Taste of Sultans

Modern Turkish cuisine was conceived at the tables of the Ottoman Sultans, whose delicate tastes fashioned a unique fusion of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Central Asian culinary themes, which in turn became the most sophisticated fare in the world.

Today’s Turkish dishes retain the same multicultural character where even the simplest meal illustrates that blend of Oriental and European flavours. Many of our culinary herbs - thyme, oregano and sage - grow wild on the hills of Turkey, and many of the spices like coriander and cumin, sumac, and saffron have been imported into Turkey from Egypt and beyond – witness the Egyptian Spice Market still today in Istanbul.

Fresh vegetables are at the heart of Turkish cuisine. Cold hors d’oeuvres of beans in olive oil, aubergine in yoghurt, stuffed peppers and baby marrows, anchovies in a piquant sauce, aubergine salad and artichoke hearts are accompanied by hot dishes of octopus casserole, various börek – folded wisp-thin pastry enclosing feta cheese and herbs – and prawns in a fresh tomato and garlic sauce.

Meats include spicy minced köfte kebabs, lamb sauté with tomato and peppers, Circassian chicken with a walnut and garlic relish, lamb in a glorious mix of onion, peppers and garlic, and cuts of veal with rice pilaf. And of course fish, an endless list of turbot, sea bass, red mullet, grouper, fish soups with fresh lemon flavouring, calamari cooked in a light batter and grilled tuna.

The fresh fruits retain a flavour lost in modern countries – fat ripe cherries, strawberries in season, grapes and figs – Turkey is world-famous for its figs – peaches and apricots. For those with a sweet tooth, there are all the varieties of sticky pastries with pistachio nuts and honey.

On our yachts we have necessarily had to choose simple dishes which are easy to prepare. But they retain the freshness and flavour of their origins. Our chefs are fastidious in choosing their ingredients, far more so than we would be in Europe.

A note on ingredients

One of the great problems in western Europe is obtaining the same quality and flavour of the fresh produce of Turkey. Tomatoes just taste so much better in Turkey, and it isn’t only the sunny days which do that. Also, the celery used in one dish here is long and thin, very dark and leafy. The parsley is the flat-leaved parsley. The olive oil is virgin first pressing. The lemons are picked ripe off the tree. The sunflower oil, which in Turkey comes from near Troy, is known in Turkish as “Ayçiçekyagi”, Moonflower Oil!

The real problem comes with the green peppers, which are a variety unique to Turkey and used in so many dishes. Small, long and light-green, they are not hot peppers, but much more delicate than the bell-peppers from Europe. In Britain they can be found in Mediterranean grocers or Turkish shops, though these are far between.

The real answer to the dilemma of not being able to mirror the same tastes in Europe or America is to come back to Turkey and take another cruise around the Turquoise Coast, with one of our expert chefs to recreate the meals for you!

Title page

List of recipes

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