What better way to learn the food of a new country than to cook with expert chefs in the area? My friend Christine and I did just that by signing up for a cooking class at Cooking Alaturka with Chef Feyzi. Although Feyzi did not really speak English (there was an assistant chef to help translate and explain the dishes) he was hilarious and constantly making jokes, like telling Christine it was necessary to put her ear up to the Turkish coffee grinds before making the drink…she fell for that one. In addition to the cooking class, I dove, mouth first, into the traditional cuisines by reading up on regional specialties and making sure to order as many different dishes as possible. One of my favorite local food experiences was in Beyoğlu (the modern part of the city) at Çiçek Pasaji, an old flower market that is now renovated to include about eight or so different restaurants. When you walk in, men at the front of house encourage you to stop at their respective restaurants while clarinet and violin musicians travel throughout all the taverns, playing music for lucky (or not so lucky tables).
The expert of the Turkish kitchen: Chef Feyzi. He walked us through five different courses of excellence, featured below.
Ezogelin corbasi: Red lentil and bulgur soup with dried mint and chili pepper. You can taste history when tasting this soup. It is featured on all menus and delivers a flavorful and vibrant punch the frequently used spice of Turkish chili flakes.
Zeytinyağlı taze fasulye: Green runner beans cooked in olive oil with onion, garlic, and tomato. The beans, similar to the dish I featured on my Lebanon staycation, are part of a whole host of vegetables dishes that are cooked in olive oil. The five basic ingredients—salt, sugar, lemon juice, olive oil, and water are added a deep sautee pan and layered with vegetables. While the Turkish do like to lather up their food with sugar (I went through a solid four cups of sugar when making Baklava…), this dish only requires a pinch of sugar in order to balance the acidity of the lemon juice.
Kabak mücveri: Zucchini (courgette) patties with herbs and cheese What happens when a potato latke meets a Turkish kitchen? The chef cheats on the potato with zucchini to reveal a love affair of courgette patties and garlic-yogurt dip. I approve.
Hünkar beğendili kuzu: Lamb stew in tomato sauce on smoky eggplant puree. The eggplant takes sometime to prepare as we thoroughly smoked them over a grill and painstakingly peeled the skins off once cooked. When peeling, it was essential to scrape the peels for any eggplant flesh in order to ensure as much of the smoky taste as possible.
İncir tatlısı: Walnut-stuffed figs in syrup. From my American eyes, this dish represents the fig before it met the newton. It was absurdly easy to prepare and looks pretty elegant as well (green pistachio dust was a big plating ingredient).
The Egyptian Bazaar (Spice Market) was built in 1600 and financed by Egyptian goods, primarily spices, hence the name. The market features shop after shop of mounds of spices and Turkish delight from which to choose. We spent a solid two hours searching the shops, smelling the spices, and tasting whatever was handed to us. Many of these spices–cardamom, chili flakes, saffron, sumac, etc. highlight typical Ottoman cuisine. Check out some additional pictures of my Turkish tasting adventure below.
Iskender Kebab My reason for ordering this dish was two-fold: one, the dish is famously Turkish and two, the dish is basically just a massive piece of lamb. This dish was invented by the Ottoman İskender Efend and features a huge, thin slice of lamb served over pieces of broken bread and flavored with tomato sauce and yogurt…
…I downed it all.
Baklava The French make life interesting by taking the great concept of macarons (which I gladly consumed during my layover in Charles de Gaulle airport) and adding a variety of flavors (chocolate, coffee, rose, pistachio, vanilla, olive oil, passion fruit…). Similarly, the Turks take the divine but baklava and provide a whole variety of choices. Baklavaris, as they are labeled, appear consistently through the streets of Istanbul and feature this phyllo dough treat with walnuts, pistachios, cashews, almonds, and chocolate. Some are layered squares while others are cylindrically wrapped around the nut filling. All, however, are amazing and a necessary finish to every meal.
All in all, the Turkey jet set was a food success and I was lucky to enjoy the full taste of the country by actually traveling there. Now, however, back to DC chilling and onward to my Norwegian staycation…
Food Staycation 
