Istanbul_ The Collected Traveler_ An Inspired Companion Guide - Barrie Kerper [156]
In a large bowl, combine the leeks, potato, ground meat, walnuts, 1 egg, and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. Place the mixture in the bowl of a food processor and pulse just until it comes together in a soft paste. Roll into balls about 1 inch in diameter.
Place a large serving platter in a 200° F (90° C) oven. Beat the remaining 2 eggs in a bowl and spread some flour on a plate. Heat ½ inch oil in a large skillet over medium-high until it is almost but not quite smoking. Roll the meatballs in flour, shaking off any excess, and then dip them in the egg. Place them gently in the hot oil, working in small batches so as not to cool the oil too much. Fry the meatballs, turning as necessary, until they are golden brown and cooked through—about 10 minutes. Drain them on paper towels, and keep them warm on the platter in the oven. When all the meatballs are done, squeeze lemon juice over them and serve hot. Serves 6.
“We in the States have only the barest idea of how rich and varied Turkish food is,” notes Margo True, food editor at Sunset and formerly of Saveur. True was in Turkey for several weeks when she was working for Saveur and says she was “knocked out” by the depth and breadth of Turkish cuisine. There is no better place to experience this culinary depth and breadth than at Istanbul’s Egyptian Spice Market, Mısır Çarşısı. The market, shaped like a giant letter L, is so named because when it was built, in 1648, all the goods sold there came from Cairo. The market was constructed as part of the Yeni Cami complex, with the rent from the shops used for the upkeep of the mosque (I always smile when I think that the Yeni Cami, or New Mosque, is so named because it was the last large mosque—in other words, the most recent—built during the classical period of Ottoman architecture, in 1663!
To clarify the dates: the full name of the mosque was Yeni Valide Camii, the Valide Sultan being the mother of the reigning sultan. It was begun in 1597, but in 1599 the architect died, so a new one carried on until 1603, when the death of Mehmet III halted construction as his mother then lost her power in the palace. The new sultan, Ahmet I, and his immediate successors weren’t interested in completing construction, so the mosque sat, unfinished, for more than half a century, when it was destroyed by fire in 1660. The mother of Sultan Mehmet IV decided to rebuild the mosque as an act of piety.
According to John Freely, the Spice Market as we see it today was part of a much larger market, with birds and animals, that stretched to the shores of the Golden Horn. So if walking around a food market doesn’t sound appealing to you, view the journey as a walk through a historic area where a market has existed for two thousand years, again according to Freely. It’s also incredibly colorful (great for picture taking), with all the pyramids of ground spices, the hustle and bustle, and signs for “Turkish Viagra.”
Ayla Algar, in Classical Turkish Cooking, tells us that the Spice Market had a central function in provisioning the whole city, but that, simultaneously, many districts were famous “for one or more particular commodity, so that the truly discriminating shopper had to tour much of the city to find all his needs: Çukurçeşme was celebrated for its pickles, Eyüb for its clotted cream, Kanlıca for its yogurt, Karaköy for its poğaça (enriched flaky rolls), and so on.” Algar refers to the Spice Market as “an outpost of Anatolia situated in the heart of Istanbul. Most of the wares sold there originate in Anatolia, and the dominant atmosphere is the same one of businesslike sobriety that prevails in so many small Anatolian towns.” Plenty of locals still shop at the Spice Market, and high-profile chefs, too.
A few specialty items to consider buying are: hazelnuts, pistachios, red-pepper flakes, ground sumac, pomegranate molasses or syrup, walnut oil, honey, dried figs, dates, apricots, rose petals, a brass or copper cezve