Recipes – food without borders

Topik Meze from the Armenian Cuisine of Turkey

Published on May 31, 2020 by iremaksu

“For some reason, my parents did not have the habit to buy ready-made Meze but preferred to prepare it by themselves at home. We would rather prepare every meal we had together as a family. While my father insisted that no other woman could cook better than his own mother, my mother absolutely did not compromise what she had learned from her mother regarding in cooking. As a result, our meals became a source for happiness and joy. I think the reason for that was my grandmothers were two very close friends from Çorlu, even before my parents existed. One of them Mrs. Takuhi and the other Mrs. Akabi, or in her husband’s words Akabi Sultan.

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Stuffed Cooked Mussels from the Greeks of Istanbul

Published on May 22, 2020 by iremaksu

“I had never considered living in Athens. When I was in Istanbul I thought the cuisine in Greece and ours would be the same but as I arrived here, I realized it is much different than I expected. Therefor, I started to research our cuisine in Istanbul to find out the connections between our culture and the food we enjoy.”

The Greek cuisine in Istanbul is not only unique to its own but tells also the story of a culture which has been living in the region for 1500 years. Their food history dates back to even before the Byzantine Empire. Their roots are still visible today in Istanbul through the strong mezze culture. In the past, many from the Greek minority worked as cooks in the Lokantas and Meyhanes (traditional neighbourhood restaurants and Istanbul taverns) who have contributed for the popularity of the meze culture of today. Sula Bozis, a Greek from Istanbul shares her thoughts and knowledge about their food culture and the history of food in Istanbul with Topik:

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Paskalya Coregi – Istanbul’s Easter bread

Published on May 4, 2020May 4, 2020 by iremaksu

One of the staple breads baked during Easter time in Istanbul. The original recipes always consist of mastic gum – which is a unique product from the mastic trees grown on Chios Island in Greece. And mahlep is also a key ingredient to have an irresistible smell while baking. I do not have any of them in my larder, but I have used cardamom instead. This bread is a very good example of a common baking practice in neighbouring regions and cultures under different names. It is called Paskalya Coregi in Turkish, Tsoureki in Greek, Challah in Jews culture… Happy Easter!

Makes 2 x braided Easter bread

Ingredients

● 7g quick dry active yeast (1 pack or a flat teaspoon)

● 100ml lukewarm water

● 100ml warm whole milk

● 170g caster sugar

● 500g-550g plain flour + handful for kneading and shaping – sifted

● 110g unsalted butter – melted & cooled

● 2 medium free range eggs

● 1tsp and 1⁄2 tsp cardamom seeds – coarsely ground

● A pinch of sea salt

For topping

● 1 egg yolk and a few drops of water

● Hazelnuts – or – poppy seeds, almond flakes whatever you have in your cupboard

Preparation

Place a small bowl, add melted butter along with the 2 whole eggs. Mix them until combined. Make sure the butter is cooled enough before you add the eggs.

In a large bowl add half of the flour, cardamom, sugar, dried yeast and mix until combined. Make a little whole in the middle of the dry mix and slowly pour warm milk and water, stir slowly with a fork. Then add butter and egg mixture, give another round of stir. Start combining all the mixture by your hand and knead.

Continue to add the remaining flour and knead until the dough is smooth, elastic and not sticky.

You can adjust the amount of flour until you achieve this texture.

Remove the dough from the bowl, add a drizzle of olive oil in your bowl and grease it with your hand. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover it with a kitchen towel and place the dough somewhere warm and dark for an hour to rise and double its size – can be the middle rack of your oven.

Take the bowl out after an hour, it must be doubled its size, and punch it down a few times to remove the air.

Turn your oven on to preheat.

Flour a clean surface, knead your dough few times and add flour it feels sticky. Ready to braid! Make 6 equal balls from the dough. Three balls you use for each bread. Check the video to see how to braid a dough here. (note that the dough in this video is a different bread dough, I am adding this just to show you the technique )

After you braid two equal breads, place them on a baking parchment paper laid tray. Make sure there is 5-6cm space between the breads. Cover the tray with a clean damp kitchen towel and leave it for a final rise about 20 minutes in a warm place.

In a small bowl add your egg yolk, splash of water.

Brush the braided bread with egg yolk and sprinkle your choice of nut on top. Place the tray in preheated 175C oven and bake for 35 minutes. Check if it needs further 5 minutes. At this stage it should smell great. Served either warm or cooled, sliced and toasted.

Stuffed Cooked Mussels from the Greeks of Istanbul

Published on October 30, 2015May 22, 2020 by iremaksu

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Aniseed Biscuits from the Sephardic Jews Cuisine of Turkey

Published on October 30, 2015January 18, 2020 by iremaksu

“Our cuisine is simple – no spices, no heavy sauces, no fancy decorations, not so much meat, a lot of vegetables ! A lot of aubergines and courgettes, in fact. We even have a poem, which explain the 40 different ways of preparing an aubergine dish “ – Orly Toledo

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