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Baked haddock with tomatoes, red onion, peppers, capers and bay leaves, in olive oil

A fisherman is getting ready for the catch of the day, the Bosphorus, Istanbul

Do you like fish? How do you like your fish cooked? We have a delicious and easy all-in-one-tray baked fish with vegetables this week. Fish is generally grilled or lightly fried in Turkey. “Balik & Ekmek”, is one of the most popular street foods at home, where the fisherman shallow fries the catch of the day at his boat and serves in our traditional white loaf, ekmek, with a slice of lemon by the side. A first bite of that fish sandwich, especially if you are by the Bosphorus or anywhere by the coast, is just heavenly.

A fisherman by Golden Horn, Istanbul, grilling the catch of the day for "Balik & Ekmek"

Regarded as a symbol of fertility, fish is very much enjoyed at home, especially at the coastal regions. Turkey is bounded by the sea on three sides – the Mediterranean, Aegean and the Black Sea. With the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and Dardanelles at northwest, Turkey has over 7,000km (4,350 miles) of coastline. The plentiful fishing waters provide daily catches of bluefish, red and grey mullet, swordfish, sea bass, tuna, bonito, turbot, plaice, mackerel, sardines, anchovies and many more. In most of the coastal regions, fish is bought very fresh, straight off the boats at the daily fish market, still swimming around in the buckets or beautifully arranged on ice.

It is the palamut or bonito, as well as lufer (blue fish) season in Turkey at the moment; please check out A Seasonal Cook in Turkey’s lovely post on these seasonal fish in Turkey.

We Turks also like baking the fish with vegetables; the wonderful juices of the vegetables and lemon juice make a refreshing, delicious sauce. We very much enjoyed this baked haddock with red onions, peppers, tomatoes cooked in olive oil, with bay leaves and capers recently; the flesh has been succulent and moist, and delicately flavored with bay leaves. I added a handful of capers for an extra zing, the flavors complemented each other beautifully. As the fish is baked with vegetables together, you have a delicious, healthy meal ready in about 45 minutes, a precious extra bonus!

Baked haddock with vegetables and capers, cooked in olive oil; delicious, healthy and so easy.

This baked fish and vegetables dish is also delicious made with a variety of fish, such as bonito, trout, salmon, sea bass or mackerel. The squeeze of lemon to the finished dish gives an extra zing and a refreshing flavor.

How about finishing the meal with a sweet note? These caramelized dried apricots with walnuts stuffing may just fit the bill : )

This recipe is adapted from The Complete Book of Turkish Cooking by Ghillie Basan, one of my favorite Turkish cookery authors.

Baked haddock with tomatoes, red onion, peppers, capers and bay leaves

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes                                     Cooking time: 40-45 minutes

4 fillets of haddock –or any filleted fish of your choice

4 tomatoes, sliced

1 red onion, cut in half lengthways and sliced

1 green and 1 red bell pepper, seeded, cut in half lengthways and sliced (you can also use chillies for a spicy flavor)

1 bunch flat leaf parsley, leaves chopped

4 dried bay leaves (or 6-8 fresh bay leaves)

2 tbsp capers in jar, its juice drained and rinsed

4-5 tbsp olive oil

Sea Salt and ground black pepper to taste

I lemon, cut into wedges to serve

 

Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4

Arrange the vegetables and the bay leaves in between the fish fillets.

Place the fish in a shallow ovenproof dish and sprinkle them with sea salt and ground black pepper. Arrange the onions, tomatoes and peppers over and around the fish. Tuck the bay leaves around the fish and pour over the olive oil. Cover the dish with foil and place it in the oven for 30 minutes.

Stir in the capers and the parsley, give a gentle mix.

Remove the foil and stir in the capers and the parsley, give a gentle mix. Place the dish back to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes for the fish to brown slightly.

Baked fish with vegetables now ready to eat; all you need is a squeeze of lemon over!

Serve hot with wedges of lemon squeezed over the fish and garnish each plate with the vegetables and bay leaves.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

 

 

 

 

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Grilled Fish on Sourdough Bread with Sumac Salad – Balik Ekmek

One of the most popular street foods at home is grilled (or lightly fried) fish, served between slices of our traditional white loaf. Fishermen grill the fish at their boats and prepare this sandwich right there for you; with a breeze from the Bosphorus and view of boats passing by, that first bite is just heavenly.

Fishing with a view; fishermen by the edge of the Bosphorus and Sea of Marmara, overlooking the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul

Turkey is bounded by the sea on three sides – the Mediterranean,Aegeanand the Blacksea. With the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and Dardanelles at northwest, Turkey has over 7,000km (4,350 miles) of coastline. The plentiful fishing waters provide daily catches of bluefish, red and grey mullet, swordfish, sea bass, tuna, bonito, turbot, plaice, mackerel, sardines, anchovies and many more. In most of the coastal regions, fish is bought very fresh, straight off the boats at the daily fish market, still swimming around in the buckets or beautifully arranged on ice.

 

Well, my inspiration for this easy and delicious grilled fish served over crunchy sourdough bread with capers & herb mayonnaise came from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage TV series;  I love their fresh, no fuss intake on food and making the most of seasonal ingredients. I tweaked their recipe with my sumac dressed red onion, tomato and parsley salad. The citrusy, tangy sumac really goes well with the grilled fish.

 Baked fish with sumac piyaz and capers with mayo on bread 026 with OTTBaked fish with herb mayonnaise and sumac salad over sourdough bread

I hope you have a go at this easy, delicious fish sandwich (Balik Ekmek, as we say it in Turkish) with the refreshing sumac salad. Haddock fillets, mackerel, sea bass, cod or sardines would especially work well here. If you’re not a big fan of bread, boiled potatoes by the side is excellent too.

This delicious fish recipe along with over 90 scrumptious and healthy Turkish recipes are included at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My HomelandSigned copies are available to order at this link for a limited period, if you’d like a copy for yourself or gift to a foodie.

Grilled Fish on Sourdough Bread with Herb Mayonnaise, served with Sumac, red Onion and Tomato salad; “Balik Ekmek ” with a twist

 Serves 4   

Preparation time: 20 minutes               Cooking time:15-20 minutes (please check                                              the suggested cooking time for the fish of your choice)

4 fillets of white fish of your choice (mackerel, haddock fillets work well)

10ml/1bsp olive oil

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Slices of sourdough bread to serve

Slices of gem lettuce, washed, to serve

For mayonnaise with capers & parsley:

20-30ml/2-3 tbsp of good quality mayonnaise (you can use light version if you like)

20ml/2tbsp baby capers, rinsed

A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

For Red Onion, Tomato and Parsley Salad with Sumac:

1/2 red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

3 medium tomatoes, finely chopped

A handful of flat leaf (Italian) parsley, finely chopped

30 ml/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

5 ml/1 tsp ground sumac

Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4

Grease the baking tray with a little olive oil (or line aluminium kitchen foil on a baking tray then grease, for the ease of cleaning). Place the fillets of the fish, drizzle a little olive oil over them. Coat the fish with the seasoning and bake or grill for the required amount (please refer to the cooking instructions for the fish of your choice).

Capers and parsley work well with mayonnaise

While the fish is cooking, make the herb mayonnaise with capers. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, chopped parsley and the rinsed baby capers. Drizzle with a little olive oil; your herb mayonnaise is ready.

Tangy sumac flavors red onions, tomatoes and parsley beautifully and the salad is excellent with the grilled fish.

Tangy sumac flavors red onions, tomatoes and parsley beautifully; this salad is excellent with the grilled meat and fish.

For the sumac salad; work the salt and sumac into the onion slices with your hands really well in a bowl. This will soften the onions, make them more palatable and let the sumac really penetrate to the onions. Add the chopped tomatoes, parsley, juice of lemon and extra virgin olive oil into the bowl and combine well. Season with ground black pepper; your salad is ready to go.

Piyaz; lovely, refreshing salad with red onions, tomatoes, parsley with sumac and olive oil dressing

Piyaz; lovely, refreshing salad with red onions, tomatoes, parsley with sumac and olive oil dressing

Once the fish is baked, slice the sourdough bread (you can toast the bread if you like too.) Spread a thin layer of the herb mayonnaise over the bread and place a cooked fish fillet over it. Then place a spoonful of the sumac salad over the bread. You can add the gem lettuce and another slice of bread over the top. Or you can simply enjoy as an open fish sandwich with one slice of bread. The sumac salad is also lovely served on the gem lettuce slice.

Balik ekmek; Open fish sandwich with herb mayonnaise and sumac, red onion and tomato salad

Balik ekmek; Open fish sandwich with herb mayonnaise and sumac, red onion and tomato salad

Afiyet Olsun!

Ozlem

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