end up in the top part - becoming a lovely, rich espresso. You can mix this with hot milk, and voilà!

Here is a little video that does a good job at explaining:



So there you have it - COFFEE. I'll leave you with my favourite coffee quote, and then I'm off to enjoy a cup myself...

“Without my morning coffee I’m just like a dried up piece of roast goat."

~Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Alfiyet Olsun!

Street Foods of Istanbul

Eating on the street in Istanbul is a fun and easy thing to do as you walk around the city, seeing the sights. Here are the most common 'street foods' you can get here:

SIMIT

The most quintessential of all Turkish street foods. Resembling most closely a sesame seed bagel, but a little more dense, and hard. Hafsa's favourite. Sold on the street either in a little covered cart, or on top of the head on a large platter. You would pay no more than 2 TL for a simit (and that would be stretching it) but usually about a lira - under 50 cents.

CORN ON THE COB

You can buy freshly cooked ears of corn on the street! Joy! No explanation necessary!

ROASTED CHESTNUTS

Been partaking in these a lot, especially when we first got here and the weather was cool. Always wish they had a bit of salt, but good. Sometimes sold on the same cart as corn, but not always. You pay according to weight (you can see the scales in this picture). The girls and I sat in the plaza between the Hagia Sofya and the Blue Mosque and shared a small bag for 5 TL (2 dollars).

PORTAKAL SU (and other juices)

Apart from çay, probably the most popular refreshment on the street is freshly squeezed juice. Be on the lookout for a cart, stall or patio with one of these nifty clamping, cranking, squeezing contraptions, and you can be sure to have an absolutely fresh and pure glass of orange juice poured before your very eyes. If you prefer, there is often pomegranate or any variety of other flavours in a mix, depending on which fruits you see available at their cart or stand.

Just off the street (stalls or open to the street restaurants):

KUMPIR

Kumpir is a massive baked potato, which they open up and fill with your choice of toppings. Among them: corn, pickles, peas, bulgur type rice, olive green or black, macaroni salad, cheese, butter, beets, hot dog slices and sauces like mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, optional hot pepper flakes. You are not doing the kumpir justice if you don't get at least 5 toppings. If you go to Ortakoy, you will find "Kumpir Street" - a line of kumpir stalls, from which the kumpir-guys yell out to try and coax you into visiting their particular stand...

WAFFLES

Somehow related to the kumpir - I don't know how, but somehow they always seem to be sold in the same place or stand - the Turkish waffle is pretty awesome. It is a fairly hearty waffle which folds easily but does not break. Then, and this is the similarity to the kumpir, I suppose - you get to choose your filling... All the great, sweet toppings you can imagine are there - fruits, nutella, chocolate sauces, nuts... Lovely, lovely... I stole this picture off the internet, but I'm pretty sure that mine looked exactly like this...

DONDURMA

Dondurma is the Turkish word for ice cream. Confession: I have never eaten this kind of ice cream.  Hafsa has and I think Ozayr has too. The ice cream is not like American ice cream or Italian gelato, but more... chewy? stretchy? The "fun" part is that you get a little show with your ice cream... This isn't us, but you can enjoy this little video if you're curious:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRaQsiWtCvA

DURUM/DONER KEBAP

Stands selling these wraps are all over Istanbul, and even though it's a stereotype of Turkish food, it is just sooo good. Just like the Inuit have a multitude of words for snow, the Turks have a multitude of different varieties of "meat on a stick" - check out this guide, here. Of course, our favourite place to go for durum is Durumzade, which has achieved a certain degree of fame in recent years.

ISLAK HAMBURGER

I had a brief obsession with islak hamburger last year. It's essentially a thin hamburger that has been dipped in a slightly spicy tomato sauce and then kept warm in a somewhat humid glass box. I know! So strange right??  Anyway, they are like Sloppy Joes meets WhiteCastle sliders....

My last two picks for quintessential streets foods of Istanbul I have not tried yet, but I think this year IT IS HAPPENING:

STUFFED MUSSELS

Now, this just seems like a bad idea... but these guys are everywhere! And they do good business! As Anthony Bourdain said, you would not get very far if you poisoned your neighbours, would you? All along the water's edge, you see these trays of mussels stuffed with rice and apparently good vendors will go through hundreds a night. I'm thinking before the temperatures get too high, I'm going to try these.

FISH SANDWICHES

The area around the Galata Bridge is swarming with fishermen and boats, and throughout the day and night you can buy fresh fish from the surrounding restaurants, stores, or probably even straight from the person who caught it. As you can imagine, there are lots of stalls and carts set up with fish sandwiches for sale. The most famous ones are sold from boats that are docked along Eminonu pier.  I realize that things could go very wrong here, but apparently Ozayr's students have vetted all the different stands, and know the best ones. I'll get their advice prior to partaking in this delicacy... :-)

 Writing this post has made me very hungry! I hope you enjoyed it - I think that there is something for everyone in Turkey!!!

Turkish Breakfast

One of our favourite things about Turkey is BREAKFAST.

Kahvalti is the Turkish word for breakfast, and it means "before coffee." You would probably never be served coffee with your breakfast, but rather tea. Then when you were done, you might have a little cup of Turkish coffee and be on your way.

Turkish breakfast is not a set menu, but includes some variety of the following:

olives, green and/or black
cucumbers
tomatoes
different cheeses
different jams or spreads
honey
kaymak (close to clotted cream, which you mix with the honey)
butter
sujuk (spicy sausage)
pastirma (similar to pastrami)
eggs, hard boiled
eggs sunny side up with sujuk
menemen - eggs scrambled with peppers, onion, tomatoes
a big basket of mixed breads and buns to accompany your meal

Some of the above pictures are from restaurants, a couple are from our home or our friends houses. It is a lovely tradition to share with others, as the meal is meant to be enjoyed in a leisurely fashion, over many cups of tea and lively conversation!

This is a truly Turkish experience - funnily enough, embraced by even McDonald's! Check out this sign I passed in Yenikapi the other day:

Afiyet Olsun!

çay

Çay (which is pronounced "chai") is Turkish tea. Though in the West Turkish coffee is most renowned, in fact it is tea that is consumed most often and is most adored by Turks. In fact, Turks drink the most tea per person out of any country in the world - outdoing even England and Ireland! (yes, Brits, take a few minutes to freak out over that...)

This tea is typically prepared using two stacked kettles specially designed for Turkish çay.

Water is brought to a boil in the larger lower kettle.  Then some of the water is used to fill the smaller kettle on top along with several spoons of loose tea leaves, producing a very strong tea. When you serve the tea, you use the remaining water from the bottom pot to dilute the tea on an individual basis, giving each person the choice between strong or weak. 

Tea is drunk from small tulip-shaped glasses on little saucers - showing its beautiful red colour! - with or without sugar, your choice. (No milk)

This is not a tea reserved for special occasions. Turkish people drink this tea anywhere, anytime. You can buy tea on a ferry, in a park. You can have trays of it brought to your workplace by your local coffee shop, restaurant or sometimes convenience store staff. Here is a good picture I stole from the internet of the type of trays used in this case:

You will see young men from restaurants carrying trays like this to local businesses and shops. In this case, he would return later to collect the glasses and payment. 

If the kids are playing at the park, I might buy tea from someone who wanders through, selling it. I don't know if you can see this picture very well, but you can click to enlarge it. This person looks like he is hanging out there for a while, but often times a man will walk through with a giant thermos and a tray with little disposable cups and sugar and stir sticks... A business on the go...

But really if you are going to be at the park for a long time - why not bring your own? I saw this family setting up at the park the other day, and was delighted to watch this woman pull an entire çay set-up out of her bag!

This is the traditional çaydanlik, on top of what appears to be a teeny tiny gas tank like you might take camping. I was impressed. Turks love their tea. 

If you have a few minutes, check out this video of a talk by Katharine Branning, author of "Yes, I would Love Another Glass of Tea: An American Woman's Letters to Turkey":

Afiyet Olsun! (Bon Appetit!)

 

Food (the first of many posts)

I have spent a lot of time trying to compose a good blog post in my mind about Turkish food. It's a cuisine that back home might be categorized as "Mediterranean" and it has components that are vaguely Greek (HELLO YOGURT) and Middle Eastern. But really it is something pretty unique and diverse.

When we travel here I am constantly having this debate with myself - I wonder which is best, as I bounce back and forth in my mind between my favourite traditional, sophisticated Turkish dishes of the many good restaurants here, and the irresistible draw of the awesome street food. Why do I even feel compelled to pick? I don't know.

Through all these musings (and munching) I realized that no one post could possibly do it all justice, so I will act the hipster and take photos and post about our culinary experiences as we go. It may seem that we are eating out constantly. That is not *quite* true, but it is very easy to eat out here. When we are on-the-go during the day it is extremely easy and fast to pick up a snack for just a few lira - not talking McDonald's, I mean real food, real ingredients, sometimes cooked right in front of you. Food here is quite inexpensive - we can eat a comfortable, simple dinner of durum for 4 people here for 25 Turkish lira - that's about $10. At the nicest restaurant we go to here for special occasions, we probably would never top $50 for our whole meal.

As I am typing this Maymuna just came in and asked if we could go out and get something to eat. She has embraced the food, despite her allergies, and she is a complete foodie at heart just like Ozayr... Got to go!!