RECIPE: chicken saag and coriander chapatis

chicken saag and coriander chapatis

As the ever-perceptive Homer Simpson once sang whilst shaking his backside in a conga line during an archetypal The Simpsons moment, “You don’t win friends with salad”.

Unless, you can transform a load of greens into something everyone wants to eat - a curry. A great tasting one at that and likely to be healthier than most ‘salads’ on the market.

I've come across a fantastic 7,000 word article covering the 34 science-backed health benefits of spinach written by Helen Nichols over on Well-Being Secrets. Awesome bedtime reading, should you still needed convincing about spinach.

A chicken saag is a curry consisting of the meat cooked in a spiced sauce made from some type of leafy green - mustard leaves, finely chopped broccoli, fenugreek (methi) or in this case, spinach. There is a lot of good in this dish and it’s low in fat. So it’s a good option for all the self-restraint we’re (supposed to be) exercising at this time of year. Serve with rice to mop up the sauce, or some warm and freshly made coriander chapatis (below).


Chicken Saag 

Serves 4

260g fresh spinach leaves
1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, chopped
3 green chillies
2 garlic cloves
30ml rapeseed oil
8 whole black peppercorns
3 bay leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds, ground (or ready ground cumin)
1 tsp coriander seeds, ground (or ready ground cumin)
2 small white onions, chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp mild madras curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
4 skinless chicken thighs with bone, flesh scored
4 skinless chicken legs with bone, flesh scored
5 tbsp low fat yoghurt
Sea salt
Coriander leaves (optional)


Cook the spinach in a pan with a tight fitting lid on a medium heat until wilted - there is no need to add water or oil. Push it about a bit with a wooden spoon. Once wilted, transfer the spinach to a food processor. Add the ginger, chillies (de-seed them if you want to remove some of the heat), garlic and 50ml of water. Blitz until smooth.

Pour the oil into the same pan and on a medium heat, fry the peppercorns and bay leaves until the former begin to pop. Add the cumin and coriander, stir, and cook for a further minute. Add the onions and a pinch of salt, stir and cover. Cook until soft and brown, about 10 minutes - give the onions a nudge now and again with the spoon to prevent any sticking.

Tip Retain any water that condenses in the lid when you lift it to stir - allow it to fall back into the onions.

Add the tomatoes, stir and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the garam masala and curry powder and cook for further 3 minutes.

To this pan add the spinach mix, combine well and cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in the yoghurt, a tablespoon at a time. When fully mixed, add the chicken and combine until they're well coated. Simmer with the lid on until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove the lid and raise the heat so the sauce begins to boil. Keep stirring and turn off the heat once you’re happy with the consistency of the sauce. Taste for seasoning and feel free to add more yoghurt if it has too much chilli heat.

Serve in warmed bowls with a sprinkle of fresh coriander leaves, a drizzle of yoghurt and some coriander chapatis (below). And by the way, this tastes even better the next day.

288 kcal per serving*

Coriander Chapatis

Makes 15

300g chapati flour
1 tsp rapeseed oil
80g coriander leaves, finely chopped
5g sea salt
2 tbsp low fat natural yoghurt

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the coriander, salt and oil. To this add 3/4 cup of warm water and the yoghurt. Combine in the bowl with a wooden spoon until it creates one mass and then turn out onto a floured surface. Knead for 10 minutes or until smooth, no longer sticky and it springs back if you poke it. Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rest in a warm place for 15 minutes.

Divide the mass into 15 equal pieces. To do this weigh the whole mass and divide by 15 - the result is how much each piece should weigh, around 45g. Roll each piece into a ball between the palms of floured hands. With a rolling pin and on a floured surface, roll each ball out into the shape of a rough circle with the thickness of a 50p coin (around 2mm).

Heat a non-stick frying pan or tawa over a high heat for a minute. Put a chapati in the pan - when it begins to puff up and bubble, turn it over. You want each side to have browned and blistered a bit. Repeat with the rest of the chapatis. Don't over cook these or they will become hard.

Tip As each chapati is cooked, place it in a pile with the rest and keep the pile wrapped in a clean tea towel, rather than on a cold plate for example. This will prevent any condensation gathering under the bread.

These are wonderful eaten warm and fresh. Alternatively, keep them in an airtight container and consume within a day or so. Or you can wrap them in cling film and freeze them. If you do, place them in a warm oven to thoroughly heat up before serving.

71 kcal per chapati*

Afiyet olsun.

*calories are a close approximation calculated using My Fitness Pal.

l'atelier des chefs cookery school, st paul's - review

I’ve often fantasized I’d take quite well to the life of a baker. Commuting in the quiet of the night, surrounded by warm ovens and glorious smells. I’d sport a tall and floppy white chefs hat like in Ratatouille, have incredible forearms, and my working day would be over by sunrise. Not to mention all that bread.

When it comes to what I could feasibly go without for the rest of my life when faced with the ‘would you rather’ conundrum, bread does not feature. The usual suspects - alcohol, pasta, potatoes, meat – are all possibilities (if it really came down to it). But bread, never. The Turkish blood in me would boil in protest.

I would go so far as to say it is near impossible to avoid bread at a Turkish meal; it’s just as well they do it so well. Bread is considered sacred in Turkey and should someone come across a piece on the ground, it is picked up and placed somewhere elevated. There is even a saying there, ‘if you step on bread, you will turn to stone’.

Fear of physical metamorphosis aside, any opportunity to hone my bread making skills is gratefully received. L’atelier des Chefs is a cookery school in London with a selection of interactive cooking classes ranging from 30 minutes up to 4 hours and covering global cuisines, food trends and favourite recipes. They have two locations - Oxford Circus and St Paul’s - with the latter hosting a half day bread making master class for myself and seven other students with chef Daniel Stevens commandeering the ship.

The first half of the session saw us making wholemeal fruit scones of two different sizes and rather glorious flat breads to accompany a yoghurt, herb and olive oil dip - all of which we devoured for a late lunch. The latter half involved rye mix loaves allowed to rise in proving baskets, a fougasse type bread achieved by snipping baguette shaped dough and splaying the segments to resemble ears of wheat, and small but perfectly formed sugared doughnuts straight out of the fryer and filled with a tart lemon curd rustled up by one of the attendees. The day saw Daniel talking us through the science behind bread making while we got our hands dirty; the process of proving, the reasons for kneading, the effect of yeast and different types of flour, the necessary ratios of ingredients in loaves, and a particular focus on shaping bread prior to proving and baking - possibly the most important skill to master in bread making according to Chef.

All the dough we used included a ladle of a one year old funky and vigorous sourdough starter, wafting all manner of acidic yeasty aromas up our noses - a sign of its prime and adding unrivalled flavour and depth to your bread. We were informed this was a mere juvenile in the world of starters, with many years under the belt being a common occurrence amongst bakers - as long as you keep feeding it (with flour and water), it keeps on living.

I fondly recall a scene from Anthony Bourdain’s book Kitchen Confidential where his resident and somewhat mentally unhinged bread maker calls him up in the middle of the night screaming down the phone, whilst simultaneously intimately entertaining a lady, ‘FEED MY BITCH, DON’T FORGET TO FEED MY BITCH’, referring to his starter in the restaurant kitchen. He apparently made the best bread Tony ever tasted.

The class was full of ‘I did not know that’ tips, a lot of patience from Daniel, and closed with us popping exquisite hot and fresh doughnuts into our mouths and leaving with more bread than any normal person could possibly consume before it going stale - thank goodness for freezers.

The cost of this four hour Bread Masterclass is £99 per person - good value considering the fundamental skills you will be leaving with that will stand you in good stead for life. I am no novice when it comes to baking bread, but I too learnt a great deal from the day. They also do gift cards, and Christmas is just around the corner..

Afiyet olsun.

Note: I was invited as a guest to review this class

soft bread rolls with ham and truffle mustard - recipe

When I find myself hankering for a specific item of food, there is little point trying to occupy my mind with much else until the desire has been fulfilled. Great bread fresh out of the oven, lacquered with a knob of melting butter, topped with a quality deep meaty filling and a slick of mustard, and you have have something close to what my daydreams are made of.

Paul Hollywood has a great recipe for barm cakes (originating from the Northwest) in How to Bake which I've used here, the bread more widely recognised as baps, flour rolls, soft rolls, and so on. They’re compact, hold a filling well and provide more bite than usual loaf bread whilst still remaining soft.

To finish the rolls I’ve stuffed them with quality cured ham, chopped capers and a dollop of indulgence in the form of Maille black truffle and Chablis mustard. Think of a whisp of heat coupled with the unmistakable presence of truffle, creating an unparalleled pairing with the rest of the porky and piquant goodness.

You can find this flavour of the mustard (along with more than 60 new variants) from La Maison Maille Boutique - a beautiful little store situated in the Piccadilly Arcade in the West End, and their first International Boutique which opened this October. This mustard is sold in a stone pot which once empty, you can take back to get refilled.

Soft bread rolls with ham and truffle mustard

Makes 12 - 13 rolls

Rolls

500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting

10g salt

40g caster sugar

10g instant yeast

40g unsalted butter, softened

320ml cold water

Filling

Butter

Good quality ham, ham hock, or other quality meat filling 

(enough for as many rolls as you wish to fill)

Capers, chopped

Maille black truffle and Chablis mustard

Put the flour in a large bowl. Add the salt and sugar to one side and the yeast to the other. Add the butter and ¾ of the water, and turn the mixture round with a wooden spoon or your fingers.

Continue to add water a little at a time until you’ve picked up all the flour from the sides of the bowl. You may not need to add all the water, or you may need to add a little more - you want dough that is soft but not soggy. Use the mixture to clean the inside of the bowl, folding the edges into the middle. Keep going until the mixture forms a rough dough.

Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 10 minutes, working through the initial wet stage until the dough starts to form a soft and smooth skin.

When it feels smooth and silky, put into a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place until at least doubled in size. This could take anywhere from 1-3 hrs, depending on how the warm the environment is where you put it.

Tip I use a very low oven for this (circa 25C) but you could put it into a warm airing cupboard if you have one.

Once the dough has risen, tip it out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold it inwards repeatedly until all the air is knocked out and the dough is smooth. 

Divide the dough into 12 or 13 pieces weighing around 70g each. Shape each one into a smooth ball by placing a cage formed by your hand and the table and moving your hand around in a circular motion, rotating the ball rapidly. The shape comes with practice!

Put the rolls onto a heavily floured surface and leave to rest for 30 minutes. Cover them with large upturned bowls to prevent them drying out. Meanwhile prepare your baking trays, you will need three. Line them with non-stick baking parchment or silicone paper.

Once rested, roll out the dough balls, using a floured rolling pin, until they are twice the size of the original diameter. Lift onto the prepared baking trays, spacing them apart to allow room for spreading, and sprinkle with flour.

Put each tray inside a large clean plastic bag and leave to prove for about 1hr until the dough has doubled in size and springs back quickly if you prod it lightly with your finger. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 210C.

Tip You can also use cling film to cover the trays but if so, ensure you’ve left no gaps and enough room for the dough to rise without pressing against the plastic too much.

When the rolls are nicely risen, light and airy, bake them for around 10 minutes only until you’ve achieved the same colour as in the photographs. Leave them to cool a little on the baking trays.

Keep the ones you don't plan to eat straight away in a lidded container once completely cool to keep them soft. For the rest and whilst still warm, cut them in half and allow some butter to melt. Add the mustard, layer the meat and top with some of the chopped capers. What joy.

Afiyet olsun.

TURKEY: 10 things to eat in Istanbul

The world is a large place, and there is a lot of it to see. So many images of wonder and beauty to drop jaw over, new cultures to plunge into with head submerged, historical figures and events to get acquainted with, and new faces to smile at. And so when the yearning resurfaces during the year to explore what this rather glorious planet has to offer, more often than not it’s the yet unchartered (by me) corners that find their way onto my shortlist. But there are two cities in particular whose majestic beauty and ethereal qualities, each quite unique, stave off the beckoning calls of new lands and repeatedly have me coming back for more. They are Paris, and Istanbul.

The city of Istanbul is quite simply, like no other. One of complementary contradictions, transcendent beauty, unrivalled history and a welcome with arms thrown wide. Traditionally dressed worshipers frequenting statuesque mosques live in harmony alongside atheists and agnostics and those respectfully revelling in the happening nightlife. The repetitive chants of market traders, endless car horns and scooter revs contrast against the entirely bewitching and seemingly divinely intervened dulcifying tones of the call to prayer, carried by the warm breeze. Even the thousands of stray dogs in Istanbul are tagged, regularly immunised and receive medical treatment when needed, such is the accepting nature of this city.

The only city in the world to traverse two continents, the fertile waters of the Bosphorous dissect the metropolis from north to south, a channel of cobalt joining the Sea of Marmara and The Black Sea and acting as the boundary between Europe and Asia. It is the largest city in Turkey (albeit not its capital) and over a course of 16 centuries has served as the capital of no less than four separate empires: the Roman (330–395), Byzantine (395–1204 and 1261–1453), Latin (1204–1261), and Ottoman (1453–1922). 

Such a rich tapestry of old renders the very cobbles of the streets saturated with palpable history. And whenever a city has such a vibrant past, an eclectic international populace along with an exceptional cuisine is sure to follow. Istanbul is a veritable treasure trove of delights that can feed both the body and soul. I’ve collated a few recommendations I would strongly advise entertaining for the former when you next visit. Note, ‘when’.

10 Things to Eat in Istanbul

1) Simit

Wander the streets of the city early enough and you’ll see stocks of freshly baked simit being transported across the city (often piled high on trays perched on heads - is there an easier way to move a load of bread?) from bakeries and into mobile carts where they are sold on almost every street corner.

A ring of slightly chewy bread covered with sesame seeds, it is almost bagel-like in it’s quality. It is traditionally eaten plain with a çay (amber tea grown in Turkey and served without milk) to help wash it down, or at breakfast with the addition of peynir (cheese), perhaps some domates (tomatoes) or salatalık (cucumber).

Archival sources show the production of this bread in Istanbul dates back to 1593. Utterly ubiquitous across the city, you will be unable to avoid them. A perfect and very cheap snack to fill the voids between the exceptional eats that will punctuate your visit and a wonderful example of the staple that Turkey does exceptionally well - bread. If you can, eat from a freshly baked batch for unrivalled flavour.

Address: Everywhere

2) Türk kahvesi (Turkish Coffee)

The ritual of drinking Türk kahvesi and the product itself is quite different to the Americanised chain offerings. There are no venti vats of searing hot muddy water, burning any hints of real coffee flavour that may have been present into the depths of Hades with the excessive temperatures of boiling water used. The coffee is in fact made slowly on a stove over a very low heat, and served in espresso sized cups.

A vessel designed specifically to make Turkish coffee is called a cezve (prn. [jez-veh]) and designs can range from traditional copper ones to more modern stainless steel offerings. The end product is unashamedly strong and  leaves a sediment at the bottom of the cup. Stop drinking before you reach this to avoid a gum line of grit - it’s not meant to be consumed.

There isn’t really a coffee that tastes like it anywhere else, and it’s to be enjoyed with companionship and over conversation. It can round off glorious meals or be enjoyed as a pick-me-up during the day. You’ll find this dark nectar served in every restaurant and cafe across Istanbul, but for the very best visit Fazil Bey in Kadıköy where they roast and grind their beans on site. This was quite simply the best I’ve ever had - silky smooth with hints of cocoa. 

Related post: There is a rather lovely blog post from Delicious Istanbul called 5 Simple (Yet Little Known) Rules to Enjoy Turkish Coffee - do have a look.

Address:

Fazil Bey, Serasker Cad. No1 A Tarihi Kadıköy Çarşısı Phone : +90 216 4502870

3) Kahvaltı (breakfast)

Cast your mind back to the history lessons of your youth, recall the huge banquets typical of Tudor meals, and you’ll have something close to how the Turks often treat the first meal of the day. Forget bowls of spiritless cereals or slices of granary and marmite inhaled as the front door slams behind you, breakfast time in Turkey is a pretty big deal. When done to its fullest, you’ll be met with a dizzying spread of fresh produce that will often keep you going until dinner time, perhaps with a small snack (simit? see above) somewhere in between.

There are some very typical dishes that can be found at the Turkish breakfast table and to experience the full works, Van Kahvaltı Evi in Beyoğlu delivers in spades. Run by a team of young Kurds and replicating the breakfast joints prolific in the city of Van in the east (not far from Turkey’s border with Iran), the spread includes typical Turkish breakfast appearances (such as tomatoes, cucumber, olives) along with cheeses from the city of Van itself, eggs, pastries and more.



Here’s what you can expect from the Serme Kahvaltı (Breakfast Spread) menu - this is the bad boy:

Peynir - cheese, several different types
Kaymac ve bal - clotted cream served in a dish of honey, quite exceptional
Tereyağı - butter
Zeytin - an assortment of olives
Murtuga - local to Van, bread coated in egg and flour and fried in oil
Kavut - local to Van, ground wheat, black pepper and sugar simmered together in butter
Pekmez - fruit molasses
Tahin - tahini
Reçel - jam
Haşlanmış yumurta - boiled eggs
Domates, salatalık - tomatoes, cucumber
Sınırsız çay - unlimited Turkish tea
Ekmek - endless baskets of freshly baked bread



In addition to this set menu, you can (and should - come hungry) order extras which simply cannot be missed. These include menemen (scrambled eggs cooked with peppers and a bit of spice) and gözleme (very thin and fresh bread dough folded around a filling such as spinach, potatoes or cheese and cooked on a flat griddle). Round off with a Türk kahvesi (see above) and possibly a nap.

Is it acceptable to have breakfast three times a day? It should be.

Address:

Van Kahvaltı Evi, Defterdar Yokuşu 52/A, Cihangir, Beyoğlu
Phone: 212-293-6437

Related posts: 

• There's a place in Fulham that makes a very decent attempt at a traditional Turkish breakfast. Did I mention it was buffet and only £7.95?
• Here's my own menemen recipe if you want to try it at home. The purists out there will shout at me for not scrambling the eggs, but I just can't resist a cascading yolk.

4) Lahmacun

The words ‘freshly made’ and ‘bloody gorgeous’ do not often associate themselves with those of ‘fast food’, but in Istanbul the only way to have the latter is by involving the former. Lahmacun (prn. [luh-muh-jun]) is a hugely popular and very typical example of that thing the Turks do so well - quick and tasty bites that blast golden arches and ‘having it your way’ right out of the picture. 
 

It is comprised of a thin dough topped with a mix of wonderfully spiced minced lamb and finely diced peppers, blasted for a minute in a scorching pizza-type oven, dressed with fresh parsley, drizzled with lemon, rolled up and devoured. 

Chains are not all bad and certainly not in Istanbul. Halil Lahmacun have many branches and do these so fantastically well. A dough master separates small balls of dough from a large mass keeping them in a pile on the side ready for an order. When one comes in, he rolls out the ball to a paper thin layer. A second person tops this with the mince mix whilst also commandeering the oven. By the time you've sat down and taken a swig of your ayran (yoghurt drink - works wonderfully with the spice, get it), your plate presents itself before you. 

I’m not entirely sure it gets much better. Oh wait, it does (see next entry).

Address:

Halil Lahmacun, Guneşlibahçe Sokak 26, Kadıköy
Phone: 0216-337-0123

Related post: My own lahmacun recipe - try it at home.

5) Durum

Part two of unrivalled fast-food in Istanbul comes in the form of durum. Dürümzade was visited by Anthony Bourdain himself in his Istanbul episode of No Reservations (which is how I know about it) and described them as ‘tastebud torpedos’. The flavour sensation from these rolled up beauties has the pleasure receptors going into overdrive. Quite simply, some of the best tasting food you will get your chops around in this city. 

Oustandingly well flavoured and spiced lamb mince is manipulated around skewers and cooked over coals (you can tell this is onto a winner already). The flat breads are squeezed around the skewers for a few seconds to absorb the meaty juices (be still my beating heart) and placed over the coals until blistered from the heat. When the meat is cooked, they’re placed on the bread along with red onions, tomatoes, parsley and very importantly, sumac (a sort of citrussy spice - I can’t think of any other flavour more fitting to Turkish cuisine). They are rolled up, served with pickled chillies and on their own provide wonderful heat.

Salty, meaty, spicy, citrussy - you need these in your life. One of these alone warrants a plane journey.

Address: 

Dürümzade, Kalyoncu Küllük Caddesi 26/A, Beyoğlu

Phone: 212-249-0147

6) Fasulye (beans)

If when asking for the menu in a restaurant you are presented with a response of ‘it’s just beans and rice’, you know you’re onto something good. Any restaurant that can sustain business over multiple years by serving just two things must do those two things really, really well.

Beans (fasulye) and pulses in general are a huge part of Turkish cuisine and can be found at most table spreads, either in the form of mezze (starters) or part of main dishes. Erzincanlı Ali Baba can be found on a street full of fasulye based restaurants that hugs the side of the statuesque Süleymaniye Mosque, and this is one of the best. 

Ladling out bowls of beautiful and simply cooked Erzincan-style baked beans with a soupy tomato base that includes onions and chilli pepper, and fat white creamy pulses. Along with this, order a portion of al dente pilaf (you’ll still be given bread - it's not possible to have a meal without it in Turkey) and treat yourself to a wholesome and meat-free plate of comfort. 

Address:

Erzincanlı Ali Baba, Prof. Sıddık Sami Onar Caddesi 11, Süleymaniye

Phone: 212-513-6219

Related post: Here's a very simple Turkish recipe to try at home, this time involving green beans and lamb.

7) Içli köfte

These bulgar wheat shells housing ground meat, onions, parsley and spices have been served from this street side trolley on the arterial pedestrianised road of İstiklal Caddesi for years. Made and cooked five flights up in the Sabırtaşı restaurant itself where they are served boiled, the al fresco offering is instead fried to a golden perfection and all the more superior for it.

Crunchy shells broken to reveal full flavoured and moist contents within, they’re quite perfect to fill the void between walking from one end of the street to the other. An excellent example of Istanbul’s street food scene.

Address:

İstiklal Caddesi 112 (across from YapıKredi Bank), Beyoğlu

Phone: 212-251-9423

8) Bal (honey)

If you didn't already know, Turkey produces some incredible honey and Etabal in Kadiköy glows a warm amber from the street-side from this single ambrosial product it specialises in. Glass cases house colossal slabs of honeycomb sitting in pools of golden nectar. Walls are lined with jars of honey and honeycomb of all different grades, such as special Karakovan honey from the Kaçkar mountains, or honey with Propolis (thought to be a natural antibiotic).

This is a perfect place to purchase some delicacies to enjoy back home. But if you’d like some of the sweet stuff for the road, they sell little pots of fresh yoghurt with a generous scoop of honey from those glass cases ladled over them. A warm glowing beacon ready to devour and enjoy. It was sublime.

Address:

Eta Bal, Güneşli Bahçe Sokak No.28/A, Kadiköy

9) Fırın Sütlaç (baked rice pudding)

Simply put, this is one of my favourite desserts I’ve ever had from anywhere. And as is often characteristic of the best plates of food, it is the very epitome of simplicity. It’s a light, milk based dessert with rice and sugar and sometimes flavoured with rose water. It’s thickened with a bit of corn starch and this (fırın) version includes a bake in the oven.

It should be noted that a lot of places serve this dish and they do seem to vary quite considerably. Most are generally good, but the ones served in the quality dessert chain Mado remain in my opinion unmatched by others, and I eat sütlaç everywhere that serves it.

Mado’s offering tastes like nothing else I’ve ever had - delicate, milky and actually with very little rice. A beautiful brown skin on top concealing creamy contents within, a glorious wobble when you give the plate a shake, and topped with chopped toasted hazelnuts. It’s cool, calm, coating in its qualities, not in your face, not too sweet; simply exquisite and I just can’t get enough of it.

Address:

This chain is prolific - lucky us. Take a look here for Istanbul branches.

10) Künefe 

It’s no secret that salt and sweet make a beautiful pairing and one the Turks embrace at every given opportunity, usually with the salt provided by cheese. Creamy white cheese is often served with sweet ripe melon and eaten with honey or jam on bread (halloumi and strawberry jam sandwiches were one of my favourite packed lunches - my classmates would turn their noses up, uneducated in the delights of such a taste sensation - try it). I also dip my McDonald fries into my milkshake for a similar effect, but the less said about that the better I suspect.

So it comes as no surprise to me that the Turks would include cheese at the centre of what is essentially a gorgeous slab of shredded filo pastry cooked in butter and soaked in syrup (much like baklava). A new dish to me introduced on this latest visit to Istanbul, and one I’ll certainly be returning to. Again, I tried a couple of these while out there and the one at Sur Ocakbaşı (famous for their lamb cooked in a pit incidentally - have that for mains) won hands down.

Crisp golden outer edges and base, softer pastry inside all sweet from the syrup, coupled beautifully with melted salty cheese at the centre, and topped with vibrant green chopped pistachios. Like hot, sticky and buttery Shredded Wheat with a hint of savoury. Really very excellent and a worthy contender for my second favourite dessert in Istanbul.

Address:Sur Ocakbaşı, Zeyrek Mh., 34083 FatihPhone:+90 212 533 8088

And there you have it, my humble offering of the direction you should send your taste buds towards when in Istanbul. In all fairness, there is a hell of a lot of great eating to be had in this enchanting city - follow the locals to make a list of your own and you won't go far wrong.

But do be sure to visit - I guarantee you'll fall hard for the place.

Afiyet olsun.