Turkish Delight - Fish and Olive Oil Recipes
I'd like to welcome WA's Frankland River Olive Company as sponsors of the Seafood Seasons page and these delicious recipes will give you some great ways to enjoy their range of superb local olive oils.
Europeans, especially the folk from Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Spain, Italy, Turkey and Morocco have for centuries liberally splashed olive oil over their food.
It's really been only the past few years that Australian palates have been awakened to the joys of cooking with good extra virgin olive oils (evoo).
When reflecting back on my early days as a apprentice chef being trained in classical French cookery styles, I realise that olive oils were used very little in French kitchens. Butter was the cooking medium used, lots of it with very liberal doses of cream. I'm not knocking butter, I love the stuff, but our Mediterranean climate and abundance of the world's best seafoods lend themselves more to cooking with olive oil.
As I write this column in my hotel in downtown Ankara, the capital of Turkey, my thoughts are firmly focused on the wonderful synergies between seafood and olive oils.
With fellow chef and wine guru Trudie Michels, I have been an integral part of a 10 day Australian Food and Wine promotion at several Hilton Hotels in Turkey, notable the Adana and Ankara Hiltons.
Why the Hilton and why Turkey you may well ask? Well, the General Manager of the Adana Hilton, Andrew Jacobs, is from Sydney and the Food and Beverage manager from the Ankara Hilton, Stefan Thumiger, is a good mate, a naturalised Swiss Australian married to a lovely Perth girl.
We cooked up a storm for 200 guests at the Australian Ambassador's cocktail party, and ran an Australian a la carte menu for five nights in the Hilton's premier restaurant the Marco Polo. The last night of the promotion was a gourmet night of Australian foods matched with premium Australian wines, which went down a real treat.
We had 30 minutes live on prime time Turkish TV (prime time audience 20 million viewers) taking to the studio Western Australian Cambinata yabbies and Carnarvon prawns and scallops. I simply sauteed the seafood and yabby tails in olive oil with a touch of Aussie sea salt and a hint of lemon myrtle powder.
Ankara is the ‘new' capital of Turkey, a small provincial town until 1923 when it was purposely expanded into the seat of Government and power, like Canberra (population 3 million). Ankara was the summer capital of the Roman Emperors around AD 400 and birthplace of King Midas of the fabled golden touch. The old capital Istanbul (Constantinople) is a bustling, thriving worldly city with 3000 years of colourful history and a staggering population of around 15 million people.
Turkey is Asia's foothold in Europe, the country that bridges two continents, and the crossroads of civilisation and trade.
The Turks controlled the legendary Spice Road and this brought many herbs, spices and exotic foods from Eastern Europe and Far East Asia.
Turkish cuisine has been profoundly influenced by this blending or fusion of Asian and European foods.
With over 4000 km of warm-water coastline Turkey is actually a peninsula with water on three sides.
Fish and seafood are a staple of the Turkish diet. Common examples are sea bass (a little like an ocean trout but with firmer moist white flesh),mackerel, small red mullet, blue fish, sardines, horse mackerel, large bonito, tuna, anchovy, grey mullet and turbot. lobsters, crabs and oysters are also commercially caught.
Cooking is usually simple, with lots of fish grilled whole over charcoal embers, drizzled with olive oil infused with garlic and sometimes herbs such as thyme and rosemary.
At some of the small fishing villages on the west coast by the Aegean sea, the local seafoods are sold straight off the boats with food vendors cooking up a treat. These stalls are pretty simple, sometimes you stand up and eat, and others offer small tables and chairs. The focus is on fried seafood, mainly the sardalyas and also mussel flesh skewered on a shish (like a satay stick). The cooking medium is sunflower oil, which is heated in a large shallow pan, a bit like an inverted wok.
The fish and mussels sticks are dusted in flour, dipped in a real light batter then quickly shallow fried.
They are drained and either served as is on a plate or whacked in a bun with a squirt of lemon juice, diced lettuce and tomato and a dill kind of dressing…. your classic fish burger with a twist.
The breads in Turkey are to die for - the Turkish are the best artisan bakers in the world and their baguette style breads are crisp on the outside and light textured on the inside. The flat breads and pide are just as yummy.
Turkish cuisine has a history and tradition spanning thousands of years, with perhaps the best style known to me being the mezze, a bit like the Spanish tapas way of eating. Your palate is assaulted with a range of small tasting plates, lots of savoury beans and vegetable dishes cooked or prepared with using olive oil.
For more information about the Frankland River Olive Company's oils (including tasting notes and recipes) visit the Frankland River Olive Company's website at www.froc.com.au
Sardines in Vine Leaves - Asma Yapraginda Sardalya
(10 portions)
Ingredients
50 sardines
50 fresh vine leaves
Marinade
salt
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp white pepper crushed
1 cup Jingilli Frantoio Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Method
Remove the backbones of the fish leaving the heads and tails then scrape off scales and wash fish gently.
Mix marinade ingredients in a bowl.
Pat dry the fish then place in a large bowl and pour over marinade and mix through.
Cut the stems off the fresh vine leaves and soak in hot water for 20 minutes then plunge into cold water.
Put shiny sides of vine leaves on a clean surface.
Place one sardine on the stem of each leaf and roll up, ending with stem side up (the heads and tails of the sardines should not be rolled in the leaves).
Brush the leaves with olive oil, then grill stuffed leaves on both sides over medium heat…the barbecue is perfect for this.
Open vine leaves and sprinkle fish with lemon juice when eating.
Serve with crisp lettuce salad leaves tossed with diced tomato, cucumber, red onion, parsley and a light olive oil, salt and lemon juice dressing.
Steamed Halibut with Flavoured Olive Oil
(Serves 4), By executive chef Andreas Brucks at the Mersin Hilton, Turkey
Oil
1/4 cup Jingilli Tuscan Blend Extra Virgin
Olive Oil
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp paprika
Pinch of ground clove
Sauce
3 ripe tomatoes
Flavoured olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
1 bunch chives, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Ingredients
4 7-8 ounce (200-225 gram) halibut fillets
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 fennel bulb, sliced
1 tablespoon Jingilli Tuscan Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Fennel sprigs for garnish
Method
Oil. Mix the olive oil with all the spices. Pour the oil mixture into a bottle and shake vigorously. Keep the oil at room temperature for 24 hours, allowing the flavours to infuse.
Vegetables. Blanch the carrots and fennel in slightly salted water until they become tender. Drain and add the olive oil, salt and pepper, and toss. Keep warm.
Sauce. Peel, seed and dice the tomatoes. Heat the flavoured oil and add the diced tomatoes, lime juice and chives. Season with salt and pepper.
Cook the fillets in a steamer as desired. Place the fillets on preheated plates, top with the sauce and serve with the vegetables. Garnish with fennel sprigs.
The following two recipes have been kindly supplied by Ankara Hilton Executive Chef Wolfgang Godl.
Baked Bonito - Firinda Palamut
(Serves 10)
Ingredients
3 bonitos, medium size
3 onions
3 tomatoes
6 green chilli pepper (long)
1/2 bunch parsley
4 bay leaves
Sea salt
2 lemons
1 cup Jingilli Leccino Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Method
Gut the fish and cut into 2cm wide circles (steaks), salt lightly and arrange in a baking tray/tin.
Peel and slice the tomatoes, remove the stalks and seeds of the peppers and cut lengthways in two.
Lay the tomatoes, sliced onions, peppers and rough-chopped parsley over the fish.
Place the bay leaves on top and pour over the olive oil and add sliced peeled lemon.
Pour over enough water to cover the base of the pan to prevent fish from sticking then cover with foil and bake in a preheated oven at 180 C until the peppers are tender (around 25 minutes).
Remove foil and bake until fish browns slightly.
Sliced carrot and celery can be added to give more body to dish.
Snapper and Seabass Carpaccio
(Serves 6 to 8)
Carpaccio is the method of using ingredients like olive oil and lemon to “cook”. The raw fish fillets make a great starter and perfectly suits the warm summer weather.
Ingredients
200g fresh fish fillet (such as snapper, whiting or bream)
Jingilli Frantoio Extra Virgin Olive Oil - good dash, around 50mls
Juice of 2 lemons
Sea salt flakes
2 diced red peppers (capsicums), roasted and skin and seeds removed
Method
Slice fish thinly and marinate in all ingredients.
Serve over salad greens.
Sauted Shrimps in Olive Oil and Tomato
(Serves 2)
Ingredients
12 prawns (shrimps), de-veined with tail left on
2 tomatoes, chopped (skinned and seeded)
Sea salt
Good splash Jingilli Leccino Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Good splash WA
white wine
Fresh basil leaves
1 red onion (small), finely chopped
Method
Saute prawns in hot olive oil. Season and turn.
Add onion, then tomatoes. Remove prawns then add white wine and reduce sauce. When sauce thickens, replace prawns and finish with basil.
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