Turkish Food - Zeytinyağlı Yeşil Fasulye Recipe

Zeytinyağlı yeşil fasulye (green beans in olive oil) was one of the first Turkish dishes I ever attempted - for the basic fact that we had bought a Turkish cookery book whilst on holiday in Fethiye, gone back to England, and this looked about the easiest dish I could attempt. If I made a mess of it, green beans are not expensive so it didn't matter too much. Anyway, we've been enjoying this dish ever since.

A Turkish Recipe For Zeytinyağlı Yeşil Fasulye
Zeytinyağlı dishes (containing lots of olive oil) are very common in Turkish cuisine (the barbunya pilaki recipe is an olive oil dish too) and whenever we go to a restaurant, we always order at least one in our meze choices because they're so yummy. Whenever we make our own though, we can't bring ourselves to use so much oil. This dish has tomato in it too so when I make it, I use a bit less oil and a bit more tomato.

All the ingredients frying in the pan

• Cut the ends from half a kilo of green beans and cut them in half. (I used the very thin beans but if you're using the fatter ones, cut some of them in half lengthways, down the middle, too.)
• Heat a couple of tablespoonfuls of olive oil in a large frying pan, chop two onions and start to fry them gently in the hot oil. (If you want to really go for it and do it properly, use 5 or 6 tablespoons of oil.)
• Deseed 2 green bell peppers (one is enough if you're using the dark green capsicum peppers for sale in the UK), chop into big pieces and add these to your onions.
• Fry gently for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, chop a big Turkish tomato (just short of a tin of chopped tomatoes or a full tin if you're going the lesser-olive oil route) and add that to the pan.
• Now add your beans, a couple of teaspoons of sugar, a finely chopped clove of garlic (optional) and a decent sprinkling of salt.
• Give it all a good stir and leave it to cook for about 5 minutes.

Hot water is added to the pan

• After 5 minutes or so, the beans won't be taking up quite as much room in your pan because they will be starting to wilt a little.
• At this point, add enough hot water to just about cover the beans. Bring to the boil and then cover and simmer for about an hour.

The juices will reduce (but you don't want to get rid of them completely - they're good!) and this is your finished product. Allow it to cool and then eat it.

Zeytinyağlı Yeşil Fasulye

Zeytinyağlı Yeşil Fasulye makes a fantastic meze. (Squeeze some fresh lemon juice over it before you eat.) We also eat it as a side with grilled meats. We've got friends coming tomorrow night for tea and we're going to serve this very dish you see in the photo with some of Barry's oven-baked seabass. 

Afiyet Olsun

Seasonal Food in Turkey - Confusion With Runner Beans

Well, seeing as we did yesterday's blog post all about supporting your local markets in Turkey, we thought we'd better practise what we preach and go to the Tuesday market in Fethiye this afternoon to stock up on our veggies.

Apart from the staples, we were on the look out for some seasonal goodies and noticed there's an abundance of green beans around at the moment. For some reason or other, we haven't bought any yet this year, so we decided to get some today and I'm all excited. Stir fry tonight for tea (with green beans) and tomorrow, I'm going to do a Turkish recipe with them.

Turkish seasonal beans - of the colour green

Normally, we like to use the Turkish words in the titles of the seasonal food posts. However, internet research has confused us today. In the past, we've posted about barbunya beans (which are still out on the markets and we were very temped to get those instead, today) and there's no confusion there. They're barbunya. That's it. Pink and white pods. Can't miss them. But, these beans that we bought today are very thin. Next to them, there were some slightly fatter ones, but still long and thin. Runner beans, string beans, French beans, green beans - are they all the same? Google images and Wiki seem to suggest so.

Little dictionary test then. I got my Turkish dictionary and looked up 'green bean' and 'runner bean.' Different words. Typical. Thought as much. Green bean is 'yeşil fasulye.' Runner bean is 'çalıfasulyesi.' Hmm. So then I looked up 'çalıfasulyesi' and the description was 'string bean with large edible pod and small beans.' None the wiser. Does this make string beans and runner beans the same, and if so, are green beans a different variety?

Do the descriptions on Fethiye market help much? No. It just said 'Fasulye' (Beans)! Anyway, we bought the thinner version of the two today. They're long, they're green and they're beans. They'll be perfect for what we need them for.

Fethiye Markets / Turkey Markets - Love Your Local Market (Pazar)!

Once upon a time, there was a town in the Northwest of England called Wigan. Our home town. Wigan had an outdoor market square and an indoor market. Both sold British, seasonal fruit and vegetables and clothing and haberdashery, etc. The open-fronted shops that surrounded the indoor arcades all sold fish, eggs, meat, cheese, bread and the like, and some of these shops had hares, rabbits and pheasants hanging from hooks outside. The market was always packed with Wigan townsfolk and there was constant noise and chatter from the vendors; especially at the end of the day. Bargains galore and a May Day fairground just for good measure.

This fairytale didn't have a happy ending for us as Wiganers. These are my memories from doing the twice-weekly shop with my nana during the school summer holidays when I was in junior school. Now? Well, when we left Wigan 7 years ago (22 years later), it was a medium-sized town (50,000 ish people) with no food market at all. The last fish monger of the indoor market would write letters to the local newspaper asking for customer support...There are numerous, sad reasons for the demise of the markets and, needless to say, supermarkets saw the possibilities and descended on Wigan in their droves. Wigan was home to the largest store of the biggest supermarket chain in Britain when we left. This has no doubt since been usurped by a store in another town but that was the case back then as we chose to come to Fethiye. Shoppers in the centre of Wigan, these days, have no choice but to go to the supermarkets for their fruit and veg.

Typical scene at Çalış market

Cue our love of all things markets! We're both huge fans of fruit and veg markets of the Fethiye area and local produce and make the effort to use our local Turkish pazar on a weekly, twice-weekly, sometimes thrice-weekly basis. Why wouldn't we? We really enjoy the experience: fresh produce, familiar faces - our potato and onion guy knows exactly the size of potato we look for and helps us to hunt them out from the huge mound. It's cheap and it's taught us how to get the most from the seasonal produce. We cook loads of stuff we would never have dreamt of cooking in the past.

Fruit and veg stalls line the canal at Fethiye market

Yesterday, we posted a link to an article on our Facebook page about market traders throughout Turkey saying they were losing out to supermarkets. Don't get us wrong, we are not completely anti-supermarket. We've even done a post on the arrival of Kipa in Fethiye. They're useful places for general shopping. However, they will not be receiving our lira for fruit and veg (or meat, fish and bread for that matter) on a regular basis. It's off to the various Fethiye markets for our fruit, vegetables, olives, cheeses, yoghurts and eggs for us. It's a happy shopping experience, it's local produce!

Fruit and veg stalls line the canal at Fethiye market

It's a bit sad for us to see people shopping for fruit and vegetables in the supermarkets of Fethiye when we're in such a beautiful setting that produces an amazing array of foodstuffs - all of which are available on the markets at cheap prices and in such abundance (and of course there is the fact that you're supporting local traders and farmers). So, this is our 'Love your local market (pazar)' post...

Here is a list of the fruit and veg markets we know of in the Fethiye region (there are others that we know we've missed out. Just not sure of the days). Please feel free to add a fruit and vegetable market from your area of Turkey in the comments box below so we can all enjoy the market experience, wherever we may be.

Sunday - Çalış market, Alsancak market (Izmir)
Monday - Hisarönü market
Tuesday - Fethiye market
Wednesday - Bostanlı Pazar (Izmir)
Thursday - Çiftlik market
Friday - Fethiye farmers' market, Üzümlü market
Saturday - Patlangıç & Karaçulha markets

Living in Fethiye - The Annual End Of Summer Bounty

It's been another hectic but fantastic summer with friends from home coming to Fethiye to see us (and to have a holiday of course). Over the years, since moving to Fethiye, we've also met lots of new friends - friends who come to Turkey for their holidays every year and sit at Deep Blue Bar - well, that's usually how we get chatting to people! The summer months are now one long hive of activity for us. And this is one of the advantages of living abroad that we had never really thought about until it happened to us.

When we were kids at school, there was always the annual harvest festival where we all had to bring some food in (some kids always had the really posh baskets packed with all sorts of lovely foodstuffs) and carry it to the front of the assembly hall to be displayed. You'd be forgiven for thinking this was one of those displays. We were reminded of the school harvest today when we emptied our goody bags out onto the table for the benefit of this photo.

Quite a bounty we get ourselves

This is the thing we had never thought about until we moved to here. Friends who come to stay in apartments or who have their own holiday apartments in Fethiye always need to buy food and other essentials. Whether they are in Fethiye for a week or two weeks, there are always leftovers that are either going to be thrown away...or our friends think, 'Give that to those two.' Not being the types who like to let things go to waste, we're always grateful recipients.

We went to see some friends off today and were handed all the goodies you can see in the photo. The walk home, in the sun, with five heavy carrier bags was a tad difficult but our cupboards, fridge and freezer are now all fully replenished with other people's purchases. No cost to us...well, think we had better get the barbecue going and the beers in next time they come out.

And it's not just food of course. We can't remember the last time we bought suncream or aftersun. We've got drawers full of the stuff - some quite posh ones too - all different factors. In these days of people not wanting to keep suncream for too long, lest it go off, we get the benefits and it gets replenished each year. Shower gels and shampoos - anything friends don't want to lug back in their suitcase - all end up in our household.

And then there's the, 'We're coming to Fethiye next week. Do you want us to bring anything?' At this point, we'd like to say we're not too difficult on that one as we don't really miss anything. We ask for the odd bits and bobs but it's all simple stuff. However, one friend might not be asking us the 'do you want anything brining out' question again as this year we requested crumpet rings! Good on him, though. He found some after a long search in Liverpool. The making of crumpets...that'll be another post. In the meantime, we were having a bit of a crumpet craving so they brought us a pack of them out and some homemade jam, just to satisfy the need. Friends are very kind to you when you move to Fethiye!

Turkish Food - Fethiye Honey

I wrote a comment to someone the other day stating that Fethiye wasn't really famous for any particular type of food - I am repeating what a lot of our Turkish friends say. And true, there isn't a Fethiye Kebab or a Fethiye Tost...but, slap my wrists...

Fethiye bee boxes - think of the positives

Anyone who knows Fethiye will recognise these things. And it's worth noting - just while the last two posts have been about trekking in the Fethiye area - if you do decide to go for a little hike in the region, it is likely you are going to come across these. We call them bee boxes. Fethiye is a famous bee keeping and honey producing area and the owners of the boxes leave them in rows, scattered around the pine forests and sometimes along footpaths. (I took this photograph last year - these were along a footpath along the first stretch of the Lycian Way.)

Obviously, when you're out trekking, it's wise not to be too curious. If you can help it, you don't really want to be wandering up to the boxes for a nosey inside. On the plus side, the term 'Busy Bee' befits the honey bees of Fethiye. They don't stray too far from their boxes and they occupy themselves by pollinating the flora of the area and by making pine honey (çam balı) and flower honey (çiçek balı). If you don't bother them, they're not interested in you. (I'm far from brave when it comes to insects but I've learned to quite appreciate the Fethiye honey bee.)

Row upon row of Fethiye honey jars and tins

And all that hard work from the little busy bees means Fethiye has a number of these shops, all selling flower honey and pine honey. You can buy huge tins of the stuff! So, the minor inconvenience of putting a bit of a spurt on as you quickly walk past the bee boxes, telling yourself to be brave, is completely cancelled out once you get some of this gorgeous, clear honey in your cupboard. We're never without it. It's especially tasty with yoghurt and nectarines.

Hiking From Kayaköy To Ölü Deniz - Part 2

Yesterday's post was Part One of the walk from Kayaköy to Ölü Deniz and we ended where we were just about to leave Kayaköy behind...

On reaching the top of the hill, you'll find yourself on a flat area, covered in bolders, scrub and bushes but the path is easy to trace and you'll begin a very gradual, almost unnoticable descent...and then you get your first glimpse of 'the other side.'

 A first glimpse of the sea in the hazy distance

This is a welcome sight because it's a tantalising glimpse of your final destination and, better still, you know it's all downhill from here. You can see from this photo that the path continues to lead you downwards and into the pine forests that cover the hills and mountainsides of this part of Turkey.

  Forest pathway from Kayaköy to Ölü Deniz

For 20 minutes or so, you will lose sight of the sea below as the path leads you through the forested mountainside. This little section is a gentle stroll and provides very welcome, dappled shade on a hot day. As you get used to being surrounded by the ancient pine trees, this gentle path will become rocky, the trees will disappear behind you and you will find yourself staring at this most beautiful Mediterranean view...

 View of Coldwater Springs (Soğuk Su) and Gemiler Island

You almost forget that the sea is just below you until this view appears from nowhere. Definitely a time to stop for photographs and to take in the beauty of this area. We've seen this view many, many times and I've taken far too many photographs of it but it still makes us stop and look on in awe every time we do this walk. 

Follow the path for another 5 minutes or so and you will come to a little natural clearing which is the perfect place for your picnic - or somewhere just to sit for a moment and have a drink (there are flattish rocks to sit on). From here, you can get your first glimpse of Belcekiz Beach and Kıdrak Bay in Ölü Deniz to your left.

From the clearing, the path becomes a steep, rocky descent and it's here where you'll be glad of your sturdy shoes and where you need to keep a close eye on the way markers. The sea is to your right and it looks as though there is only one path that descends the mountainside in an almost straight line. However, about 100 metres or so after the clearing, you will see a red and yellow way marker that looks like this:

 International symbols marking the route to Ölü Deniz

Important point number 3: This is not an arrow! We're mentioning this because we were completely unfamiliar with this type of waymarking system until we did a bit of reading up on the Lycian Way. Apparently, this is an international system but we had never seen it in Britain - maybe because of the Ordnance Survey maps. So if you too are unfamiliar with it, this is not an arrow. It is not telling you to continue towards the left of this photo (although another path does continue that way). It is telling you to turn right. So, we have walked along the path from the bottom right of the photo and we are going to double back on ourselves towards the top right of the photo. It's a zig-zag, descending mountain path we're following. Uninterrupted views of the sea and bays are now to your left.

As you continue along the zig-zagging mountain path (it's very easy to follow after the little bit we just mentioned) you will eventually head back into the forest. There are waymarkers and the path is clear in places. On the few occasions where the markers disappear, the many people who have done this walk have now started to leave rocks that have now become small cairns over the years. Feel free to add your own rocks to make the cairns more noticable - every little helps! The main thing to remember is not to stray too far without seeing a cairn or waymarker - and always remember where the last one was!

About half an hour after your picnic stop, just as your thigh muscles are aching from continual, steep downward motions and you're wondering what happened to all that beautiful azure Mediterranean Sea...ta daaa!

 First views of Belcekiz Beach and the lagoon at Ölü Deniz

Yet again, any aches and pains will disappear as you see your final destination. From now on, you will have constant vistas of the lagoon through the pine trees and you will feel the real world encroaching once again - you can hear music from the beaches in the summer months! We were itching to jump into the sea for a swim....but take your time. The last half mile is very steep and full of scree. Both of us have ended up on our backsides on quite a few occasions in our eagerness to get to the bottom! 'All in good time' is the motto here!

As it was so hot a couple of days ago, we had our swimming gear on. Straight along the road to Belcekiz Beach (we agreed the waves would be more refreshing than the lagoon), straight in the sea for 10 minutes, quick dry off, straight to the bar for an icy cold Efes Pilsen - well, we deserved it!

Important Information:

• Allow 2 and a half to 3 hours for this walk. This includes photo stops and a 30 minute break at the clearing. 
• If you are staying in Fethiye and need to get to Kayaköy to begin the walk, there is information here about the dolmuş to Kayaköy.
• And if you choose to follow that link, you will also realise that you can be super strenuous and walk to Kayaköy from Fethiye, thus eliminating the need for dolmuş fare! We've done this a few times. Allow 5 hours. (Includes a stop off for a drink in Kaya and a rest stop at the clearing.)
• There are regular dolmuşes from Ölü Deniz to Fethiye via Hisarönü and Ovacık. Check with the drivers in Fethiye what time the last dolmuş is if you do the walk out of season.

Trekking Around Fethiye - Kayaköy to Ölü Deniz

The Fethiye weather is still pretending it's summer but we could wait no longer. It's so long since we went for a little hike in the hills surrounding Fethiye that yesterday, we just decided to go for it. It was hot but bearable and we had a lovely time - it was just great to be out walking again. A couple of friends came with us and we took a little picnic because there's a beautiful spot to sit and catch your breath on the trek from Kayaköy to Ölü Deniz.

This post is going to be in two parts because there are quite a few photos and also a few bits of information we need to include that are important.

The first two bits of important information are:

• Don't set off on this walk in your flip flops or flimsy shoes. As you descend to Ölü Deniz, it's quite rough underfoot - rocky, dusty (mud after rain), rubbly, and there's also scree just before you reach the lagoon in Ölü Deniz.
• Make you sure you take some water along. There is nowhere on the route between Kayaköy and Ölüdeniz where you can find fresh water, so it's always wise to take a litre or two with you - especially in the warmer months.

This route is often recommended as a 'loosener' for people attempting Kate Clow's Lycian Way.

Right, let's go trekking!

A beautiful start to an amazing walk

We've done a post on Kayaköy in the past, and if you've never been before, the ruins are worth exploring before you begin the walk. 

• We always start the route from the big pink church in the middle of the ruins so to begin with, get yourself up there. It's possible to enter the church and there are beautiful views over the Kayaköy ruins and over the valley, pebbled mosaics on the floor of the church itself and a few reminders of the decorative paintwork that must have covered the whole ceiling in the past.
  
  
  Best foot forward - set off through this archway
• On leaving the church, stand with your back to the entrance door and you will see this archway slightly to your left. This is the exit point you need. (This courtyard is a great place for getting some half-decent photographs of Kaya by the way.)

A clear way marker - but it's the only one along the route!

As soon as you go through the archway, you will be able to see this sign, pointing you in the right direction. The path will lead you on a steady climb up through the ruins of the former homes of the Greek population who used to live in the area.

Your main helper in getting you to Ölü Deniz

There are loads of little nooks and crannies to explore amongst the ruins and there is obviously more than one path. For hikers aiming for Ölü Deniz, on some of the ruins, there are makeshift Ölü Deniz signs stuck to walls here and there but you must also keep your eyes peeled for these red and yellow stripes. 

This is the next important point. If you're chatting and you lose the waymarkers, it doesn't matter so much whilst you're still amongst the ruins as you can soon pick them up again. However, once you get onto the mountainside, make sure you concentrate on following the paint markers. They are on walls and rocks along the ground.

Beautiful views over the Kayaköy ruins and the valley, below

The way markers will lead you right to the top of the ruins. And don't worry if you get out of puff (it is a bit of a pull in hot weather) because you can keep turning round to take photographs or just admire the views over the valley. Incidentally, the road you can see winding down the hill right in the distance is the road you come down if you are hiking from Fethiye to Kayaköy.

This is likely to be your last view of the ruins as the rocky path now continues uphill, through scrub, and you can see the top of the hill lined with trees. Some of the red and yellow way markers are peeling off but you can still see enough to guide you upwards. You'll be pleased to know that the top of the hill in your eye line is actually the top of the hill. It's not one of those false ones where you get there and then see another huge climb ahead of you. Bonus! And bonus number 2: you've got all the climbing out of the way.

At this point, you will be feeling a sense of achievement, you'll have some fabulous photos of Kayaköy and your legs will forget they are aching. You'll be able to start part 2 of the Kayaköy to Ölüdeniz walk with gusto.

Turkish Kebabs - Do You Love Them As Much As This Man Does?

A couple of days ago, we went to the Yacht Classic Hotel (formerly Yeni Yacht / Yacht Plaza) along the Karagözler in Fethiye because we were meeting a friend there. A very nice place it is too! Non-residents are welcome to use the facilities so we had a gentle couple of Efes beers at the marina-side bar.

Restaurant tables beside one of Fethiye's marinas

Anyway, while we were sat there, admiring the views over Fethiye marina, we got chatting to one of the bar staff and he told us he was originally from Istanbul. 'Really? Whereabouts in Istanbul are you from?'

'Şişli, close to Taksim.'

'And which restaurants would you recommend in that area?' (We're hoping to get up to Istanbul again soon and have been doing a bit of 'where to eat' research.)

'Well,' he said, 'my mum is a really good cook and when I go back up there to visit my family, she makes everything so I don't really use restaurants...apart from kebab places. Kebabs are special...Kebabs are...kebabs are kebabs.' 

From this point on in the conversation, we have never seen anyone get so excited about and show so much love for the Turkish kebab. It was great to watch as well as listen. 

'You have to look for the places with 'Urfa Kebab' in their name.' (There are loads of different types of kebab in Turkey.) By now, he had a little dreamy smile on his face. 'And there is a special kebab that they call Antepli Kebab and they put ground nuts in the meat.' He was miming the actions of making Antepli Kebab. 'And they wrap it in bread and you can't see the meat...but if you open it up...ahhh...when I go back home, I go into those places and I order TWO Antepli kebabs. I miss that.' 

We've never heard of Antepli Kebab so if we do get up to Istanbul, we need to hunt one down because he definitely sold it to us!

Looking down the boardwalk at the Yacht Classic Hotel, Fethiye

'Right, we definitely want one of those then,' we said, getting just as excited as he was. It was contagious and we almost felt a bit guilty because we were making him crave kebabs. We decided to contribute a little of our kebab knowledge anyway. 'We went up to Bursa a few years ago and had Iskender Kebab.' (Bursa is the home of Iskender Kebab)

'Oh, have you? Brilliant. Aren't they good?' 

Cue another fantastic story from the barman...

'My English friend came to see me in Fethiye a few years ago and I took him for lots of kebabs. One day, we were in a bar near to my home and he said, 'Now I want to try an Iskender kebab.' I told him, if he wanted a real, true Iskender kebab, we had to go to Bursa. We left the bar, went to my car and we drove all the way to Bursa, went to an Iskender kebab restaurant (it was the same one we went to!) and drove all the way back. 7 hour drive, each way! We only got back really late that night. But it was worth it for the kebab and my friend got to try a real Iskender Kebab.' 

Now, that's what we call an appreciation of Turkish kebabs!

Check out reviews and prices for the Yacht Classic Hotel

Turkish Food - Another Mücver Recipe

Mücver (courgette / zucchini fritters) is absolutely gorgeous and the recipe is something I've been playing about with since we moved into this house. It's still not how we want it but it's getting there. The quantities are something you just have to play with so that you can get your mücver exactly right for you. Whenever I made it in the past it was either too eggy, too floury, too oily...the list goes on and so fırında mücver filled the gap for a while. But, not to be defeated, I've soldiered on and the ones I made the other day were the best attempt yet.

A Turkish Recipe For Mücver (Courgette Fritters)

• Grate 2 or 3 courgettes (depending on size and how 'courgettey' you want your mücver to be) into a mixing bowl. Some people salt them to get rid of the excess moisture but I can't really taste any difference so I don't bother anymore.
• Add 2 eggs.
• Time for the herbs and spices. A good sprinkling of paprika, dried mint, chilli flakes, salt, pepper and some fresh, chopped dill. I find dill can be overpowering so go easy with it if you are using it. 
• At this point, you can add some optional extras - parsley, a little grated carrot or some crumbled Turkish white cheese (feta, if you're not in Turkey) but we had none of these ingredients in the house when I made my mücver so they're not in this recipe).

A colourful mix of mücver ingredients

• Give everything a good stir to bring all your ingredients together into a mixture.
• This is where you need to start adding your flour. I sieve mine into the bowl gradually just to make it easier to mix in.
• As a very rough guide, you need to add about half to three quarters of a tea mug full of flour. Keep stirring to to get a good consistency and stop adding the flour when you're happy with it. You need a cross between not too stodgy but not too eggy.

Spoonfuls of mixture frying slowly

• Add a little oil to a non-stick frying pan, heat on a medium heat and place a heaped dessert spoonful of your mixture in the pan and flatten it out a little.
• Fry them for a few minutes on one side until they're set and golden brown and then use a spatula to flip them over.
• Fry them in batches until you've used all your mixture (my mixture made 14) and let them cool down and drain on kitchen roll.

A yummy serving of mücver and süzme yoghurt

As we said in our previous post, mücver is very good friends with a dollop of Turkish süzme yoghurt. If you can't get Turkish yoghurt, Greek yoghurt is very similar. If you like garlic (we do), grate some into your yoghurt for some extra flavour.

We ate the first, lukewarm batch as a meal and then we let the rest of the mücver cool down and ate it as a snack, straight from the fridge the day after.

Afiyet Olsun

Turkish Food - Loving Süzme Yoghurt

We've already written a post about how, since moving to Turkey, we have grown to love yoghurt - it's been quite a long journey - and we've posted a recipe for the famous Turkish yoghurt dish, cacık; a refreshing mix of natural Turkish yoghurt, cucumber and mint.

There are different types of natural yoghurt in Turkey - full fat, half fat, 1% fat, kaymaklı (creamy), to name a few - but our favourite has got to be süzme yoghurt. 'Süzme' means 'strained' and the result is a thick, creamy, yoghurt that goes great with mücver (courgette fritters), grilled meats, it can be mixed with chillies, garlic, herbs and eaten as a meze...it's just gorgeous and, as you can see, versatile. It's a very rare occasion that there isn't some in our fridge.

Turkish süzme yoghurt served with mücver

You may remember that we posted a recipe for fırında mücver, (oven-baked mücver) back in February. Well, the traditional way to make these fantastic courgette fritters is to fry them. I made them the other day (as you can see in the photo) and we ate them with the süzme yoghurt (we grated a bit of garlic into it). Just a brilliant late summer lunch. Of course, I took a few photos of the fritter making process so we'll post about that tomorrow.

If you are in the Fethiye area, homemade süzme yoghurt can be bought from the Fethiye markets. It's sold on the cheese stalls from huge, plastic tubs (basically, small dustbins) and is sold by weight. The other place to get your hands on the home made stuff is from the cheese and olive shops surrounding the fish market in the centre of Fethiye. Of course, you can get the factory produced branded yoghurt from the supermarkets but we prefer the locally produced version?

Turkish Food Abroad
If you aren't in Turkey, just a question for you: Would you be able to buy a product called 'Turkish Yoghurt'? Whichever part of the world you are sitting in, while reading this post, have you ever seen yoghurt / coffee / any other products specifically marked with the label 'Turkish Yoghurt,' 'Turkish coffee,' 'Turkish Bulgur' etc? We know the main supermarkets in the UK don't sell any products like this (apart from the horrendous Fry's Turkish Delight - but let's not go there). It's something we've thought a bit about recently and, coincidentally, the issue was discussed in an article about simits in Hürriyet yesterday. A Turkish company is going worldwide with its simit production. Great. However, Turkish cuisine is recognised as one of the best cuisines in the world. Why is the whole Turkish brand not exported more?

Fethiye's Karagözler In Photos - A Late Summer Stroll

Re the title of today's post: we actually made a bit of research into a late summer stroll. We've got some friends coming to stay in Fethiye over the New Year (just love having winter visitors) and they wanted us to ask for bits of info and prices at the hotels along the Karagözler. You might remember, way back, we did a post on the Fethiye hotels that were having complete revamps over the last winter period.

The Mediteran Hotel - as we don't know it!

Well, here is one of those hotels. Can you tell what it is yet? If you know Fethiye at all, you'll know that right at the end of the 2nd Karagözler (İkinci Karagözler) and a little bit beyond is the Mediteran Hotel. This is it. A way from being finished but they're most definitely going for the modern, upmarket, minimalist feel. New jetty as well. We'll do a proper post on the Mediteran once it's presented in all its new glory. Needless to say, not much luck there in finding any information for our friends.

Fethiye boatyard - a bit of industry

Walking from the Mediteran Hotel towards the Karagözler and Fethiye, you pass the boat yard. Our walk always turns into an amble at this point. We love the boat yard. Always huge gülets (the traditional wooden sailing boats you see along the Aegean and Mediterranean Turkey) either being built from scratch (fascinating) or being repaired. Prepare your nose for smells of sawdust, varnish and paint and prepare your ears for hammering, drilling and sanding machines. If you're lucky enough to pass at the right time, you can see a boat being placed back into the water with the help of the contraption in the photo above (we have no idea of its correct name).

Just a pretty Fethiye boat photo

We don't know if this boat was docked in the Fethiye boat yard awaiting repairs or if all jobs were complete but we thought it looked beautiful just moored on it's own, overlooking Fethiye, opposite.

Beware all who venture past here - dates falling!

It's the time of year for dates too. All the palm trees that make the Karagözler feel quite grand are laden with these amazing, colourful fruits at the moment. It'd be lovely if someone came round to harvest them all but they are in such abundance here, they usually just left to fall to the ground and the heads of unsuspecting passers by - usually us!

As we said, we were supposed to be doing a bit of research for our friends. Well, this photo was taken from the Doruk Hotel, quite close to the centre of Fethiye and Paspatur. And not bad views they have too! That's about as much information as we got from anywhere, really.

Yachts in Fethiye Marina

So, now you can see why we combine research trips with a gentle stroll thrown in for good measure. We didn't manage to get much information for New Year. For a start, New Year equals 2011. 'We haven't done our prices for 2011 yet and the manager isn't here,' was the perfectly logical reasoning from one receptionist.
'Can we see a room?'
'Sorry, no. We're fully booked. You can see one if you come back in a few weeks.'
As Britain careers headlong towards Christmas and New Year (well, it is September!), we are still basking in late summer sunshine (bliss) and the hotels are still full. Why should they bother about 2011 just yet?

It's an interesting one. Here we are, chilling in the late summer / early autumn breezes, planning our first bit of trekking in ages, winding down a little, breathing in the new, fresher air, and yet, Britain never stops. We've had friends out this summer, talking about Christmas and New Year holidays while they were here - because they have to. It's how it is. Book your time off work, get in early for the flights before they become extortionate, sort the presents out for everyone before you leave, work's Christmas-do to possibly organise and probably attend, and no doubt the supermarkets have got festive stock on the shelves...Scary!

As far as we can see - although we can't speak for the Mediteran just yet - our research has told us that the hotels along the Karagözler are open all year round...and maybe one year soon, they might need to be a bit more urgent with their New Year plans and prices...but for now...it's still 2010 summer season...and it's heading towards wind down, chill time in these parts...price lists for 2011 will come soon enough...

If you fancy a New Year visit to Fethiye, it doesn't close down as the nearby resorts do. It is a working town, very much open for business all year round. Just don't forget your warmer clothes!

**Update 2013: The Mediteran Hotel became Park Marina and is now Marina Vista.

Check out prices of Fethiye hotels on Turkey's For Life

Fethiye's Changing Seasons - Late Summer / Early Autumn Fruits

We watched an episode of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (British TV chef / smallholder / campaigner) a few nights ago. The name of the series has completely disappeared from my memory but it's something to do with the seasons and the season we're watching is Autumn. He was all excited, talking about his own harvest and the abundance of fruits and vegetables in the gardens and local woodlands. After watching it, I wondered what seasonal fruit or vegetables would be on Fethiye and Çalış markets so I was quite curious on Tuesday as we walked up towards Fethiye market. The last time we mentioned seasonal fruit, it was peach season.

We're usually pretty good at knowing which fruits appear at which time of year but we always seem to forget about the Autumn fruits - maybe because we don't like them as much so we don't take as much notice. Tuesday's Fethiye market visit was both of us making an effort to take notice, in between getting all our essentials.

3 colours - which to choose?

Grapes (üzüm) have been on the local markets for a while but they're in the height of season now and this stall was selling nothing else - just the three grape varieties. As is usual for us, we fell under the Fethiye seasonal fruit buying spell and bought a bunch of each colour. Well, they just look so lovely don't they? Need to think of some grape recipes - quick.

Nostalgic Fethiye pears

Pears (armut) are also in abundance now - and will be moreso over the next couple of months. We bought a kilo of these because it's still very early in the season for them (they're usually more autumnal) and they're exactly how we like them. Nothing worse than a soft mushy pear. These are more like a very firm apple.

I'm not actually a huge fan of pears but when we came out here for 6 months, 7 years ago, we were renting a friend's mum's house in Günlükbaşı and she had a beautiful garden area with citrus trees and pear trees. It was late October and the pear tree was so weighted down with fruit that it hung over onto our balcony. She told us to take what we wanted from it, whenever we wanted. The pears were really fresh and crunchy (although we did store some in the fridge next to an onion. Tip - don't do this! Your pear will turn into an onion flavoured fruit!) and we were eating them every day. We buy some every season now just because it reminds us of the beginning of how we ended up here. A bit of healthy nostalgia.

Breakfast for the next few days? Grapes, chopped pear and natural yoghurt. It was great this morning. Hope the novelty doesn't wear off!

Yet Another Turkey Thank You! Two Of Them!

No photos for today's post (so I'll keep it short and sweet) and with good reason! Allow me to refer you back to a previous post in March about when we went to Meis. You may remember I left my camera on the bench outside our local Tansaş supermarket - and someone handed it in and I got it back later that day. Lucky me!

Well, yet again, lucky me! Yesterday, we were meeting a couple of friends in Hisarönü so that we could all go down to Kayaköy together and then on to Cin Bal. We agreed to meet at Pizza Pepino because it's on the Kaya dolmuş route and the staff are pretty good at knowing the rough time the dolmuş is going to go past. 

We had a drink while we were waiting, paid the bill and then stood up from our seats, just in case the dolmuş passed us. Suddenly, it came round the corner so I ran out and flagged it down and we all went off down the hill to Kaya. It wasn't until we got off the dolmuş that I felt a bit bare. Bag! Or more accurately, lack of bag! I'd left my bag, containing my camera, purse, mobile phone and door keys at Pizza Pepino. Cue the sickly feeling I am now very familiar with. I amaze myself with my forgetfulness. 

First 'thank you' goes to the bar staff at Poseidon who not only found the phone number of Pizza Pepino for me but also told me to use their phone to ring them. Thank you, thank you!

And when I phoned Pizza Pepino, a bit of winding up was going on! 'No, no bag found here. Are you sure you left it here?' By now I was getting a bit frantic. 'And what was in the bag?' I explained what was inside. 'No, nothing like that here...but you've got a very nice photograph on your driving licence, Julia.' Chuckle chuckle coming from down the line. If you've ever left your bag somewhere, you'll know how relieved I felt!

Pizza Pepino kept hold of my bag for me while we enjoyed our afternoon in Kaya and we got the dolmuş back up to Hisarönü later on to pick it up. I think I must be one of very few people in this world who has to rely so much on other people's honesty - and yet again, I've been very lucky. It does restore your faith in the human race, too. We're not all out to rob and steal from others!

So, out and out plugs and recommendations. Poseidon and Pizza Pepino. No idea what the food is like but they're great places to sit for a drink, the staff are lovely and you know you'll get a bit of help should anything go a little bit pear-shaped.

Turkish Food - A Recipe For Köfte

Having got yesterday's rant about köfte and burgers off my chest I should post the recipe for how we make Turkish köfte. Once you have your basic mix, you can play around with herbs and spices to suit your taste. In Turkey, köfte will have different spices and textures in each restaurant or büfe depending on how the chef likes to prepare it, so we think it's perfectly fine for us to do the same.

A Turkish Recipe for Köfte
This is a recipe for standard köfte. If you travel around Turkey, you will see meat köfte of various shapes and slightly different ingredients depending on the region you're in. Right, on with our recipe:

• First of all, go to your local butcher and get 250g of minced beef or lamb. Our local butcher in Fethiye is really good and minces the meat for us. Lean mince is more healthy but for a decent köfte, you need to at least go for orta yağlı meat (medium fat) as it softens the texture a little and makes them more juicy.

Toasting your spices first really brings the strong flavours out

• In a hot pan, toast a pinch of cumin seed, 2 fennel seeds (they're strong so no more than 2), and a pinch of coriander seed. This only takes a couple of minutes. Take them off the heat as soon as you can smell them.
• Add your toasted seeds along with a few peppercorns and a pinch of sea salt to a pestle and mortar and grind them all up.

Get all your ingredients together

• Spread your minced meat out on a plate, grate half an onion and a clove of garlic and sprinkle over the top.
• Next, sprinkle your spices and as many red hot chilli flakes as you like. You know us by now. Chillies are not essential - for some people.
• Whisk a small egg and pour this over, too. Now you need to get your hands in and need it all together. I use a big plate because it makes it easier to get an even mixture.
• If your mixture feels really wet, you can add a few breadcrumbs (most recipes will tell you to add breadcrumbs) but I try not to add too many as they dry the mixture up too much sometimes. If you can form the köfte shapes without the breadcrumbs then they're not necessary.

Köfte mixture rolled into mini burger shapes

• Take little chunks of your mixture, roll each chunk into a golf ball shape and then pat down between your hands. 250 grams of minced meat will give you about 10 köfte.
• If you've got time, leave your köfte in the fridge for a couple of hours or so as this helps them to set.

Barbecued köfte

• The best way to cook köfte is on a barbecue. Lower them towards the coals to seal them and then take them higher to cook them slowly. Cut one in half to check they're cooked after around 10 minutes. Obviously, you can grill them (or be really naughty and fry them) but we only ever make köfte if we're barbecuing.
• And if you barbecue them, you don't need to feel quite as guilty about buying a medium fat meat.

Köfte is absolutely amazing when served with Antalya Usulü Piyaz. They go fantastically well together.

Of course, following on from yesterday's post, if it's a burger you're after, just make your köfte a bit bigger and stick it on a bun. That's a proper burger!

Afiyet Olsun

Turkish Food - Köfte is King!

Okay, let me haul myself up onto my soapbox and have a bit of a rant about the world of processed food! I've developed a bit of a 'thing' about processed food over the years and it's slowly disappearing from our daily diet. I'm not a fan! Judging by what we see and read on a daily basis though, it's evident that Turkey is becoming a fan.

Let me give you an example. The one processed food just about everyone knows is the burger. They're big business and are, bizarrely, a fast growing business here in Turkey. Istanbul now has many independent, fashionable burger joints where you can pay around 20 lira(!!) for your processed burger. Fethiye now has branches of two of the most famous burger places in the world. How on earth has a juicy homemade burger become the nonsense we see in fast food places today? Ahh, it beggars belief. I remember going to Wimpy with my mum as a kid and having a burger and it was real and on a plate with real chips and a metal knife and fork. What happened?

Fortunately for us, we do live in Turkey and I said it was bizarre that burgers are such a growing business here because Turkey is the home of köfte, aka 'the Turkish meatball'...it's the real burger. There is still hope!

Homemade köfte - better than processed burgers

If you look at menus in Fethiye, a 'burger' and 'köfte ekmeği' (meatball sandwich) are two completely different meals. You can go to many büfes (small cafes), restaurants or other eating places in Fethiye and order a köfte ekmeği and at exactly the same place, you can order a burger. Your köfte ekmeği will more than likely be a fresh, crusty half bread with a few homemade grilled minced meatballs - real meat - and salad. Order a burger and it's a completely different kettle of fish, I can tell you. Processed bun and a paper thin processed meat, cereal and I dread to think what else 'burger' in the middle and maybe a lettuce leaf or two - a la 'burgers' of the well known fast food joints. This is what people want. It's what 'burger' has come to mean to most people.

Well, not for us! Oh no, no, no. As far as we're concerned, Turkey make the best home made real 'burgers' ever. They're just a bit smaller than you might be used to and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They are known as köfte. Yes, we love köfte. Long live home made köfte - the true burger! And guess what tomorrow's post is going to be...of course, a Turkish köfte recipe.