Arabesque - A Taste Of Morocco, Turkey, And Lebanon Part 5

SERVES 4 6 large oranges1 tablespoon orange blossom water2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar (optional)To decorate: 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon Peel the oranges, taking care to remove all the white pith. Cut into slices, remove any pips, and arrange in circles on a serving plate. Sprinkle with orange blossom water and confectioners' sugar, if using.

Just before serving, decorate with lines of ground cinnamon.

VARIATIONS Sprinkle with 1/3 cup walnuts, coa.r.s.ely chopped, and 8 dates, coa.r.s.ely chopped.

Replace 3 of the oranges with blood oranges.

ALMOND PASTRIES in in HONEY SYRUP HONEY SYRUP Briwat Bi Loz These exquisite pastries called "the bride's fingers" feature in medieval Arab ma.n.u.scripts found in Baghdad, fried and sprinkled with syrup and chopped pistachios. In Morocco, they are made with the thin pastry called warka warka or or brick brick (see page (see page 29 29 ) and deep-fried. I prefer to make them with fillo and to bake them. For a large-size version of the pastries, I use a supermarket brand where the sheets are about ) and deep-fried. I prefer to make them with fillo and to bake them. For a large-size version of the pastries, I use a supermarket brand where the sheets are about 12 12 inches inches [.dotmath] [.dotmath] 7 7 inches. inches.I especially recommend you try the dainty little "bride's fingers" (see Variation). I make them for parties and I keep some in a cookie tin to serve with coffee. They are great favorites in our family; my mother always made them and now my children make them, too.

MAKES ABOUT 14 PASTRIES pound clear honey cup water2 cups ground almonds to 2/3 cup superfine sugar1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)2 tablespoons orange blossom water14 sheets of fillo5 tablespoons (1/3 cup) unsalted b.u.t.ter, melted Make the syrup by bringing the honey and water to the boil in a pan and simmering it for half a minute. Then let it cool.

Mix the ground almonds with the sugar, cinnamon, and orange blossom water. Open the package of fillo only when you are ready to make the pastries (see page 9). Keep them in a pile so that they do not dry out. Lightly brush the top one with melted b.u.t.ter.

Put a line of about 2 to 2 tablespoons of the almond mixture at one of the short ends of the rectangle, into a line about inch from the short and long edges. Roll up loosely into a fat cigar shape. Turn the ends in about one-third of the way along to trap

the filling, then continue to roll with the ends opened out. Continue with the remaining sheets of fillo.

Place the pastries on a baking sheet, brush them with melted b.u.t.ter, and bake them in an oven preheated to 300F for 30 minutes, or until lightly golden and crisp.

Turn each pastry, while still warm, very quickly in the syrup and arrange on a dish. Serve cold with the remaining syrup poured all over.

VARIATIONS Instead of the honey syrup, make a sugar syrup by simmering 1 cup water with 2 cups sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice for about 5 to 8 minutes, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, adding 1 tablespoon orange blossom water toward the end.

Instead of rolling the pastries in syrup, sprinkle them with confectioners' sugar. These keep very well for days in an airtight cookie tin.

For the dainty little "bride's fingers," cut sheets of fillo into narrow strips-they can measure from 3 to 4 inches wide and be about 12 inches long. You can use larger sheets cut into 3 or 4 strips. Use 1 heaped tablespoon of the filling for each roll. It makes about 28.

WALNUT PASTRIES in in HONEY SYRUP HONEY SYRUP Briwat Bi Joz Follow the recipe for Almond Pastries in Honey Syrup (page 127) but use the following filling.

Coa.r.s.ely grind 2 cups sh.e.l.led walnuts in the food processor. Add 1/3 cup sugar and the finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed orange and mix well.

Add 1 tablespoons orange blossom water to the syrup.

DATE ROLLS in in HONEY SYRUP HONEY SYRUP Briwat Bi Tamr Follow the recipe for Almond Pastries in Honey Syrup (see page 127), but use the following filling.

Use a moist variety of dates such as the Tunisian Deglet Nour or the Californian varieties. You will need about 11/3 pounds once they have been pitted. Blend them in the food processor, adding a little water, if necessary, by the tablespoon, to achieve a soft paste.

PASTRY CRESCENTS with with ALMOND FILLING ALMOND FILLING Kaab El Ghzal The most famous of Moroccan pastries are best known abroad by their French name, cornes de gazelle , or gazelle's horns. They are stuffed with ground almond paste and curved into horn-shaped crescents. They are ubiquitous wedding party fare. , or gazelle's horns. They are stuffed with ground almond paste and curved into horn-shaped crescents. They are ubiquitous wedding party fare.

MAKES 24 TO 26 CRESCENTS FOR THE PASTRY 31/3 cups all-purpose flour cup vegetable oil2 eggs, lightly beatenabout 6 tablespoons fresh orange juiceconfectioners' sugarFOR THE FILLING31/3 cups ground almonds1 cup superfine sugar1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, lightly beatengrated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon or orange2 to 3 drops of almond or vanilla essence For the pastry, mix the flour with the oil and the eggs very thoroughly. Bind with just enough orange juice to hold it together, adding it by the tablespoon, then knead into a soft, malleable dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Mix all the filling ingredients together and work with your hands into a soft paste. Divide the pastry dough into four for easy handling. Then roll it out into thin sheets on a clean surface (it does not need flouring because the dough is very oily and does not stick). Cut the sheets into 4-inch squares. Take a lump of almond paste and shape it into a thin, little sausage 3 inches long. Place it in the middle of a square, diagonally, on the bias, about inch from the corners. Lift the dough up over the filling (a wide-bladed knife helps to lift the dough) and roll up, then very gently curve the roll into a crescent. Pinch the dough to seal the openings at the end. Repeat, making crescents with the remaining dough and filling.

Arrange the crescents on oiled trays. Bake them in an oven preheated to 325F for 30 minutes. The crescents should not turn brown, but only just begin to color. When cool, dip them in plenty of confectioners' sugar so that they are entirely covered.

VARIATIONS Another way of making the crescents is to cut the pastry into rounds, place a line of filling on one half and fold the other half of the pastry over the filling to make a half-moon shape. Then pinch the edges together, trim some of the excess rounded edge, and curve the pastries slightly into crescents.

Instead of dusting with confectioners' sugar, dip the pastries in warmed honey mixed with a drop of water to make it runnier (see page 127).

ALMOND "SNAKE"

M'hencha This splendid Moroccan pastry filled with a ground almond paste is a very long coil, hence the name m'hencha, m'hencha, meaning snake. It is stunning to look at and exquisite to eat. In Morocco, it is made with the pastry called meaning snake. It is stunning to look at and exquisite to eat. In Morocco, it is made with the pastry called warka warka or or brick brick (see page (see page 29 29 ). This is available vacuum-packed and frozen in North African stores, but turns out tough if it is baked and not fried. It is better to use fillo pastry. I give very large quant.i.ties because it is the kind of thing to make for a great festive occasion, but of course you can make it smaller and reduce the quant.i.ties accordingly. The finished "snake" will be about ). This is available vacuum-packed and frozen in North African stores, but turns out tough if it is baked and not fried. It is better to use fillo pastry. I give very large quant.i.ties because it is the kind of thing to make for a great festive occasion, but of course you can make it smaller and reduce the quant.i.ties accordingly. The finished "snake" will be about 14 14 inches in diameter. If your oven is not large enough to take it, you can make two small ones. You need large fillo sheets measuring about inches in diameter. If your oven is not large enough to take it, you can make two small ones. You need large fillo sheets measuring about 19 19 [.dotmath] [.dotmath] 12 12 inches (and if the fillo is frozen, you will need to allow inches (and if the fillo is frozen, you will need to allow 3 3 hours for it to defrost, see page hours for it to defrost, see page 9 9 ). ).

SERVES 30 TO 40 FOR THE FILLING7 cups ground almonds5 cups superfine sugar2 tablespoons ground cinnamonless than 1 cup orange blossom watera few drops almond essence (optional)FOR THE PASTRY1 pound fillo pastry2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted b.u.t.ter, melted2 egg yolks for glazingTo decorate: confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon Mix all the filling ingredients together and work them into a stiff paste with your hands. Use just enough orange blossom water to bind the paste. Put in less than you seem to require, as once you start kneading with your hands, the oil from the almonds will act as an extra bind.

Take the sheets of fillo out of the package only when you are ready to use them and keep them in a pile (so they do not dry out) with one of the longer sides facing you. Lightly brush the top sheet with melted b.u.t.ter. Take lumps of the almond paste and roll into "fingers" about inch thick. On the top sheet, place the "fingers" end to end in a line all along the long edge nearest to you, about inch from the edge, to make one long rod of paste. Roll the sheet of fillo up over the filling into a long, thin roll, tucking the ends in to stop the filling from oozing out.

Lift up the roll carefully with both hands and place it in the middle of a sheet of foil on the largest possible baking sheet or oven tray. Very gently curve the roll into a tight coil. To do so without tearing the fillo, you have to crease the pastry first like an accordion by pushing the ends of the rolls gently toward the center with both hands.

Do the same with the other sheets until all the filling is used up, rolling them up with the filling inside, and placing one end to the open end of the coil, making it look like a coiled snake.

Brush the top of the pastry with the egg yolks mixed with 2 teaspoons of water and bake in an oven preheated to 325F for 30 to 40 minutes, until crisp and lightly browned.

Let the pastry cool before you slide it, with its sheet of foil, onto a very large serving platter or tray.

Serve cold, sprinkled with plenty of confectioners' sugar and with lines of cinnamon drawn on like the spokes of a wheel. Cut the pastry as you would a cake, in wedges of varying size. It is very rich and some will want only a small piece.

VARIATION For a pistachio m'hencha m'hencha, use ground pistachios instead of almonds and rose water instead of orange blossom water. Although less common, this, too, is fabulous!

ALMOND MACAROONS These are good to serve with coffee or tea.

MAKES ABOUT 20 MACAROONS 4 cups ground almonds cup superfine sugargrated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon2 to 3 drops almond essence1 large egg whiteconfectioners' sugar Put all the ingredients except the confectioners' sugar in the food processor and blend into a soft, malleable paste.

Put some confectioners' sugar on a small plate. Rub your hands with oil so that the almond paste does not stick to your hands. Take lumps of the paste the size of a large walnut and roll into b.a.l.l.s. Now press one side of each ball into the confectioners' sugar, flattening it a little, and place it on a b.u.t.tered baking sheet, sugared side up. Bake in an oven preheated to 400F for 15 minutes.

Let the macaroons cool before lifting them off the sheet. They will be lightly colored and crackled and soft inside.

DATES STUFFED with with ALMOND ALMOND or or PISTACHIO PASTE PISTACHIO PASTE Tmar Bi Loz In Morocco, this is the most popular sweetmeat. The almond stuffing is colored green to give the semblance of pistachios, which are considered more prestigious. Use slightly moist dates such as the Tunisian Deglet Nour or Californian varieties.2 cups ground almonds or pistachios cup superfine sugar2 to 3 tablespoons rose water or orange blossom water1 pound dates Mix the ground almonds or pistachios with the sugar, and add just enough rose or orange blossom water to bind them into a firm paste. Put in less than you seem to require, since once you start kneading with your hands, the oil from the almonds will act as an extra bind. Alternatively, you can start with blanched almonds or pistachios and blend all the ingredients except the dates to a paste in the food processor.

Make a slit on one side of each date with a pointed knife and pull out the pit. Take a small lump of almond or pistachio paste, pull the date open wide, press the paste in the opening, and close the date over it only slightly so that the filling is revealed generously.

SUGARED ORANGE SLICES Mrabbet Bortokal These orange slices can be served with coffee or tea, or as an improvised sweet at the end of a meal, accompanied by creme fraiche or thick heavy cream. They keep for weeks in the refrigerator so you can bring them out on different occasions. Choose oranges with thick skins, which must be unwaxed.

10 SERVINGS 2 pounds unwaxed oranges2 cups sugar Wash the oranges and cut them in thin slices, removing any pips.

Sprinkle the bottom of a large heavy-bottomed pan with a little of the sugar. Arrange some of the orange slices on top so that they overlap slightly and sprinkle generously with more sugar. Make layers of orange slices, each sprinkled with sugar and finishing with sugar.

Pour cold water over the slices so that they are only just covered. Cut a circle of foil or waxed paper and press it on top of the oranges to prevent evaporation. Cook over low heat for about 2 hours, until the orange slices are very soft and the white pith is translucent. The syrup should have the consistency of liquid honey when cool. Test a little on a plate. If it is too thick and sticky, add a little water and bring to the boil again.

MINT TEA Pastries are served with mint tea. Spearmint is considered the best for tea, but other varieties can be used. In Morocco, they drink the tea very sweet with a large number of sugar lumps in the teapot, but you can suit your taste.

To make enough for 10 small gla.s.ses, you need a teapot that will hold 6 cups. Heat the pot first. Put in 1 tablespoons Chinese green tea such as Gunpowder tea, a large bunch of fresh spearmint, washed and patted dry, and lump sugar to your taste. Pour in boiling water and allow to infuse for about 5 minutes. Taste a little of the tea in a small gla.s.s, and add more sugar, if necessary.

A sophisticated, aristocratic cuisine developed in Constantinople-now Istanbul-when it was, for more than 400 years, the glittering capital city of the Ottoman Empire, which spread over most of the Middle East, the Balkans, and parts of North Africa, southern Russia, and the Caucasus. That cuisine came to be considered on a par with those of France and China. While many of the more elaborate dishes have disappeared, what you find in homes in Istanbul today and on the standard menus of Turkish restaurants are simplified adapted versions of that high style.

In Anatolia, which covers much of the landma.s.s of modern Turkey, the cooking reflects the changing geography, climate, and local produce, as well as the diversity of cultures. Regional cuisines were hardly known outside their localities until the arrival, in the last couple of decades, of millions of migrants from rural and eastern Turkey into the big cities. (Istanbul had a population of less than 1 million in the census of 1950 and currently has more than 10 million people.) You can now find regional dishes in restaurants that have opened in the last fifteen years and you can catch a whiff of the cooking in the blocks of tall buildings that have mushroomed clandestinely around the city. That cooking is for the most part spicy, hot, and garlicky. It is not popular with the worldly "Stambouli" bourgeoisie who see themselves as Europeans with a taste for pure, mild, and delicate flavors. For them, the strongly flavored food represents the "Arab" and "Oriental" tastes of the provincials who have swamped their once cosmopolitan, sophisticated city and changed its image in a way they do not like. Istanbul, this dream of the Orient with her cupolas and minarets, hamam hamams (old-style bathhouses), and bazaars, is torn between town and country, East and West, tradition and modernization, but remains attached to her past and her culinary memories and legacies.

Specialties of Istanbul-kebabs and pilafs, fillo pies, yogurt and cuc.u.mber salads, eggplant purees and stuffed vegetables, milk puddings, and nutty, syrupy pastries-are common in all the main cities of the countries that were part of the Ottoman Empire. When I lived in Egypt-it was the time of King Farouk and I was there for the revolution in 1953-the royal family was an Ottoman Albanian dynasty, and the aristocracy was Turkish, as was the haute cuisine. The country was annexed to the Ottoman Empire in 1517, and stayed under Turkish rule until 1805 when Mohammed Ali became its governor and established a dynasty that owed only nominal allegiance to the Sultan of Turkey. The food served in the Egyptian palaces was no different than that served to the Ottoman sultans, and the palace cooks were brought over from Constantinople. When Turkey became a republic in 1923, many members of the old Ottoman aristocracy moved to Egypt. In 1995, at the celebration launch of the Royal Club Mohamed-Aly in Cairo, the buffet was prepared by cooks from Istanbul. I have the menu-and most of the dishes listed on it are in this book.

The Story Behind the Cooking The area that is Anatolia today was successively colonized by the Greeks and Persians and by Alexander the Great before it came under Roman rule. Emperor Constantine established the then Greek city of Byzantium as the new second capital of the Roman Empire in A.D. 330 and it was renamed Constantinople after him. When the empire split into eastern and western sections in A 330 and it was renamed Constantinople after him. When the empire split into eastern and western sections in A.D. 395, Constantinople became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. 395, Constantinople became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.

The Turks came on the scene many centuries later. They were nomadic people from the steppe lands of Central Asia on the edge of China who migrated west with their flocks. They started to convert to Islam in the eighth century. As slave soldiers in the armies of the caliphs of Baghdad, they were formidable warriors who, by the eleventh century, came to form a number of small, local dynasties of their own in territories they captured from the Byzantines as well as in parts of the disintegrating Arab Empire. One of the most important dynasties, the Seljuks, seized Isfahan in Persia in 1051, and in the twelfth century established a sultanate, which controlled most of Anatolia from its capital, Konya.

Konya became a brilliant center of culture that attracted scholars, poets, artists, and mystics from all over the Islamic world. It was the home of the great Sufi mystic and poet Jalal al-Din Rumi, who was known as Mevlana (the Master). The highly sophisticated culture that developed, including cooking traditions, was influenced by Persia. By the thirteenth century, following the onslaught of Mongol invasion, the great Seljuk dynasty had ended, but their cultural influence continued by means of the establishment of princ.i.p.alities by lesser Seljuk clans throughout Anatolia. Part of their legacy is seen in the many traces of old Persian styles in the Turkish kitchen today, and in Konya in particular.

Another nomadic Turkish branch, the Osmanlis, or Ottomans, who were also warriors, captured Constantinople in 1453 and went on to establish the most powerful Muslim empire ever. The original Ottoman diet consisted mainly of the nomadic staples, yogurt and meat, and the pasta they adopted from the Chinese and Mongols whom they had been fighting for centuries. Shish kebabs are said to have originated on the battlefield when their invading armies camped outdoors in tents. The sultans came to place great importance on their kitchens. When Sultan Mehmet II conquered Constantinople in 1453 and made it his imperial capital, he built the Topkapi Palace with a giant, four-domed kitchen. A century later, Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent added a new kitchen building with six domes, and ten further sections were added by Sultan Selim II in the sixteenth century. By the following century, on festive occasions, as many as 10,000 people, including the sultan, his harem and eunuchs, palace workers, vizir vizirs (ministers), Janissary Corps, the military elite, members of the divan divan (cabinet), and foreign amba.s.sadors and their retinues, were fed from the kitchens in which 1,370 cooks worked. (cabinet), and foreign amba.s.sadors and their retinues, were fed from the kitchens in which 1,370 cooks worked.

An extraordinary number and variety of dishes were developed in the court kitchens and the palaces of the aristocracy. Some originated in the cultures-Persian, Arab, Syrian- that had been absorbed into the Islamic world; some were adopted from the Byzantine Empire. Others arose as a result of the unique cosmopolitan character of the early empire and its ruling cla.s.s whose members entered as the sultan's slaves and remained part of the Ottoman slave household. The profession of public slaves was all-important and glorious. Most were Christians, or the children of Christians, who were converted to Islam. Some were captured in battle or were bought in markets. Many were plucked from Caucasian highlands, from Russian forests and Eurasian steppe lands; others came from western Europe, including some given as gifts by Venetian traders. Some were sold by their parents; wrenched from all family ties and roots, they were expected to serve more loyally. The more able recruits became courtiers. The royal family, the sultan's wives, palace and government officers, grand vizir grand vizirs, the standing army-all were household slaves or their descendants.

In this unique cosmopolitan society, where products arrived from the far corners of the empire and palace cooks learned their trade as slave page boys in the palace cooking school, a wide variety of foods of various origins entered the culinary pool. Cooking was considered one of the most important of the arts. Poets, physicians, and princes all wrote recipes, sang songs, and recited poems about food. The importance of food was especially evident in the Janissaries, the Imperial guard. They received their daily food rations directly from the palace, and their insignia, a pot and spoon, indicated a standard of living higher than that of other troops. The t.i.tles of the officers were drawn from the camp kitchen, from "First Maker of Soup" to "First Cook" and "First Carrier of Water," and the ma.s.sive cauldron in which they cooked became an icon symbolizing their privileged relationship with the sultan. They overturned it to signal dissatisfaction and rebellion. This could happen, for instance, on payment day ceremonies at the palace.

The kitchen also had an important place in the communal life of the Turkish Sufi brotherhoods, the tarikat tarikat, which ran hospices and soup kitchens, and who were very influential. The Mevlana Mevlana order of Whirling Dervishes in Konya, followers of the mystical philosopher and poet Jalal al-Din Rumi and his descendants, famously elevated food to a particularly high position. Rumi, whose interest in food is legendary, wrote poems celebrating food. He a.s.sociated it with spirituality and equated cooking with man's path to spiritual knowledge. The order's kitchen served as a place of initiation and training. Many palace cooks were Sufis who cooked instinctively by feel and taste while at the same time observing a strict discipline and organization. order of Whirling Dervishes in Konya, followers of the mystical philosopher and poet Jalal al-Din Rumi and his descendants, famously elevated food to a particularly high position. Rumi, whose interest in food is legendary, wrote poems celebrating food. He a.s.sociated it with spirituality and equated cooking with man's path to spiritual knowledge. The order's kitchen served as a place of initiation and training. Many palace cooks were Sufis who cooked instinctively by feel and taste while at the same time observing a strict discipline and organization.

Until the early seventeenth century the palace table, or sofra sofra, was characterized by the quant.i.ty and variety of dishes. European amba.s.sadors and foreign visitors marveled at their number-up to 300, I have heard-that arrived one after the other at banquets in their honor. By the mid-nineteenth century, when Ottoman cuisine reached its pinnacle, foreign guests extolled its exquisiteness and refinement in their letters and diaries. It was a time of western influence when the Turkish e lites e lites became fascinated by French cuisine and a.s.similated French ways as well as the ingredients from the New World that had arrived in western Europe long before. became fascinated by French cuisine and a.s.similated French ways as well as the ingredients from the New World that had arrived in western Europe long before.

The Professional Cooks from Bolu In the latter part of the empire, palace cooks were recruited in the vilayet vilayet (region) of Bolu near Lake Abant. According to legend, the n.o.bles were so pleased with the young men who cooked their meat for them in the open after they had spent the day hunting in the mountain forests of the Black Sea region that they brought them back to the city. It soon became the tradition that all the young men from Bolu went to serve at the palace and in the homes of the n.o.bility in Constantinople, leaving the women to till the fields and raise the children. At the age of twelve or thirteen, boys were sent to work in the kitchens near their fathers, uncles, and male cousins. They would go back to the village to marry, only to leave their wives and return to their kitchens. This is how the closed society of chefs that still exists today was formed. (region) of Bolu near Lake Abant. According to legend, the n.o.bles were so pleased with the young men who cooked their meat for them in the open after they had spent the day hunting in the mountain forests of the Black Sea region that they brought them back to the city. It soon became the tradition that all the young men from Bolu went to serve at the palace and in the homes of the n.o.bility in Constantinople, leaving the women to till the fields and raise the children. At the age of twelve or thirteen, boys were sent to work in the kitchens near their fathers, uncles, and male cousins. They would go back to the village to marry, only to leave their wives and return to their kitchens. This is how the closed society of chefs that still exists today was formed.

In her family chronicle Three Centuries Three Centuries (1963), the Turkish writer Emine Foat Tugay wrote about that old generation of cooks who came from Bolu: "Turkish cooking of the past ranked among the great cuisines of the world. Much of it has disappeared together with the excellent chefs, who had learnt their trade as apprentices in (1963), the Turkish writer Emine Foat Tugay wrote about that old generation of cooks who came from Bolu: "Turkish cooking of the past ranked among the great cuisines of the world. Much of it has disappeared together with the excellent chefs, who had learnt their trade as apprentices in konak konaks [grand old-style mansions] and palaces. ... They gradually worked their way up under the master chef from scullery-boy or apprentice to become third, second, and finally first a.s.sistant cook. After ten or twelve years the chef would declare his first a.s.sistant capable of working on his own account. The old chefs almost always brought their complete

staffs with them when they were appointed and took them away with them when they left."

When Turkey became a modern, secular republic under President Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923, the huge kitchen staff at the palace lost their jobs. The cooks who worked for the Turkish aristocracy that now moved to Egypt went with their employers. Others opened kebab houses and eateries, offering so-called saray saray (palace) cooking in Istanbul and other Turkish cities, while still others became makers of specialties such as pickles or puddings. (palace) cooking in Istanbul and other Turkish cities, while still others became makers of specialties such as pickles or puddings.

The Turkish Restaurant and Specialty Food Producers The earliest Turkish word for restaurant, lokanta lokanta, comes from the Italian, meaning inn. Today, while a lokanta lokanta offers modest homely food in a cafeteria-style environment for workers and shoppers at lunchtime, a offers modest homely food in a cafeteria-style environment for workers and shoppers at lunchtime, a restoran restoran is more upmarket and can be very grand. The oldest eating-and-drinking places are the is more upmarket and can be very grand. The oldest eating-and-drinking places are the meyhane meyhane, the old-style taverns or drinking houses of Istanbul situated near the markets in the old neighborhoods, which were once the preserve of Greek, Armenian, and Jewish minorities, such as Pera (now known as Beyoglu), Galata, k.u.mpkapi, and Balat. A large number opened in the mid-nineteenth century following a policy of westernization and modernization in the empire. They were formerly owned and run by Christians and some still are. When the secular state was founded, Muslims too were allowed to run them. Meyhanes Meyhanes offer large selections of offer large selections of meze- meze-hot and cold appetizers or hors d'oeuvres-to accompany raki raki, the anise-flavored spirit, beer, and wine, while itinerant singers and musicians croon nostalgic love songs and play cla.s.sic Turkish and Gypsy and arabesk arabesk music around the tables. music around the tables.

Meze are also a feature of the are also a feature of the kebabcis kebabcis that specialize in grilled meats, and of the fish restaurants along the Bosphorus that have recently become very popular. There is a whole parade of fish restaurants in Ortakoy, the former Jewish quarter in Istanbul where I found my grandmother Eugenie's old home. Many regional restaurants have opened in Istanbul in the last few years, while those in Gaziantep in the south of the country, which offer dishes similar to those from neighboring Syria, have been particularly appreciated. Recently, for the first time, a restaurant opened offering Kurdish specialties. I was taken there by Kurdish friends who could hardly contain their joy. that specialize in grilled meats, and of the fish restaurants along the Bosphorus that have recently become very popular. There is a whole parade of fish restaurants in Ortakoy, the former Jewish quarter in Istanbul where I found my grandmother Eugenie's old home. Many regional restaurants have opened in Istanbul in the last few years, while those in Gaziantep in the south of the country, which offer dishes similar to those from neighboring Syria, have been particularly appreciated. Recently, for the first time, a restaurant opened offering Kurdish specialties. I was taken there by Kurdish friends who could hardly contain their joy.

The high degree of specialization in the food trade is a legacy of the organization in the Ottoman palace kitchens where cooks were entrusted with one type of food only, such as soups, or kebabs, or jams. Now pideci pideci specialize in specialize in lahmacun lahmacun, a Turkish type of meat pizza; borekci borekci specialize in all kinds of pies; specialize in all kinds of pies; iskembeci iskembeci are tripe soup eateries; are tripe soup eateries; muhallebici muhallebicis offer a variety of milk puddings, and baklavaci baklavaci sell baklavas and other pastries. There are also those who specialize in producing cured meats and sausages, cured fish, cheese, pickles, and jams to sell in the bazaars and streets. To protect their trade in the new republic, food makers formed craft guilds that are still important today. But because young men are now not so keen to work as hard as their fathers and are leaving the family businesses to work in other professions, the food trades are no longer jealously guarded and many outsiders have been allowed to join. sell baklavas and other pastries. There are also those who specialize in producing cured meats and sausages, cured fish, cheese, pickles, and jams to sell in the bazaars and streets. To protect their trade in the new republic, food makers formed craft guilds that are still important today. But because young men are now not so keen to work as hard as their fathers and are leaving the family businesses to work in other professions, the food trades are no longer jealously guarded and many outsiders have been allowed to join.

As I mentioned earlier, until a few decades ago most professional cooks came from Bolu and many still do, especially from the towns of Gerede and Mengen, where a catering school was opened in 1985. The prestige with which cooks are still regarded in Turkey today has never been equaled anywhere in the Middle East or North Africa. The strict hierarchy that reigns in restaurant kitchens, denoted by different shapes and sizes of cooks' hats, is also a legacy from palace days. And women still never enter a professional kitchen-unless they own the restaurant.

Since the late eighties, a new modern restaurant trade has developed with the growth of tourism. International hotel chains were the first to open grand restaurants offering local cuisine of a high standard. I was there when the Holiday Inn in Istanbul asked my friend, the food writer Nevin Halici, to teach their highly trained, local kitchen staff regional dishes in which they had previously had little interest.

In the early 1990s, a renaissance of "Ottoman Cuisine" began to take place. The first to give new life to the old dishes was the young chef Vedat Basaran, who introduced an Ottoman menu at the Tura Restaurant in the ciragan Palace-the sumptuous palace in Istanbul where the sultans moved from Topkapi in the nineteenth century-renovated by the Kempinski Hotel chain. The idea was quickly copied by other hotel chains. Travel agents began offering "Ottoman gourmet tours"; companies sponsored the publication of ill.u.s.trated, coffee-table books featuring translations of nineteenth-century recipes. Vedat Basaran next opened the Feriye Lokantasi in a renovated pavilion in the palatial precinct of the ciragan Palace. His dishes are Ottoman in the broad sense: they include seventeenth-century recipes from countries that were part of the Ottoman Empire, such as Syria and Egypt, and are inspired by recipes from his huge collection of old cookery books and from ma.n.u.scripts found in the palace archives. But he interprets them in a modern way. I think his food is exquisite-I experienced a magical evening there.

Istanbul The Istanbul skyline with its domes and minarets, the call of the muezzin muezzin, the smells at the bazaar conjure up memories of my childhood in Egypt with a thrilling feeling of exaltation. The city also brings back my maternal grandmother Eugenie's stories of her life in that city. Recently I found hundreds of letters, written by her father, in an archive in Paris. My great-grandfather Joseph Alphandary was a headmaster at the Alliance Israelite Francaise, an organization that brought French education to Jewish children in Arab and Ottoman countries. He taught in schools in Salonica, Haifa, Tanta in Egypt, and in Istanbul where he was born. His beautifully written letters to the president of the organization in Paris are necessarily official yet also personal. Those from Istanbul bring the city's past alive for me in an incredibly vivid way. In a little synagogue near the mosque in Ortakoy by the Bosphorus, I found him in a group photograph. As I wandered around Istanbul, I very much felt his presence.

In the markets you are aware, by the way shoppers behave, that you are in a country where people love food. The labyrinthlike spice market with the vaulted roof is called Misir Carsisi Misir Carsisi, which means Egyptian Bazaar, because the spices once arrived via Egypt. Amid the carpet shops, jewelers, and leather-goods sellers, food vendors display their wares. Giant chunks of white cheese sit by piles of olives and cured fish. Lamb sausages hang over jumbled mountains of thinly sliced, spiced beef. Syrupy pastries filled with nuts are arranged beside creamy, white, milk puddings. Spice merchants, baharatci baharatci, sell every kind of aromatic as well as dried fruit and nuts, grains, and dried vegetables such as baby okra, little red chilies, and hollowed eggplants that look like leather bells.

Regional Cooking In the late 1970s, I was invited by Gulsen Kahraman, then the director of the Turkish Tourist Office in London, to travel through Turkey. Having asked me where I wanted to go, who I wanted to meet, and what I wanted to see and eat, she arranged the most extraordinary trip. One of my stops was Konya, where the local Cultural a.s.sociation ran the Mevlana Mevlana festivals of Whirling Dervishes; troubadour, folk music, and poetry festivals; rose festivals; horse racing; racing pigeon and javelin throwing, and Koran-reading compet.i.tions. They also organized national food symposiums and cookery compet.i.tions for the surrounding villages, and I suggested to the Halici family, who was behind all these activities, that they should put on an international food event. festivals of Whirling Dervishes; troubadour, folk music, and poetry festivals; rose festivals; horse racing; racing pigeon and javelin throwing, and Koran-reading compet.i.tions. They also organized national food symposiums and cookery compet.i.tions for the surrounding villages, and I suggested to the Halici family, who was behind all these activities, that they should put on an international food event.

Enthusiastically, they asked for a list of people who might like to attend such an event, and the following year found many of us at their international congress. It was organized by Feyzi Halici, a poet and one-time senator, and his sister Nevin, who had made a study of Turkish regional cooking by going from village to village and knocking on doors. We traveled around the country with them and tasted all kinds of foods, some unknown even to the Turkish gastronomes traveling with us. We heard scholarly lectures ranging from the history of Turkish food to nutrition, visited palace kitchens and food bazaars, and went to see artisans at work. In one town, we visited a factory where the workers brought dishes they had cooked at home, producing a great banquet for us. We were invited into people's homes and one family cooked several lambs for us in a pit. We ate in their garden, sitting on cushions around low tables consisting of large trays set on small wooden trestles.

In Turkey, entertaining guests is a central part of social customs. Sharing food is a strict rule of almost religious importance; indeed, it is a command of the prophet. Sayings such as "Guests are the blessing of the house" and "Eat together since communal meals are blessed" attest to this. For outsiders like us, their hospitality was an overwhelming experience.

Biennial congresses followed until they stopped due to lack of funds. A good deal of what I know about Turkish food I owe to Nevin Halici, who has accompanied me on many research trips, and to one of her friends, the much-loved gastronome Tugrul Savkay who sadly died in 2003, far too young.

About Alcoholic Drinks Alcoholic drinks are prohibited by Islam, but Turkey is a secular state and tolerant about alcoholic prohibition. Raki Raki, a powerful spirit made from the distilled, fermented juice of white grapes flavored with aniseed, is the national drink for all but the very religious. It is drunk neat or with iced water, which turns it milky-white, with or without ice. It is produced by the state, as are many of the local wines. The government also encourages a privately owned, quality-wine trade. Boza Boza is a rich, thick drink made from fermented millet. It is of ancient, nomadic origin and has a very distinctive flavor. is a rich, thick drink made from fermented millet. It is of ancient, nomadic origin and has a very distinctive flavor.

One of my most amusing and exciting memories of Turkey is the inaugural evening to celebrate the formation of the Turkish wine-lovers' branch of the Chevaliers du Tastevin. I happened to be in Istanbul and my friend the late Tugrul Savkay invited me to the ceremony and dinner. The venue was the grand ballroom of a yet to be opened five-star hotel. An enormous banqueting table was set in the middle of the empty ballroom. With Ottoman lavishness, course upon course of modern nouvelle cuisinestyle Turkish delicacies were served, accompanied by a succession of local and foreign wines, while toasts were proposed in an atmosphere of convivial jollity. The scene was enchantingly fairylike, with an added cloak-and-dagger feel. The event had been secretly arranged to foil Islamic fundamentalists (there were whispers of a possible bomb). Velvet cloaks, hats, gold chains, and a great sword had been promised by the Chevaliers' Californian branch, which was renovating its wardrobes. The regalia arrived an hour late, which created some anxiety. In due course, however, the women were seated in rows to watch the "knighting by the sword" of their dressed-up men while cla.s.sical music created an elevated feeling of ceremony. As each man knelt on a velvet cushion to be knighted, the women giggled helplessly.

About Tea, Coffee, and Other Beverages Coffee made with pulverized grounds and sugar in a cezve cezve (a small pot with a wide base, narrower neck, and long handle) and served in tiny cups has an important place in Turkish cultural ident.i.ty. It is a symbol of hospitality and is highly esteemed, but in the last twenty-five years its consumption has waned in favor of tea, and it is reserved now for drinking after main meals and for special occasions. (a small pot with a wide base, narrower neck, and long handle) and served in tiny cups has an important place in Turkish cultural ident.i.ty. It is a symbol of hospitality and is highly esteemed, but in the last twenty-five years its consumption has waned in favor of tea, and it is reserved now for drinking after main meals and for special occasions.

Tea became the favored all-day beverage at a time of economic crisis because it was cheaper than coffee, and it has remained so. It is served in tulip-shaped gla.s.ses without milk and with lumps of sugar. Herbal infusions such as sage, thyme, mint, and melissa (lemon balm) as well as apple tea and cinnamon tea are also popular. Salep Salep is a hot drink of milk thickened with the ground root of an orchid flavored with rose water and served with a sprinkling of cinnamon and ground pistachios. In winter it is sold by street vendors. is a hot drink of milk thickened with the ground root of an orchid flavored with rose water and served with a sprinkling of cinnamon and ground pistachios. In winter it is sold by street vendors.

In summer, fresh fruit juices-in particular cherry, apricot, and orange-are fashionable. A wonderfully refreshing and very popular drink that is served at mealtimes is ayran: ayran: this is yogurt beaten with the same amount of water or soda water and just a touch of salt. In Islamic culture, water has symbolic importance. It is seen as a divine gift, a purifier, and saintly. Springwater is much appreciated: people pride themselves in recognizing where it comes from, and it is sometimes served with a slice of lemon or perfumed with rose petals. this is yogurt beaten with the same amount of water or soda water and just a touch of salt. In Islamic culture, water has symbolic importance. It is seen as a divine gift, a purifier, and saintly. Springwater is much appreciated: people pride themselves in recognizing where it comes from, and it is sometimes served with a slice of lemon or perfumed with rose petals.

Starters and Meze In Turkey meze- meze-hot and cold appetizers or hors d'oeuvres-are traditionally served with raki raki to counteract the effect of the strong spirit while delighting the palate. Palace cooks are said to have been familiar with at least two hundred different types. The to counteract the effect of the strong spirit while delighting the palate. Palace cooks are said to have been familiar with at least two hundred different types. The meyhane meyhanes, the old-style taverns where women were rarely seen until recently, and the little fish restaurants by the sea, have made them a specialty. In the past, when families entertained at home, meze meze were served before the meal at a separate " were served before the meal at a separate " raki raki table" where men alone gathered. Now, although table" where men alone gathered. Now, although raki raki is still considered a virile drink, women have joined the men at the is still considered a virile drink, women have joined the men at the raki raki table and enjoy the table and enjoy the meze meze with them. with them.

A well-chosen selection makes a great start to a meal but they should not fill you up. They should be light and tasty, varied and colorful. Serve them with pita bread (pide in Turkey) or with Turkish breads you find in Middle Eastern stores: there are crusty, white loaves; very large, spongy flat breads like the Italian in Turkey) or with Turkish breads you find in Middle Eastern stores: there are crusty, white loaves; very large, spongy flat breads like the Italian focaccia; focaccia; very thin ones called very thin ones called lava lavas; and bread rings covered with sesame seeds called simit. simit.

The salads and vegetable dishes in this chapter can also be served to accompany main dishes. Also included are dishes, such as soups and pies, a cold pilaf, and pastas, which make good first courses in their own right as opposed to being part of a meze. meze. In Turkey, meals at home often begin with soup, which is regarded as a symbol of happiness. Seasonal vegetables cooked in olive oil, served as a first course or on their own after the main meat dish, are an important feature of traditional home cooking. In Turkey, meals at home often begin with soup, which is regarded as a symbol of happiness. Seasonal vegetables cooked in olive oil, served as a first course or on their own after the main meat dish, are an important feature of traditional home cooking.

Yogurt in Turkey is the best in the world-the one made with buffaloes' milk is sensational-and they use it lavishly in so many of their dishes that it is ubiquitous.

EGGPLANT PUReE Patlican Salatasi The Turkish people claim to have a hundred ways of preparing eggplants. For them, it is the king and queen of vegetables. This is the cla.s.sic puree that is also found in all the countries around the Mediterranean with a variety of different flavorings and tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs. Serve it as a dip with bread or with crudites such as carrot, cuc.u.mber, and celery sticks.

SERVES 4 2 eggplants (weighing about 1 pounds)4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oiljuice of lemon, or more to tastesalt p.r.i.c.k the eggplants with a pointed knife to prevent them from bursting in the oven. Place them on a large piece of foil on a baking sheet and roast them in a hot oven pre-heated to 475F for about 45 to 55 minutes, or until they feel very soft when you press them and the skins are wrinkled. When cool enough to handle, peel and drop them into a strainer or colander with small holes. Press out as much of the water and juices as possible. Still in the colander, chop the flesh with a pointed knife, then mash it with a fork or wooden spoon, letting the juices escape through the holes.

Transfer the puree to a serving bowl and beat in the oil and lemon juice and a little salt.