Ozlem's Turkish Table

I have been lucky enough to go back to Antioch,(Antakya), my hometown, with 11 enthusiastic travellers. It is the place I spent many childhood holidays at my grandmother’s almost 500 year old house, shopped in its ancient Long Market and enjoyed endless hammam rituals. It is so wonderful to be back and share this wonderful city with you all.



And here we are in the Antakya Museum of Archaeology (Mosaic Museum), which has the 2nd richest collection of ancient mosaics in the world. The size and the quality of the mosaics are simply breathtaking. This is the Soteria Mosaic (awakening).



And this is one of my favorite mosaics, Oceanus. Lovely details of cupids fishing and all the fish mosaics around.



The Mosaic Museum also hosts a section featuring the medieval pottery excavated in the region. Here are some examples of their beautiful pottery.



We left the Mosaic Museum and started walking towards the ancient Long Market (Uzun Carsi). Along the way, we came across a street stall, selling fresh pistachios, in their vibrant cherry coloured soft shells!:) They are a real delicacy at this part of Turkey, packed with flavor. Southeast part of Turkey, especially Gaziantep region is famous with their pistachios and Turkey is one of the biggest producers in the world. Next to the pistachios are the hazelnuts. Of course we had to get a small pack and taste them on our way to the market:)



And here we are in the Long Market, Uzun Carsi. It is the place where locals shop for their spices, red pepper paste, cheese, bread, kunefe (tel kadayif, shredded pastry strands for the dessert kadayifi), clothing and many more. Dried eggplants and peppers decorate almost every shop and it is delightful even to stroll around.



You see drink stalls all around the Long Market. This is my freshly squeezed orange, lemon and red mulberry juice with crushed ice; great colours, isn’t it? Very refreshing too!



Spices are being used artfully in Antioch; I can’t think of the cuisine without cumin, red pepper flakes, dried mint, sumac and many more. Long Market is the place where you find them all. There is also a great variety of herbal teas, henna (for coloring the hair and hands, especially at festive times and weddings), tahini, sesame seeds and pomegranate molasses; this place is a real foodie heaven.



Another delightful spot at the Long Market, a shop selling wooden spoons. This spoon is especially used for making region’s sweet pastry called kombe; locals shape the pastry using this spoon and its pattern.



I was watching this little boy getting his pide (flat bread, especially made during the month of Ramadan)from the local bakery in Long Market. I used to do – and always willing to!- that when I was a child a lot. Bakeries in Antioch is not only used for bread, but also locals would bring their meat mixture for kebabs and the bakeries would bake them. The tray kebab (which you can find the recipe in the blog, under Regional Signature dishes) cooked in the bakeries is to die for.



This is quite an interesting operation. Tel Kadayifi, fresh, vermicelli like pastry strands is the main ingredient of the world famous dessert Kunefe (or Kadayifi, as known abroad). The fresh pastry strands are cooked and sieved through a machine, that spirals through a round flat oven and baked there.



Once the pastry strands are ready, they are soaked in the melted butter and pressed flat on a greased oven tray. Then a generous layer of region’s unsalted cheese, specially produced for this dessert (similar to mozzarella)is spread evenly. Then another thin layer of butter soaked pastry strands is pressed over the top and baked. After baking it is cut in triangle slices and hot sugary syrup is poured all over. After a few minutes of soaking this syrup, the kunefe is ready to be served! It is worth coming to Antakya just for this dessert!:)

I hope you enjoyed strolling around Antioch, Antakya. This is a land of peace, tolerance, with rich history and culinary heritage. I can’t wait to come back again, and I hope you make it here sometime too.

Best wishes,

Ozlem

Have you ever tried the wonderful cuisine of Antioch (Antakya)? This is the region where the country’s spice food hail; tahini,cumin, red pepper flakes, sumac, mint, zahter (wild oregano), sesame seeds, nigella seeds and many more used liberally to add wonderful, rich flavors to the dishes. Another specialty is the red pepper paste (the recipe is in this blog, under appetizers); paste of spicy red pointy peppers with a little seasoning, preserved in jars to use all through the years. How about pomegranate molasses? This thick, tangy sauce is wonderful on bulgur wheat salad (kisir), fresh salads, marination and many more. This is the place where my cooking is inspired and it is wonderful to experience and share the genuine article at its source.


One of the best places to sample Antakya’s specialities is at Sultan Sofrasi restaurant at the heart of the city. The owner Metin Bey and his staff kindly hosted a informative chefs table to us, letting us taste all the specialities, incredible feast. This is “Kofteli Tuzlu Yogurt Corbasi”, a using region’s specialty thick salty yoghurt with rice, dried mint, red pepper flakes and bulgur patties. I made a similar version of this soup using natural plain thick yoghurt, available in this blog, under Soups. With a few sprinkles of red pepper flakes over the top, this is a very delicious and healthy soup.

Here comes Antioch’s specialty pastries; Kaytaz Boregi ( savory patties topped with ground meat, onions and a little red pepper paste), Ispanakli borek (hand rolled pastries stuffed with spinach and region’s crumbled white cheese called cokelek). And how can one forget the delicate, wonderful taste of Oruk? (the oval shaped bulgur patties filled with ground meat, walnuts and onions, and baked in the oven). It is crusty outside and moist inside, a real taste sensation. By the side is the wild zahter salad with pomegranate sauce; tangy, refreshing flavor, just wonderful.

The mezes keep on coming and we think we are in heaven; this is smoked eggplant salad with pomegranate molasses, olive oil and tomatoes; the sweetness of tomato work so well with the smoky, meaty flavor of eggplants and sweet and tangy pomegranate sauce complement the meze so well. And hummus Antakya style; this version has more tahini than usual, and lots of cumin and red pepper flakes over it, as well as pickled cucumbers and peppers – I am already full with all these but can’t stop eating, too good to let go!:)

And here comes a real specialty of Antioch (Antakya); Assur (or Etli Asure). This traditional course, is also a very festive meal, that we enjoy during religious festivities. We are in Ramadan at the moment, and I am sure more Assur will be consumed at the end. In this special dish, tender meats of beef and lamb is slowly cooked with red pepper paste, bulgur wheat, chickpeas, lots of onion, cumin, red pepper flakes, ground black pepper and a little stock. Then over slow cooking and continious stirring (and moreover beating while stirring with great wooden spoons) the dish comes to a point that it is elastic and almost melt in the mouth, so good. The stirring and beating part over low heat is crucial, and I remember me and my cousins all taking turns to beat the asure during prepping when I was a child – happy days:)It is dressed with olive oil, coarsely chopped walnuts, cumin and red pepper flakes and sometimes with small raisins, like my mother does.

How about Antakya’s most famous “Kagit Kebabi”? This is a special kebap baked on a special paper in the bakeries. It has a combination of ground lamb and beef, lots of sruched garlic, cumin, ground black pepper, red pepper flakes and finely chopped flat parsley. Locals would prepare this meat mixture and take it to their local bakery to be baked. And my favorite part was picking up the delicious kebab from the bakery with freshly baked thin pita breads from our local bakery, as we children used to have extra treats of pita from the bakery to keep us going until the kebap is served!

And here how we wrap a piece of kebab on the pita bread with some roasted pointy peppers or tomatoes by the side; just heavenly.

It is not over yet! The owner of Sultan Sofrasi, Metin Bey is determined that we taste all the Antioch delicasies and how can we forget region’s famous dessert, Kunefe, along with young walnut and pumpkin dessert? The Kunefe in this region is the real thing, the vermicelli like fresh pastry strands are freshly made at the Long Market of Antioch (more on that later) and the soft (similar to mozzarella) cheese used in between the layers of kunefe is to die for.

The syrup is much lighter than any other place I tasted Kunefe (known af Kadayifi abroad); and the generous filling of cheese oozes out and melt in the mouth with the syrup. Just for that experience, it is worth coming to Antakya!

The young walnut dessert was really interesting and exciting. Metin Bey explains that they use very young walnuts, when they are green. They shell the walnuts, and soak the walnuts in water for 40 days (with change of water everyday) to get rid of the bitter juice. Then they would cook the walnuts in a light syrup, consisting of equal measures of water and sugar, with a little lemon juice, until they are tender. Metin Bey adds a few cloves towards the end of cooking and that goes so well with the walnuts. Once cool, they would serve with a little syrup by the side. So unusual and tasty.

I hope you enjoyed the wonderful delicasies of my hometown, Antioch. How wonderful to have a chance to sample all these, along with the city’s amazing ancient history. Antioch sure deserves a visit (or two, or more!) and I do hope you make it here someday.

Afiyet Olsun!

It has been an emotional day, as we made it to my hometown Antioch, where my parents are from and where I spent many happy holidays at my grandmother 450 years old house. It is the place where my cooking was inspired, the place we all turn to for many special times to spend together. It is a land of peace and tolerance as for centuries Christians, Muslims and Jews has been living peacefully in this wonderful city. And after 10 years, it feels wonderful to be back the roots. Below is photo from my grandmother’s old house with beautiful stone carvings; it is a comfort to know that it will be restorated to preserve all the history behind.

Antioch is an ancient city, dating back to 300 BC. In 7th century, Antioch was one of five patriarchal centres of the Christian church, the others being Rome, Alexandria, Istanbul and Rome.

And here we are in Samandagi,the ancient port city Seleucia Pieria (300 BC), walking along its famous tunnel of Titus (a covered channel of 1,300m long). There are rock tombs carved into the limestone cliffs by the side, dating back to Roman period, fascinating.


And as wonderful is seeing the lovely eggplant (aubergine) plantations, pomegranate and olive trees right by the rock tombs and the channel! What a bountiful region.

And a local lady selling the daphne soap, made from the daphne berries (with bay leaves), a speciality from the region – we all got our fair share!-

No visit to Antioch is complete without visiting the Church of St Peter, where it is believed that Apostle Peter preached when he visited Antioch and considered to be one of the earliest Christian house of worship.

Friendly children at the entrance of St Peter’s Grotto – and the modern city at the background-; they were curious about where we came from and very helpful:)


Last but not least, some wonderful examples of hand painted Turkish pottery and some good reading to share by our famous author Orhan Pamuk and Louis de Bernieres, author of the historical novel “Birds without wings”. Set at the backdrops of the collapsing Ottoman Empire, it is a novel about personal and political costs of war, as well as love between man and women, between friends of the collapsing empire. I look forward to reading it.

Hope you enjoy strolling through my hometown; more to come on the wonderful cuisine of Antioch:)