Thoroughly modern meze
COOKING
Los Angeles Times
June 9, 2004
By Anya von Bremzen, Special to The Times
ISTANBUL — By 11 p.m., the street theater on Nevizade Street, a narrow
lane lined with outdoor restaurants around Istanbul’s fish market, works
up to a kind of Felliniesque mayhem. Flower sellers push big thorny
roses at passersby’s noses, while a Gypsy quartet cranks background
music for a parade of street peddlers.
Amid this carnival, waiters unload trays of small dishes on tables and
refill glasses with raki, Turkey’s favorite anise-based liquor. Our own
table, at an old Armenian restaurant called Boncuk, is mosaicked with
plates of dips, crisp fish croquettes redolent of allspice and cinnamon,
a chickpea pâté layered with dried currants and pine nuts, and a
majestic /börek/, a pastry oozing a tangy filling of cheese and
/pastirma/, or spiced cured beef.
These are meze, Turkey’s signature little dishes and the Middle East’s
answer to Spanish /tapas/, Venetian /baccari/ or Mexican /antojitos/.
On our own shores, meze offer yet another twist on the small-plates
trend. Entertaining at home? Meze could have been invented for Southern
California, where, much like in Istanbul, they can be languidly savored
al fresco on the patio. Less fussy than hors d’oeuvres, a welcome break
from Italian antipasti, infinitely more varied than hummus and baba
ghanouj, a few meze together make an exciting light feast.
Meze — the name is derived from the Persian word /maza/, or flavor —
seem to flourish in Istanbul as an edible life force: from a plethora of
eggplant preparations to a veritable encyclopedia of dolma, or stuffed
vegetables; from multitudes of /böreks/, savory pastries, to a vast
roster of salads and dips. They can be cold or hot, light or
substantial, as humble as a wedge of salty white cheese or as chichi as
the langoustine salads dished out at the glamorous fish restaurants
along the Bosphorus shores. / /Though most travelers to Turkey encounter
meze at restaurants, they taste even better when prepared at home. “Meze
is all about socializing — nibbling, drinking, laughing,” says Gökçan
Adar, an Istanbul food writer. One breezy night, under a sour cherry
tree in his overgrown garden, he treats us to a 19-dish meze marathon.
Spontaneity is essential
**Typical of modern-day Istanbul, where the cuisine evolves with
lightning speed, his spread is both creative and classic: braised
eggplant topped with a flourish of walnut and sun-dried tomato paste,
langoustines with their roe resting atop lemony wild greens, fritters of
just-picked zucchini flowers on a vibrant red pepper purée. This could
almost be Catalonia — or California. Not to be outdone, my friend Engin
Akin, a food writer and radio host legendary in Istanbul for her swank
soirees, throws a bash on the lawn of her home overlooking the
Bosphorus. Ever willing to experiment, Akin deep-fries paper-thin leaves
of /yufka/ (a phyllo-like dough) and serves the crisps with shavings of
Turkish cured mullet roe similar to /bottarga/. She fashions nifty
bruschetta from the ubiquitous fava bean pâté, topping the toasts with
fried almonds.
Grazing gets more cosmopolitan still when Akin and I move on to Bodrum,
a jet-set resort on the Aegean. Here, at a cocktail party at the
white-washed villa of a shipping tycoon, white-gloved waiters pass such
dainties as miniature French fry “kebabs,” Gruyère /köfte /(meatballs),
and spicy /sucuk /(/soujuk)/ sausage wrapped in phyllo.
In Turkey, meze are intimately linked with the city’s history as a
cosmopolitan port and to drinking establishments called /meyhane/.
What — drinking in a Muslim culture, with its Koranic prohibitions on
alcohol? Well … sure.
Even before Kemal Atatürk secularized Turkey in the 1920s, restrictions
on alcohol were sporadic, a whim of one sultan or another. Selling
alcohol was taboo, though, entrusted to Istanbul’s numerous non-Muslim
minorities: Greeks, Armenians and Jews. It was they who established the
original /meyhane/, raucous dives packed with foreign sailors, where
meze was an excuse for another round of raki. Dating back to early
Ottoman times or even further, /meyhane/ continue to thrive.
To learn more, I rendezvous with Akin and Deniz Gursoy, an author of
books on raki and meze, at Safa, the city’s oldest /meyhane./ With
whirling fans, burnished mirrors and pictures of Atatürk striking
Hollywood poses, the place feels like a souvenir from another era. When
Safa opened some 125 ago, Gursoy explains, meze came free with
consumption, consisting of basics like anchovies, pickled cabbage, a
tiny /börek//leblebi/, or dried chickpeas. Today, the repertoire seems
inexhaustible.
Akin explains that flavors Westerners usually associate with Middle
Eastern cuisines — bulgur, pomegranate molasses, lavish spicing,
hummus, kebabs — are rather new to Istanbul, a consequence of the
enormous influx of immigrants from eastern Turkey.
Other classic meze we sample reflect the city’s historical layers of
cultures. Delicious fried liver nuggets, with wisps of raw onion and a
dusting of sumac, hail from the Balkans. The /plaki/ is Greek, Gursoy
notes, referring to a classic cold preparation in which beans or fish
are simmered in tomato sauce sweetened with onions and cinnamon. Jews
might have contributed /zeytinyagli/, an iconic cold meze of vegetables,
such as artichokes or leeks, braised slowly in water and olive oil with
a little sugar until they melt in the mouth.
And though raki still reigns, these days, younger Turks are just as
likely to sip a locally made Cabernet or a dry Muscat with their meze.
It is actually on Istanbul’s Asian side, at a humble joint called Çiya,
that I discover the city’s most exciting small dishes. Little surprise,
because chef-owner Musa Dageviren hails from Gaziantep, a city near the
Syrian border renowned for Turkey’s finest cuisine.
Each of his dishes vibrates with flavor: A simple tomato and parsley
salad comes alive with a sprinkling of pungent orange-hued powder made
from dried curd cheese. Grape leaves are filled with dried onions,
bulgur and pomegranate syrup. Boiled wheat berries and home-pickled
green tomatoes sport a creamy cloak of dense, tart yogurt.
“Gaziantep doesn’t have a meze tradition per se,” Dageviren explains,
“but small dishes are normally served at kebab houses. At home, cooks
often fashion light cold meals from leftovers.”
Lacking white-gloved waiters or a grandma from Gaziantep, a meze spread
is still easy to improvise. The rich thick Turkish yogurt alone — which
can be replicated in the United States by draining good-quality yogurt
in a cheesecloth-lined sieve — provides a dozen simple ideas. Stir in
some crushed garlic, minced herbs and grated cucumbers and spread it on
pita. Or fold it into shredded beets, sautéed zucchini or the chopped
smoky flesh of an eggplant that has been grilled whole over charcoal
(and why not sprinkle some toasted almond on top?). Alternatively, a
dollop of yogurt can top fried eggplant or zucchini slices.
Bulgur also makes a fine meze, say as a salad tossed with chickpeas,
tomatoes, parsley and mint and drizzled with pomegranate molasses and
olive oil. The mandatory raki accompaniment of feta and honeydew melon
becomes elegant when cut into cubes and threaded on long wooden skewers.
Not to forget olives, pistachios, good, creamy feta and roasted
chickpeas. And unless you have a bottle of raki that’s been burning a
hole in your liquor cabinet, try Greek ouzo, Pernod, a fruity, light red
wine (slightly chilled) or a crisp, delicate white (no oaky Chardonnay,
please).
Still, raki is our drink as Akin and I prepare a meze feast on her boat
for an indolent Aegean voyage. As for the menu, our plan is to test-run
the best meze recipes we’ve collected from parties and restaurants. From
Tugra, the palatial Ottoman restaurant at Istanbul’s Çiragan Palace
hotel, we steal the idea of wrapping /haloumi/ cheese in grape leaves,
grilling them and serving this unusual dolma drizzled with pomegranate
molasses. A hit.
A floating feast
**
**From the shipping tycoon’s party we’ve emerged with a recipe for
/müjver/, crisp zucchini pancakes, which we make cocktail-sized, with
the addition of the nontraditional baking soda — for puffier fritters.
In Akin’s hands, the ubiquitous /köfte/, or meatballs, turn out studded
with nuts and laced with herbs.
Suddenly, Akin confesses that she’s never made /topik/, my favorite
Armenian chickpea pâté filled with caramelized onions, currants and pine
nuts and dusted with cinnamon. A flurry of phone calls to Armenian
matriarchs. Akin nods and scribbles furiously. She got it. Except we are
not shaping it by spreading the chickpea purée on a wet muslin cloth
with a rolling pin, as tradition dictates. A shortcut will do.
The table is finally set on the deck under a vast starry sky. Akin’s
husband, Nuri, proffers a CD with /fasil/, the traditional /meyhane/ music.
“You pour, we drink,” the song blasts. We take the cue. A sip, a nibble,
a gulp — and luckily no one falls in the water. Luckier still, we don’t
have far to go. No need for a /hamal/, a porter who in Ottoman times
would wait by the /meyhane/ doors to deliver the inebriated back to
their families.
*
Topik (layered garbanzo bean pâté )
*Total time: *1½ hours, plus chilling time
*Servings: *Makes 9 squares
2/3cups dried Zante currants
1/4cup mild olive oil
4 cups chopped white onions (medium dice)
1 teaspoon cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling the pâté
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
3 cups canned garbanzo beans, well drained, liquid
reserved
3 tablespoons tahini paste, room temperature, well stirred
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 medium-sized yellow-fleshed potatoes, peeled and boiled
Salt
*1. Place the currants *in a medium bowl, add boiling water to a level
one-half inch above the currants and let them stand for 30 minutes.
Drain and reserve the soaking liquid.
*2. In a large skillet, *heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add onions
and cook, stirring, until they begin to soften, about 7 minutes. Reduce
heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until
onions are soft and very lightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes, adding
2 to 3 tablespoons of the currant soaking liquid when onions begin to
look dry.
*3. Add the currants *and another 2 to 3 tablespoons of their soaking
liquid and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring. Stir in the cinnamon and
allspice and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and let the
mixture cool to room temperature. Stir in the pine nuts.
*4. In a food processor, *purée the garbanzo beans in 2 batches with the
tahini, lemon juice and 4 to 5 tablespoons of the bean liquid until very
smooth. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl.
*5. Mash the potatoes *until smooth with a potato masher or pass through
a ricer. Stir the mashed potatoes into the puréed mixture and mix
thoroughly. Season with salt.
*6. Line an 8-inch square *baking pan with plastic wrap, leaving 4 to 5
inches of overhang on all sides. Wet your hands with cold water and use
them to spread half of the garbanzo mixture evenly on the bottom. Spread
the onion mixture evenly on top; it will be a rather thick layer. With
wet hands, spread the other half of the garbanzo mixture on top of that.
Fold in the overhang to enclose the pâté. Weight the pâté with a small
cast-iron skillet, a plate topped with two 16-ounce cans or something of
similar weight, and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
*7. To serve, *bring the pâté to room temperature, invert it onto a
serving plate and remove the plastic wrap. Sprinkle the top lightly with
cinnamon (you can do this decoratively through a doily). Cut into squares.
*Each serving: *306 calories; 9 grams protein; 41 grams carbohydrates; 7
grams fiber; 14 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 246 mg.
sodium.
*
Herbed zucchini and feta fritters
*Total time: *1 hour, 30 minutes, plus refrigerator time
*Servings: *36 fritters
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt, preferably full-fat organic
1 large garlic clove, crushed through a garlic press
Salt
1 pound zucchini (about 2 large), shredded in a food processor using a
three-eighths-inch hole
4 ounces feta, grated
1/3cup minced dill
1/3cup minced parsley
1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves
2/3cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs, beaten
Mild olive oil for frying
*1. Place yogurt *in a small sieve lined with cheesecloth and set over a
bowl. Drain in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.
*2. Place drained yogurt *in a bowl, stir in garlic and salt to taste
and let mixture stand at room temperature while preparing fritters.
*3. Place shredded zucchini *in a fine sieve and press hard against the
sieve to extract as much liquid as possible. In a large bowl, mix
zucchini, feta, dill, parsley and mint and stir until well combined.
*4. **Sift flour *and baking powder into bowl. Add half of mixture to
the eggs and stir to form a smooth paste. Stir paste into zucchini and
combine thoroughly. Sprinkle in the rest of the flour mixture and stir
in well. Let stand for about 10 minutes. Stir again.
*5. Line a cookie sheet *with paper towels. In a 12-inch skillet, heat 1
inch of oil to 375 degrees, or until a drop of batter sizzles on
contact. Drop 3 (1-tablespoon) portions of batter into oil without
overcrowding and flatten lightly with the back of a spoon. Fry until
deep golden and crusty, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. With a slotted
spoon, transfer fritters to the paper towels to drain and continue to
fry remaining fritters. Serve hot or warm, with the yogurt dip.
*Each fritter: *50 calories; 2 grams protein; 3 grams carbohydrates;
0 fiber; 4 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 16 mg. cholesterol; 52 mg.
sodium.
*
Herbed köfte with tahini sauce
*Total time: *45 minutes plus 1 hour chilling time
*Servings: *42 meatballs
*Note: *Sumac is available at Middle Eastern markets.
*Tahini sauce*
**
**
1/2 cup tahini paste, well stirred
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon mild paprika
*1. Combine *tahini, chicken broth, lemon juice, cumin and paprika,
stirring well.
*Meatballs*
**
**
2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground lamb
1 medium onion, grated
1 heaping teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
Large pinch ground allspice
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup minced parsley
1/2 cup finely chopped mint
1 cup toasted walnut pieces
2 tablespoons mild olive oil
1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced
Minced parsley or sumac for garnish
Tahini sauce
*1. Dip the bread *in cold water and squeeze dry against the bottom of a
fine sieve. In a large bowl, mix bread with beef, lamb, onion, salt,
cumin, allspice, red pepper and black pepper. Mix thoroughly, but avoid
overhandling. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
*2. Mix in parsley, *mint and walnuts with your hands and shape mixture
into balls.
*3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil *over medium heat in a large skillet. Add half
the meatballs and sauté until browned and cooked through, about 7
minutes. Regulate heat so meatballs don’t burn, and shake pan vigorously
to turn them. Transfer to paper towels. Wipe skillet and repeat with
remaining oil and meatballs.
*4. Top with onions. *Garnish and serve hot or warm, with tahini sauce.
*Each meatball: *69 calories;
3 grams protein; 2 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 6 grams fat; 1 gram
saturated fat; 7 mg. cholesterol; 78 mg. sodium.
*
Grilled haloumi-stuffed grape leaves with pomegranate sauce
*Total time: *25 minutes
*Servings: *Makes 12 dolmas
*Note: *Haloumi cheese is available at Bristol Farms and at Middle
Eastern markets. Haloumi and grape leaves can both be quite salty; if
your brand of leaves is too briny, soak them longer or blanch in boiling
water for 1 minute.
12 grape leaves preserved in brine
12 (3-inch by one-half-inch) logs haloumi cheese, one-half-inch thick
(queso blanco can be substituted)
2 1/2 tablespoons mild olive oil,
divided
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon sugar
*1. Place the grape leaves *in a bowl. Add boiling water to cover and
soak for about 2 minutes. Taste, and if the leaves still taste
assertively briny, soak for few minutes more. Rinse under cold water,
drain and pat dry with paper towels. Heat the grill to medium.
*2. Place a grape leaf *shiny side down on a work surface with the stem
facing you. Trim off the stem. Place a log of haloumi across the bottom
end of the leaf and fold the bottom over it. Fold in the sides and roll
up like a cigar to make a dolma. Make sure there are no tears in the
leaf, or the cheese will ooze out. Continue until you have used all the
grape leaves.
*3. Brush the dolmas lightly *with one-half tablespoon olive oil. Grill
them until they are lightly charred and the cheese is beginning to
soften but is not oozing out, about 1½ minutes per side. Transfer the
dolmas to a plate and let them cool for about 10 minutes.
*4. Meanwhile, whisk *the remaining oil with the pomegranate molasses,
water and sugar.
*5. To serve,* drizzle a white serving plate with the pomegranate
mixture and arrange the dolmas on top, drizzling with some extra sauce
if desired.
*Each dolma: *246 calories; 14 grams protein; 3 grams carbohydrates;
0 fiber; 20 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 50 mg. cholesterol; 418
mg. sodium.
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