“Travels” in the Eastern Mediterranean

I would call this travels in Greece as the food is what I generally think of as Greek food, but I’ve never been to Greece. I have, however, been to Istanbul for work, and, while I’m pretty sure wars have been fought for less, the food seems pretty similar to me.

My trip to Istanbul was quite a few years ago, and there was very little time for anything other than work. I ate most of my meals in conference rooms or at the hotel, but even without any opportunity to really explore, I was repeatedly struck by the wonderfully fresh flavors. Think about the last time you were sitting alone at a hotel restaurant on a business trip and thought “this food is amazing!” Never happen? Maybe once or twice?

During that week in Istanbul I managed one short walk during daylight and one cab ride to the area around the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia after dark, and well after Hagia Sophia was closed to visitors for the day.

The walk took me to the Galata Tower, which provided incredible views of the sprawling city, albeit on a very gray day.

And, even well after dark, Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque are incredible sights.

Getting back to food…. after that trip, I bought a few Turkish cookbooks. One of the first things I tried, and that I continue to make, was homemade pita. It is much easier than you might think. You do need a baking stone, but it is incredibly satisfying to watch the dough pop up in the oven, and the warm fresh pita is so much better than anything you get in the store. [Looking at the picture, I notice that my baking stone is more than a bit stained – please don’t judge].

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The flavors that really stand out to me – rich red, sun-ripened tomatoes, briny olives, sharp feta – are all things that do not need recipes, just access. This is also fantastic food for entertaining a group of people with different dietary restrictions. A hearty selection meze can serve as a casual meal, with something for everyone without it being a thing that some people in your group don’t eat dairy, or meat, or carbohydrates, or whatever else it might be.

As you might guess from all the pasta, bread, and cookie recipes I’ve posted, I’m not much of one for low carb myself. I have, however, been working on a low to no carb zucchini fritter recipe. I’ll be honest, I think that these better with some flour, but it is possible to make these with no flour at all, you just have to take care to get as much water as possible out of the zucchini, and you have to let the fritters set like an omelet before flipping because they are far more temperamental about staying together when there’s no starch. Amounts in the recipe are approximate. I personally like a lot of dill in these, but you can certainly use less, or use a mixture of dill and parsley.

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