Turkish delights

People are always eating and drinking around the clock in Istanbul: grabbing chewy sesame-crusted simit (bagels) on every street corner, sipping refreshing freshly squeezed pomegranate juice, small glasses of sweetened tea or thick Turkish coffee on their way to work, stopping at hole-in-the-wall döner and köfte joints for a quick snack or slurping bowls of chickpea and lentil, tripe or spinach and yogurt soup at lunchtime. In the afternoon, it’s customary to have a sugar hit of honeyed yogurt or kaymak (clotted water-buffalo cream) or myriad pastries like baklava and kadayif dripping with honey Octopus, potato and green olive salad w and nuts. You could spend a lifetime visiting all the neighbourhoods of Istanbul trying the diff erent regional foodstuff s that refl ect the diverse immigrant nature of the populace – and realise that food and drink, as much as culture and history, inform the city’s daily rhythms.

If you start and end any visit to Istanbul on Galata Bridge, you’ll be surrounded by a maelstrom of infl uences – ancient and modern, East and West – that colour this fascinating city and you’ll want to come back again and again to sample its delectable cuisine.

Eat Istanbul: A Journey To The Heart Of Turkish Cuisine, by Andy Harris and David Loftus, with photography by David Loftus, is published by Quadrille, priced £20.

OCTOPUS, POTATO AND GREEN OLIVE SALAD

Serves 6

The way I cook octopus is to place it in a saucepan with a generous glug of red wine vinegar then simmer it for about 45 minutes until tender. Add it to this simple salad of classic Aegean ingredients. If you can’t
nd purslane, use watercress or rocket leaves.

Ingredients

• 750g potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• 750g octopus, cleaned and washed
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 100g green olives
• small bunch of purslane, washed
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• juice of ½ lemon
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve:

• sumac

Method
Boil the potatoes in plenty of salted water until cooked. Drain in a colander, place in a bowl and leave to cool.

Place the octopus and vinegar in a saucepan over a medium heat and cook for about 10 mins, stirring occasionally, until the octopus begins to curl and turn a pinkish colour. Lower the heat, cover with a lid and let the octopus simmer in the juices it releases, stirring occasionally, for 45-60 mins until tender. If necessary, add a little water if there is not enough liquid in the pan. Drain in a colander and leave to cool for 15 mins before slicing.

Put the octopus, potatoes, olives and purslane in a bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil, lemon and vinegar, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix well. Serve sprinkled with a little sumac.

SWORDFISH WITH POMEGRANATE, ONION AND PISTACHIO SALAD

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 550g sword
  fish, cut into chunks
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the marinade:

• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• juice of ½ lemon
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp ground cumin

For the pomegranate, onion and pistachio salad:

• 3 tbsp fresh ‹flat-leaf parsley, including stems, roughly chopped
• 1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• seeds and juice from 1 pomegranate
• 50g shelled unsalted pistachios, halved

To serve:

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• juice of ½ lemon

Method
Rinse and dry the swordfish, then place in a non-reactive dish (eg, glass, Pyrex or ceramic). Add the marinade ingredients, season generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and cover with cling
lm. Refrigerate for at least 30 mins – preferably longer.

Combine all the pomegranate, onion and pistachio salad ingredients in a bowl. Season generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, cover with cling
lm and refrigerate until ready to use.

When the sword
fish has finished marinating, transfer it to a large plate and pour the marinade into a large frying pan. Cook over a medium heat for 2-3 mins, stirring occasionally. Add the sword
sh to the frying pan, in batches if necessary, and cook for 3-4 mins on each side.

Remove the salad from the refrigerator, add the cooked sword
sh and mix to combine. Transfer the mixture to 4 plates and spoon any remaining marinade from the pan over the top. To serve, drizzle with the olive oil and lemon juice.

BLACKEYED BEAN, EGG AND PEPPER SALAD

Serves 4

Black-eyed beans are mostly combined with tomatoes, onions and herbs. I also like to add them to boiled eggs, peppers and spring onions for this simple salad.

Ingredients

• 250g dried black-eyed beans 
• 4 tbsp fresh ‹flat-leaf parsley, including stems,
  finely chopped
• 6 spring onions, trimmed and sliced
• 2 long green peppers, deseeded and sliced
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp za’atar
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered

Method
Put the black-eyed beans in a saucepan over a low heat, cover with cold water, put on a lid and simmer for 30-40 mins or until tender. Drain the beans in a colander and leave to cool.

Transfer the cooled beans to a serving bowl and combine with the parsley, spring onions, peppers, olive oil and vinegar. To serve, season generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle za’atar over the eggs and add to the salad.

BULGUR AND LENTIL SALAD (see above)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 150g dark bulgur wheat
• 150g green or yellow lentils
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 6 spring onions, trimmed and sliced
• 2 ripe tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and chopped
• 2 red peppers, deseeded and sliced
• 1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp fresh ‹flat-leaf parsley, including stems, roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp fresh dill, including stems,
  finely chopped
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 150ml extra virgin olive oil 
• 4 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• grated zest and juice of 2 lemons

To serve:

• 1 tsp sumac

Method
Place the bulgur in a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to expand and cool for 30-45 mins.

Put the lentils, garlic and bay leaves in a saucepan over a medium heat. Cover with plenty of cold water and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 20-30 mins or until tender.

Drain in a colander, discard the garlic and bay leaves and place the lentils in a large bowl. Drain the bulgur in a colander, then transfer to a clean tea towel and pull the sides up before squeezing tightly to get rid of any excess water. Add it to the bowl of lentils. Add the spring onions, tomatoes, peppers, onion, parsley, mint and dill and mix well. Season generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the olive oil, pomegranate molasses, lemon zest and juice and mix again.

Leave for 30 mins to allow the ‹ avours to infuse. Serve sprinkled with the sumac.