Oklava

by Selin Kiazim

  To serve, fill the glasses with ice and pomegranate seeds, pour in the tea mixture and serve immediately.

  TRADITIONAL TURKISH ÇAY

  Tea or çay (pronounced ‘chai’) is deeply embedded in Turkish culture, and is an important element of hospitality. The Turkish element is the method used to brew the tea rather than its origin, although a huge amount of tea is produced domestically in Turkey. After the First World War and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, importing coffee became hugely expensive, so the popularity of tea exploded. You will see it served everywhere in the traditional tulip-shaped glasses that have become as quintessentially Turkish as the red phone box is British.

  Tea is served without milk from a special teapot called a çaydanlık. This looks like two teapots stacked on top of each other: the bottom one is larger and is used to boil water, while the upper one is used to brew a very strong tea. Each serving of tea is then made by diluting liquid from the upper pot using water from the bottom pot according to the drinker’s individual taste, and it is frequently served with sugar. As the tea is consumed, the upper pot is topped up with water from the bottom pot, and new water is added to the bottom pot to keep the tea going for several hours. Tea is drunk all year round and at every time of day – even during the very hot summers, when it is said to help cool you down. We were offered many glasses during our time in the markets of Istanbul as a friendly refresher during price negotiations, and it is also extremely popular served at home to welcome guests.

  We use Özerlat tea in the restaurant, but any good Turkish supermarket will stock tea, or it is easily available online. If you are planning to be a regular drinker, electric çaydanlıks are easily available online and well worth the investment. If the tea is to be served with brunch, I would suggest using an ordinary teapot and a kettle. Use loose-leaf tea to brew a pot of strong tea for about 10 minutes, then pour it into glasses (or cups) and top up with hot water from the kettle. The colour should be an amber-toffee tone, but try it beforehand and make the strength to your own taste. If you want to go the whole hog, tea glasses can be bought inexpensively from most Turkish supermarkets.

  TURKISH APPLE TEA

  As well as traditional tea, çay, many other kinds of tea are available in Turkey, the most popular and widely known of which is apple tea. This recipe can be enjoyed hot in traditional glasses or cups, but is equally delicious cold. To serve it cold, simply allow to cool after brewing and store in the refrigerator. Variants on this mixture are easy: you could add different spices, other fruits, replace the sugar with honey – the list goes on. The type of apples you use is up to you. I prefer green apples for a fresher taste, but red would work equally well and are perhaps a better complement to any spices, if using.

  SERVES 6

  250g (9oz) apples

  1.4 litres (2½ pints) boiling water

  1 tablespoon sugar

  cinnamon or cloves (optional)

  Preheat the oven to 110°C (225°F), Gas Mark ¼. Core the apples, keeping the skin on, and cut them into roughly 5mm (¼in) cubes. Spread them out on a baking sheet, making sure no cubes overlap, and bake for 1 hour, or until completely dried, shaking the tray every 15 minutes. Dried apple can be stored in an airtight container for a few months.

  Pour the boiling water into a pan with the apple cubes, sugar and spices, if using. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then simmer for about 10 minutes or slightly longer if you have added spices. To serve, strain the tea into heatproof glasses or cups.

  AT-HOME AYRAN

  Ayran is a very popular yogurt drink in Turkey, and it’s the Marmite of our soft drinks list – you either love it or hate it. People who do love it really love it, and we are frequently drunk out of stock by a single table. Ayran was the soft drink of choice in Turkey until the introduction of modern fizzy drinks, and although it can be drunk at any time of day, I think it’s particularly well suited to brunch. If serving it to a group, I recommend putting the salt on the table for people to add to their personal taste.

  SERVES 6

  700ml (1¼ pints) natural yogurt

  700ml (1¼ pints) cold water

  salt

  dried mint, to garnish

  Beat the yogurt in a bowl by hand or with an electric mixer, gradually adding the cold water until smooth. Add enough salt to season to your taste, but keep it light so that guests can add their own. Refrigerate until required.

  To serve, fill the glasses with ice and pour in the yogurt mixture. Sprinkle the dried mint on top.

  TURKISH COFFEE

  Turkish coffee is essentially an unfiltered, short, black coffee, often sweetened with a little sugar, but variations of it exist all across the Middle East. Like tea, coffee is very important in terms of hospitality and tradition. For example, on visiting their fiancé’s family home, suitors are traditionally subjected to salt in their coffee by their potential in-laws as a test of worthiness. The practice of reading the future in coffee grounds (a popular after-dinner activity) is also Turkish in origin. Many Oklava customers can be seen turning their cup upside down on the saucer, allowing the grounds to run down and settle. No formal training is required – just interpret the shapes you see forming.

  If you are planning to serve Turkish coffee regularly, it might be worth investing in some proper Turkish coffee cups – these are slightly bigger than espresso cups and available online or in Turkish supermarkets. We use Özerlat coffee in the restaurant, produced by a family business that has been roasting coffee in north Cyprus for 100 years. Iley, the great granddaughter of the company’s founder, has become a great supporter of Oklava: our beautiful cups, handmade in Turkey, came via her.

  To make Turkish coffee at home, you can use either a Turkish coffee pot, called a cezve (electric models, as well as traditional beaten copper pots, are available online) or a small milk pan. Before you start, you will need to find out if your guests would like sugar – for the uninitiated, we recommend half a teaspoon per cup – as adding sugar later disturbs the grounds and does not make for a great cup of Turkish coffee. If your guests have different sugar requirements, you will need to make their coffee in separate batches.

  Add 7g (about 1 rounded teaspoon) of finely ground coffee per cup and the required amount of sugar to the pan or cezve, then pour in a cup of water per person, using a cup you intend to serve in, and filling it right to the brim – espresso cups work well. Put the pan on a medium heat and stir quickly and vigorously, then leave to brew until you start to see a foam form across the surface. This foam is extremely important: every good cup of Turkish coffee is covered with it. That is why we recommend making a maximum of 3 cups at a time, as it is hard to get it right otherwise.

  Once the foam starts to form, remove the coffee from the heat and pour a little into each cup. Return the remaining coffee to the heat and wait until it starts to gently bubble at the edges – do not let it boil. Remove from the heat as soon as you see those bubbles and top up the cups, pouring a little at a time into each one to spread the grounds and foam evenly. Serve the coffee on a saucer, without a teaspoon in order to prevent accidental stirring. The coffee will be hotter than your average espresso, so it is best to wait a few minutes for it to cool and the grounds to fully settle.

  TURKISH BLOODY MARY

  The idea for our Turkish Bloody Mary came about when we spotted a Turkish vodka on the price list of one of our suppliers. Having not even known that Turkey was a producer of vodka, we were keen to stock the spirit and, in keeping with everything else we do at Oklava, we decided to take the classic bloody Mary and make it bloody Turkish. For the recipe below you can use any good-quality vodka; the tweaks to the recipe keep the Turkish feel.

  SERVES 6

  30ml (1fl oz) freshly squeezed lemon juice

  30ml (1fl oz) Worcestershire sauce

  30ml (1fl oz) olive brine

  30ml (1fl oz) turnip juice (salgam)

  1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

  6 teaspoons fresh grated horseradish

 
300ml (10fl oz) good-quality vodka

  600ml (20fl oz) tomato juice

  TO SERVE

  1 lime

  25g (1oz) sumac

  6 breakfast radishes

  salt and coarsely ground black pepper

  nigella seeds, to sprinkle

  Put the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, olive brine, turnip juice and Tabasco in a large jug and give them a good stir. Once combined, add the fresh horseradish and tomato juice and stir again. Try the mixture at this point to ensure the spice level is to your taste; you can add more Tabasco as required.

  Cut the lime into wedges and rub one around the top of each serving glass. Spread the sumac out on a shallow saucer and dip the rim of each glass into it, turning to coat. If you want to keep this spicy edge looking neat, a paper napkin can be used to straighten up any wobbly bits. Make a small slit in the side of each radish, without cutting all the way though.

  To serve, fill each glass with ice and add 50ml (2fl oz) of the vodka. Add enough of the the tomato mixture to half fill the glass, then stir; fill it to the top and stir again. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, a sprinkle of nigella seeds and balance a radish to on the rim of the glass.

  POMEGRANATE & SUMAC MARTINI

  This recipe is a twist on that 1990s classic, the Cosmopolitan. The pomegranate tea we use is from a company called T2 and is available online, but you can use any loose-leaf pomegranate tea for the same effect.

  SERVES 6

  120ml (3¾fl oz) pomegranate tea, brewed according to the manufacturer’s instructions

  2–3 tablespoons sugar, to taste

  40g (1½oz) sumac

  150ml (5fl oz) good-quality vodka

  150ml (5fl oz) spiced rum

  300ml (10fl oz) pomegranate juice

  1 lime, plus the freshly squeezed juice of 3 limes

  While the pomegranate tea is still hot, add the sugar, stir to dissolve and leave to cool overnight. At the same time, add 15g (½oz) of the sumac to the vodka and leave it overnight to infuse. About 1 hour before serving, strain the vodka and add the rum, pomegranate juice and tea syrup. Store it in the refrigerator until required.

  To serve, fill your cocktail glasses with ice and water, leave to chill for 2 minutes, then empty them. Cut 1 lime into wedges and use it to rub around the top of the glasses. Spread out the remaining sumac in a shallow saucer, then dip the rim of each glass into it, turning to coat the whole rim. If you want to keep the sumac edge looking neat, use a paper napkin to straighten up any wobbly bits.

  It’s best to make no more than 2 cocktails at a time. To do this, fill a cocktail shaker (or any large screwtop jar) with ice. Add 250ml (9fl oz) of the prepared mixture and the juice of 1 lime. Shake well, until the shaker feels cold to the touch. Strain into the glasses, making sure the ice stays in the shaker. Repeat to make the rest of the cocktails.

  MEDJOOL DATE, ESPRESSO & FENNEL MARTINI

  Espresso martinis have become a staple of cocktail lists across London, and we have added our own Oklava touch. At the restaurant we use a Cypriot brandy called Anglias, which is available online, but any good-quality brandy would do. If you don’t have an espresso machine, we recommend brewing a strong, full-bodied coffee in a cafetière and letting it sit for 30 minutes or so, straining it before use. You can add a garnish of candied date to the rim, if you like, but this requires some advance preparation: coat sliced dried dates in sugar syrup, then leave them to harden and cool.

  SERVES 6

  ½ tablespoon fennel seeds

  125g (4½oz) dried dates

  175ml (6fl oz) boiling water

  150ml (5fl oz) good-quality vodka

  150ml (5fl oz) brandy

  350ml (12fl oz) espresso or strong coffee

  candied dates, to garnish (optional)

  Toast the fennel seeds gently in a dry pan over a high heat for 60–90 seconds, or until lightly coloured. Finely chop the dried dates – whizz them in the food processor if possible – and combine them in a bowl with the boiling water and the fennel seeds. Leave overnight to infuse. It should make a thick purée, but you might need to water it down slightly to give a pourable consistency.

  To serve, for each person fill a cocktail shaker or a large screwtop jar with ice and add 25ml (¾fl oz) vodka, 25ml (¾fl oz) brandy, 60ml (2¼fl oz) espresso and 40ml (1½fl oz) date purée. Shake hard for a few minutes to create the signature foamy top, then strain into a cocktail glass, making sure no ice falls in the drink.

  CYPRIOT 75

  This is our take on the classic French 75 champagne cocktail. We use Cypriot brandy, but any good-quality brandy would do; the apple tea still gives it a Turkish feel. You could use our recipe for it (see Turkish apple tea) or use a shop-bought sweet apple tea. We serve this cocktail in wine glasses, but you could use champagne flutes, rocks glasses or wine glasses – whatever you prefer.

  SERVES 6

  300ml (10fl oz) apple tea, brewed according to the packet instructions

  150ml (5fl oz) brandy

  700ml (1¼ pints) sparkling wine (we recommend Turkish, of course)

  6 sprigs of thyme

  When the apple tea is cool, mix it with the brandy and refrigerate until required.

  To serve, pour 75ml (2½fl oz) of the brandy mixture into each glass and top up with 125ml (4fl oz) sparkling wine. Hang the thyme sprig over the rim or stick it in like a straw.

  RAKI

  Rakı (pronounced ‘rack-ur’) is considered by many to be the national drink of Turkey, and is famous world over. Produced by distilling grape pomace and flavoured with aniseed, rakı is similar to other famous drinks from neighbouring countries, and has a somewhat fearsome reputation outside Turkey thanks to its nickname, ‘lion’s milk’. Although we might more commonly think of spirits as a digestif, rakı is a popular aperitif and is also often drunk throughout a meal. We serve it at the restaurant as an aperitif, with cold water and ice cubes on the side; when water is added, the liquid will turn cloudy, an effect that led to its nickname.

  Rakı is often grouped with certain spirits that many of us ‘enjoyed’ ill-advisedly as teenagers, such as sambuca and ouzo. As a result, we find that some guests are reluctant to try it, but the addition of water brings out a softer, sweeter side to the spirit, and it is sure to be a talking point at any meal. Traditionally, rakı is drunk alongside meze or fish and is said to have been a favourite of the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. We serve Yeni rakı, which is one of the most famous brands and widely available all over the world. It is a new style of rakı with a distinctive bitter taste, and we recommend putting a bottle of it on the dinner table, along with a jug of water and a small ice bucket, to accompany your starters and tempt your guests into trying something new.

  Medjool date butter

  Chilli butter

  Lime mayonnaise

  Urfa chilli mayonnaise

  Black olive & pepper tapenade

  Tomato relish

  Muhammara

  Whipped feta

  Baharat

  Sumac dressing

  Caper dressing

  Pomegranate dressing

  Sherry vinegar caramel

  Marinated olives

  Pickled red cabbage

  Fried dried chilli yogurt

  Çemen

  Orange cream

  Orange blossom syrup

  Preserved lemons

  MEDJOOL DATE BUTTER

  The secret is finally revealed! No one has ever been able to work out what the magic flavour in our butter is, and fair enough: since my food is all about Turkish flavours, you’d never expect it to be black rice vinegar. I first made this when some friends of mine were coming over for a final meal before heading back to New Zealand. They are two big lovers of bread and butter, so I wanted to produce the most delicious butter I could make. Looking around for inspiration, I spotted some Medjool dates sitting in a black vinegar syrup, so I decided to blitz some into a block of butter. A year or so later, af
ter serving it at one of my first pop-ups, I realized it was a huge hit: everyone kept asking for more and I ended up running out, even though I’d made twice as much as I thought I needed.

  MAKES ABOUT 700G (1LB 9OZ)

  200g (7oz) Medjool dates, pitted

  15g (½oz) caster sugar

  35ml (1¼fl oz) black rice vinegar (available in Asian supermarkets)

  500g (1lb 2oz) unsalted butter, softened

  flaky sea salt

  Put the dates with the sugar and vinegar in a small pan over a medium heat and cook until slightly jam like; crush the dates a little as you go. Allow the date mixture to cool completely, then combine it with the soft butter. Transfer it to a container or mould and leave to set in the refrigerator. Serve with a little flaky sea salt sprinkled on top.

  CHILLI BUTTER

  Olive oil is widely used in Turkish cooking, but in certain parts of Turkey, butter is the leading fat in the kitchen.

  MAKES ABOUT 250G (9OZ)

  250g (9oz) unsalted butter

  2 tablespoons Turkish chilli flakes (pul biber)

  50ml (2fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil

  Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat and keep it there until it turns nut brown. Strain it through a fine sieve into a large heatproof container and add the chilli flakes immediately (it will puff up, hence the need for a large container). Stir in the olive oil, then set aside to cool completely before storing in the refrigerator.