Location: West Asia with a small area in Southern Europe
Population: 85.4 million
Capital: Ankara
Geography: A nation of plateaus bounded on three sides by seas
Language: Turkish
Signature flavours: Lamb, rice, seafood, yoghurt, nuts, sesame, sumac, saffron, clove, cinnamon, hot peppers, goat milk, tomato, sahlep
The Menu
From the moment his assignment landed in his lap, Eric knew he wanted to try his hand at Turkish ice cream. The dish is made famous by videos of tricky ice cream vendors flipping cones and scoops back and forth between themselves and waiting customers. It required a couple of ingredients that needed to be ordered from overseas. Eric got online, placed his order, and then the process ground to a halt. Canada Post went on strike the day after his order, and didn’t return to work for over a month, during which time, his speciality ingredients waited in limbo in one sorting facility or another. They finally arrived last week, and Eric was able to gather his other ingredients and set New Year’s Day as Türkiye Feast Day.
Most of his recipes came from the beautiful cookbook Istanbul and Beyond by Robyn Eckhardt, except for the Turkish ice cream recipe, which he found online.
Murtaga: A breakfast porridge of egg, flour, and butter, served hot and drizzled with honey.
Prep and cooking time: 10 min
Difficulty: 2/5
Midye Dolma: Steamed mussels stuffed with an aromatic blend of calrose rice, caramelized onions, tomato paste, pine nuts, and currants.
Prep and cooking time: 45 min plus 4 hours chilling time
Difficulty: 3/5
Balık Ekmek: A grilled mackerel sandwich with vegetables and spices in a crusty French-style bread, popularly served as a street food.
Prep and cooking time: 30 min
Difficulty: 2/5
Salatalıklı ve Naneli Ayran: A cooling yoghurt drink infused with cucumber, mint, and basil.
Prep and cooking time: 5 min plus 24 hours chilling time
Difficulty: 1/5
Nar Ekşisi Zeytin Salatası: Fresh tomato, scallions, red chillies, tomato, parsley and red pepper with green olives in a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, and pomegranate molasses.
Prep and cooking time: 10 min
Difficulty: 2/5
Maraş Dondurma: Turkish ice cream, made with cream and sugar and thickened with sahlep (derived from orchid root) and made stretchy with mastic powder (a tree resin).
Prep and cooking time: 5 hours plus overnight freezing
Difficulty: 3/5
Tarçın çayı: A blend of spices (cinnamon, clove, turmeric, ginger, and black peppercorns) steeped in hot water to make a sweet and aromatic tea.
Prep and cooking time: 20 min
Difficulty: 1/5
The Shopping List
Eric sourced mastic and sahlep from a Greek seller on Etsy. The high-quality mackerel filets he needed for the sandwich came from a nearby sushi restaurant. Everything else he found at our local supermarket and bulk store.
The Meal
Eric called for my help to make the ice cream on New Year’s Eve. It was a labour-intensive endeavour involving four hours of on-again-off-again stirring and freezing, and four arms are better than two. Apart from that, I stayed well clear of the kitchen until he called me to dinner.
My first impressions of the table Eric had set were astonishing colour (shining blue-black mussel shells, bright red peppers and tomatoes, deep green parsley glistening with olive oil, and slabs of lemon alongside many dishes) and an incredible aroma that immediately got my mouth watering.
We started with bites of murtaga, which was pure comforting breakfast food. Eggy and lightly sweetened with honey, it would start any day off on the right foot.
Next, we took big bites of the mackerel sandwich. Mackerel has a strong fishy flavour, which I love, and the high-quality stuff Eric had found at our local sushi restaurant meant the mackerel chunks were juicy and tender. In a crusty baguette-style loaf wedged with veggies, it was a fantastic dish that would make an awesome meal in its own right.
The salad was fantastic — salty olives, crunchy sweet peppers, just a touch of heat, and a simple pomegranate dressing all came together perfectly. (It also only got better with time, as we learned when we ate leftovers the next day.)
I had been anticipating the stuffed mussels — they kept drawing my eye and I knew they were going to be special — and they did not disappoint one bit. Each carefully-filled mussel shell carried an explosion of flavour — caramelized onion and crunchy pine nuts and a blend of delicious spices, not to mention the mussels themselves! They were, to me, the standout dish on Eric’s table.
We cooled our mouths with the salatalıklı ve naneli ayran, which reminded me of mild and drinkable tzatziki (but not garlicky). It was so refreshing, and while our meal was not overly spicy, this beverage would be welcome alongside hotter dishes.
Dessert was heralded by the slow build of a sweet spiciness in the air, as Eric brewed tarçın çayı on the stovetop. This tea was such a lovely blend of flavours, and we both enjoyed two cups along with our ice cream. The ice cream, while sweet, had an unexpectedly acidic, woodsy flavour that came from the mastic. It reminded me of the scent of cedar trees in the forests where we live. Admittedly, I didn’t love it. I found the mastic too strong for my preference, but Eric really enjoyed it (we have very different tastes in desserts).
Overall, my expectations for Eric’s Türkiye feast were not disappointed — the colours, aromas, and flavours on our table were spectacular, and we will be adding a of these dishes to our own culinary repertoire (I’m looking at you, midye dolma).
Sources
Istanbul and Beyond by Robyn Eckhard
Disclaimer: I’m not a professional chef. I’m just a passionate cook with a curiosity for flavours I’ve never tried. For great recipes from gifted local cooks, follow the links above.
Wooden Spoon Wanderer 