What a wonderful day in Istanbul this has been. After another fun-filled breakfast, but this time with the company of the Hotel Manager, with whom Andy has forged a strong bond. Don't know whether it is the shared sense of humour or not, but this guy really likes us. We went off to cooking class today at "Cooking Alaturka" www.cookingalaturka.com . As you can see, Andy made best friends with the Head Chef.
The four hours we spent at their cooking class has been one of the highlighst of Istanbul for us. Not only did we learn about the history of some of the foods, we met other like minded people from around the world and were able to get lots of hands-on experience. Could resist a photo of the 2 Andrews in the group - Andy and Andei from Vancouver BC.
As always there is an Aussie where fun is to be had, and I met Keena from Sutherland. We have agreed to meet again at Auburn, apparently there is a fantastic Turkish Cafe there. I very much appreciated the way in which the Head Chef, Fasi, facilitated the day and I particularly enjoyed the sharing of food together at the table. We heartily recommend this to any of our friends who may come to Istanbul. Isn't this a clever way to store your knives at the back of the bench?
Yes, I was guilty of dicing onions with this knife. It weighs about 2 kgs and is very effective. I resisted the desire to buy one, don't have a drawer big enough.
I found the char grilling of the eggplants really interested, just place them directly over the gas burner, on a trivet, and turn them as they grill. When the flesh is supple, it is cooked.
You then have to skin them while they are hot - not a task for anyone with Princess Fingers.
Once skinned they are left to cool and then diced. This couple were on their honeymoon, you can't half tell!
Andy had great fun making the Lamb Casserole
He is also a dab hand at making the Lentil/Burgul Soup. OMG this was so delicious.
Chef Fasi taught him how to use the whisk correctly, note the way it is being held
The walnut stuffed figs were delightful and remarkably easy to prepare. This is Eveline, the business owner, showing us how to do it. She made a little mouth in the fig for the stuffing.
They took a while to cook though. Steve got the job of turning them over - careful now - don't want the filling to spill out do we!
And here are the dishes we cooked.
Lentil soup flavoured with Turkish chilli flakes - spicy but not fiery. We will have to find some of those at home.
Zucchini pancakes served with fresh beans and tomatoes in a garlic sauce.
Lamb casserole surrounded by chargrilled eggplant - sooooooo nice I can't begin to tell you.
And of course, the walnut stuffed figs.
The Turkish coffee was made straight in the pan, with the sugar, and cooked over the direct heat.
This was all washed down with a glass or two of local Turkish wine. Here is the happy gang at the end of the day - representing US, Canada and Australia
All all this activity took place in this tiny kitchen
Back to the hotel now for a little siesta.
Don't you love the way the tourist police get around?
Could not resist this shot of other chefs on a break
And some of the different types of architecture found in this part of town
OK, siesta lasted 50 minutes for Andy, while I worked on the blog, but could not post due to wifi issues at the hotel so managed to draft content.
It is Andy's turn for the computer now, as the TV here is quite poor for English content.
I have made a separate blog for Day 2 - afternoon!
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