Well, summer is almost over.
And seeing as it’s been one of the hottest I’ve ever experienced in Tel-Aviv, I for one am happy to say, “Goodbye Summer- And don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out!!”

However- my joy is tempered with sorrow, because almost to the day, the last of summer means the end of the shiso season..
For those of you who know me, and my garden, you know that among other treasures lurking in the green oasis, such as pandan leaves, galangal, sky-pointing chilies, kaffir lime leaf trees, and lotus lilies,

Our Oasis

there exists my most precious culinary jewel- the elusive, elite, and absolutely irreplaceable SHISO.

For many Authentic Japanese specialties, you just cannot make them unless you have fresh shiso leaves.
If you live in Japan, Asia, San Francisco, NY, or Paris (the only city in Europe I’ve ever seen them, although there may be others) getting fresh shiso won’t be a problem.
However, if you live in Tel-Aviv, you can forget all about it.
I found this out the hard way 11 years ago when I moved here, and decided to make a Japanese dinner.
Fat and happy, I waltzed to the market, thinking I would surely be able to get shiso leaves- Only to be met with blank stares of incomprehension, and later when I asked horticulturists and suppliers, that it is impossible to grow them here because of the climate.
Well, I didn’t accept that, no way.
I ordered seeds from Japan, and spent the next 4 years trying to grow them:
I froze the seeds for 3 months to simulate the harsh Japanese winters.
I warmed the soil on coffee-cup warmers.
I tried planting the seeds in every month of the year.
Inside.
Outside.
Using different soil mixtures.
In short, I drove Alon insane with my experiments. Nothing worked.
Finally, in defeat, I threw years worth of pots and their contents into a big pile of soil I planned on mixing with compost, and resolved to forget my hopeless dream.
Imagine my surprise in the Spring when dozens of little shiso seedlings popped up in the compost heap.
Since then, they grow by themselves every year, reseeding themselves.
They grow to towering size, and the first growth leaves are comically gigantic, like lettuce leaves.

giant first-growth of the season shiso leaves

I’ve used these giant first growth leaves like sheets of Nori to wrap maki rolls, spring rolls, and other things…
And people from all over the country gradually heard about my shiso and
come grovelling and begging me to share them.
Now usually, I share anything, either ingredients, or knowledge, with anyone who asks.
But my shiso is different.
I worked for years to grow it, and I am not going to fork it over to some
nick-nack coffee-house cowboys to shove in the frig for 3 days and then put inside some atrocious bastardization of a Japanese dish that I wouldn’t feed to my cats!! No way!!

To this day, the only chef I have ever shared my precious shiso with, is the mighty chef Oren Goldwasser, a true expert in Japanese cuisine, who once had the only truly authentic Japanese restaurant in Israel, “Tatami”, in Haifa.
Which unsurprisingly, he closed, due to no one knowing or appreciating REAL and AUTHENTIC Japanese food here.
If I had to guess, the reason he closed probably was he got sick and tired of hearing clients ask him why he didn’t have a deep-fried chicken shnitzel and cream cheese maki on the menu.
(I wish I was joking, but I’m not. The photo below ,which to make it clear, OBVIOUSLY is not mine!!!  is what I found when I googled
“cream cheese maki”. WTF.)

this digraceful nightmare is, apparently, "cream cheese maki" And to this I say, "WTF"

In any case- Oren, much to my sadness at his not still having his Japanese place, now has a great fresh pasta place, “Fiori”, down in the Shuk ha’Namal, and needless to say, he doesn’t have any use for shiso leaves there.

http://www.shukhanamal.co.il/?p=795

Nonetheless, if he ever has a personal special dinner and asks for them, I make sure he gets them!
As for anyone else: Dream On!!

watch?v=k6Qd9VR1gD8

Here, by the way, is a link to a photo album of my yearly Shiso Kaiseki Dinner,  photos by my friend, the talented clarinet musician Michal Beit Halachmi :

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150161428156723.299016.546006722&type=1

Now without further ado, let me share with you (let’s face it, this recipe will only be able to be used by those of you who don’t live in Israel.
Unless someone here other than Oren impresses me enough to share, but oh well. Life isn’t always fair!!)

FRESH SHRIMP in TEMPURA SHISO:

Ingredients:
12 extra large, live or almost live, whole fresh shrimp.

Peeled, heads cut off, keep the very last segment of the tail shell on, clean the sand vein by cutting through the back with a tournee (oh and believe me: fresh live shrimp have a lot of crap in them an it’s pretty gnarly job cleaning them. Make sure to rinse them well after cleaning the guts.)
Under no circumstances use frozen shrimp for this dish!!!!!

I ONLY buy fish and seafood from Moshe (Musi) Penster, who in addition to having THE BEST fish shop in town, ( 03-510-1863) is also like a brother to me and is one of the most hilarious guys you’ll ever meet, and a crazy perfectionist, too!!!
Here’s  a photo of him, plus me and Alon, at his shop one night when we had “Sushi Night” in the market!

http://www.rimaolvera.com/blog/night-shuk-sushi-bar-what-fun-we-had/

12 fresh shiso leaves

12 toothpicks

Tempura flour, 1 cup

Shichimi (togaroshi) japanese chili powder

Ice cold water

Canola oil

For ponzu dipping sauce:
Soy sauce, 1/4 cup
Yuzu juice, 4 TB
Mirin, 6 Tb
Lemon juice, juice from 1/2 fresh lemon

METHOD:

Mix all Ponzu sauce ingredients. Set aside.

Wrap each fresh shrimp in a shiso leaf as shown in photo. Secure with a toothpick.

In 2 bowls, split the tempura flour in equal parts.
Mix about 2/3 cup ice water with the flour in one of the bowls.
Make sure not to overmix, in fact, it should be lumpy, and look terrible and as if it isn’t mixed right.
It should be very thin, NOT a thick “pancake” batter, like most people here seem to think Tempura batter is suppposed to look like.

(Damn!! I’ve eaten “Fish n’Chips” in England with a more delicate batter than most tempura in Israel!! Ugh!!)

Heat a heavy bottomed pot filled halfway up with canola oil. Heat up gradually, on med-low heat, not quickly heating it on high heat. Test by adding a drop of the batter. It should sizzle
and float immediately.

Dredge the wrapped shrimp in the other bowl containing the reserved dry tempura flour, knock off excess by banging on your hand holding the shrimp, with your other hand (don’t touch the shrimp itself)

Dip the shrimp, in batches of 4, in the tempura batter, amd shake off excess. It should look very light and you should see the shrimp and leaves colours very clearly, if the batter looks like it is covering it too thickly, add more water.

Fry in batches of 4, turning once, for about 1 minute total, until just barely cooked and the leaf is crispy.

Remove to drain on paper towels, sprinkle with Shichimi pepper, serve immediately with the Ponzu sauce.
Oiishi!!!!! (delicious)

Sorry about the cleavage and no makeup, but it's my day off

Manga Alon!

Blue is waiting in vain for some

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PREFACE:
This post was originally posted at the end of May 2011, in Hebrew, on the lifestyle portal site www.xnet.co.il
Even several months ago, when I returned from there, before the diplomatic situation deteriorated to the awful point it reached today, this article was considered to be very risky for me to publish- due to many Israelis taking as a personal insult seeing another Israeli print anything favourable about Turkey.
However- It is very important for me to note to you who read this that this exactly my point-
Many people around the world hate Israel because of the actions of a few, or the negative spin in the world press distorting reality in the media’s portrayal of Israel.
Just as I get angry and frustrated seeing this happen, so do I feel that Turkey as a nation does not deserve to be hated by all of us here in Israel because of the misguided policy created by the current PM , who has done much to damage Turkey’s noble legacy of moderation and a secular, free society.
I know many people in Istanbul, and believe me, they are as saddened as we are to see the state that their beloved country has gotten to because of fanatics that they fervently despise and disagree with-
My aim in re-posting this in English, on the worst possible day for anyone to be saying anything positive about Turkey is this:
Just as we who love peace and freedom in Israel and do not wish extremist factions to dictate to the world how we are perceived, so the sane, calm, and peaceful individuals in Turkey who deplore this situation, deserve to be seen as individuals- Not lumped together with the very savages they detest….
So I hope you will read this post and understand it’s context..

ISTANBUL and CHEF VEDAT BASARAN

I just returned from one of my most favourite cities in the world, Istanbul!
After spending a week there, of course I was itching to write about all the new things I ate, saw, and experienced.
Then, on our last day, I went to meet Chef Vedat Basaran, the incredible chef I had filmed an episode of “Duet” with in Istanbul, 2 years ago:

http://www.mako.co.il/mako-vod-mako/Duet-s1/VOD-c7386a4a2d57a21006.htm

After spending an hour with him seeing his new project, I realized that my posts about Istanbul will have to be in 2 parts, this week being dedicated exclusively to him.
His importance is far too great to just say just a few words in a general post.
First of all, Chef Vedat Basaran is not only just a great chef.
He is a true man of culture and education, and has devoted his professional life to preserving the culinary and artistic heritage of the Ottoman period of Turkey’s rich history.
I don’t exaggerate to say, to me he is a genuine role model and culinary icon I sincerely admire.
I won’t waste time repeating his accomplishments here because I discuss them in the “Duet” link which I posted above.

One of the things he taught me last time we met, was about how to prepare the noble “Kalkan” (turbot) in the authentic Ottoman style.
Below is a photo of me making it again later,  here in Israel, which I had specially flown to me from France!
( plus a photo of me and Alon holding up the turbot and a little note for Vedat:)

Here are a few photos of his restaurant “Feriye”, and a link about the restaurant and Chef Vedat from Wall Street Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703683804574533852995675002.html

his kitchen, staff, and would you believe the view from the back door of the restaurant???!

Now in addition to all his impressive credentials, he is about to add to the list- Consulting Chef and director of the newest center for art and culture in Istanbul!
This insanely complicated and expensive endeavor has been more than a year in just the building phase, and I was lucky enough to meet Chef Basaran at the site, only one week before the scheduled opening!

The building itself is 4 floors and on each floor will house showrooms dedicated to different Turkish textiles, art, jewelry, and of course, food!
When we arrived to meet him, he was busy with the general manager, choosing the exact spot on the chef jackets where the logo will be placed.
As we entered, an incredible display of Turkish handmade glass globes hung like jewels from the ceiling.

Workers were installing the last of a curving steel balustrade wrapping the huge marble stairs.
Gleaming glass cases held examples of Royal Ottoman textiles and costumes from the Sultan’s palaces, Chef Vedat explained to me that these treasures were now being specially duplicated in by textile historians, to preserve the treasures for the future..
It takes months for laboratories to study the materials and the dyes and then the results are sent to the textile artisans so they can duplicate to the final detail the exact composition of each garment!

Walking up another floor, our breath was taken away by a three- story high vertical garden!
As the plants mature (they had only been planted a week before) they will make a rich living tapestry evoking the amazing textiles in the gallery inside.

In the restaurant, where geometric turquoise tiles frame the gleaming stainless steel and marble professional kitchen which in addition to serving authentic Turkish cuisine made by chefs from all over Turkey, personally trained by Chef Basaran himself, there will be classes with local chefs who through difficult research to find them, Chef Basaran has made sure that the ancient and complex culinary secrets they hold will be taught to the new generation of young chefs so these priceless cultural treasures aren’t lost forever.

We sat with him and even though the pressure of the opening was fully upon him, dozens of staff in full concentration all around him, his graciousness and hospitality never faltered.

He whispered something to one of the headwaiters who were standing just nearby, and moments later a delicious wood roasted flatbread covered with handmade Turkish cheese, herbs, and peppers appeared, even though the entire kitchen staff was busy with a full training and testing of all the dishes.

He spoke to me about his visits to Israel, and mentioned how much he enjoyed them, how much he appreciates Israel’s natural culinary products, and his friendship with Chef Ezra Kedem.
I appreciated his openness about his friends here in Israel, and it touched me even more, as these days many Turks, especially prominent members of society, would not wish to say publicly positive things about Israel..
I wanted very much to ask him how he felt about the political climate in Turkey now, but I knew that would be putting him in an uncomfortable position, and his grace and class would compel him to answer politely, and I had no wish to be pushy.

He told me about his Sommelier and how he has worked tirelessly to select the very best boutique wines, from local Turkish grape varieties, that could be found in the entire country, and introduced us to him, even giving us the names of several outstanding Turkish wines which he recommended we find and bring home with us (we did!)

Every detail of this project seemed to be personally supervised by Chef Basaran- Even down to the style and cut of the uniforms, the type of authentic handmade wooden trays for proofing the breads before they go to the oven, the marble slab counters in the kitchen, the placement of the equipment in the demonstration kitchen- no detail escaped his eye and his demand for perfection.
This to me is the sign of a true chef, and a true man of culture:
Devoting yourself to what you love and never saying “it’s good enough” unless it’s truly perfect.

You may notice I left my usual sarcasm and jokes at the door for this post and wrote simply about the privilege I feel to personally know Chef Vedat Basaran, and how lucky Istanbul is to have such a treasure.
I wish him every success with this new project, and hope to visit there again just as soon as possible.
If you have the chance to go to Istanbul, you won’t believe your eyes at the magic contained in this city!

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For those of you who watch “Duet”-
There is one episode which was devised by the producers to cover-up a disastrous pilot, (nothing to do with me!!)
where I must introduce the episode by saying:
“This is an unusual Duet..because this time, it’s not my story..”

And so I will say this again.. but yet, in a way, it is my story, because it is the story of when Rima met Peter..
A chance meeting which, in fact, changed my life.

So, it began about a year ago, we were sitting around the house on Saturday, and the phone rang.
It was Yomi Levi (you remember, one of my best friends, who, along with his brother, owns and runs the best Turkish specialty shop in Tel-Aviv.. מעדניית יום טוב at 43 Levinsky..)
”Wake up!” he said, “We are going to Herzliya to eat at a great Turkish place! I’m picking you up in an hour!”
So what to do except get ready to go??

An hour later, Yomi arrived at our door, and with him was a drop-dead gorgeous man who looked like some sort of cinematic fantasy hybrid between, say, George Clooney, and a young Sean Connery..

Yomi introduced us, saying “This is Peter Norman- the famous Swedish chef everyone has been telling you that you must meet- he popped by, and decided to join us for lunch!”

Now, of course, I was overjoyed.
Because, actually, for months, I had been hearing “Chatter” (as they say in the C.I.A and Mossad when referring to receiving  high-quality buzz about someone-) about the fabulous Peter Norman- a crazy chef and stylist of mythological talent, who for reasons unknown, had decided to leave his pastoral farm in Sweden and move to Israel..
And in fact, I had been scheduled several times to meet him and due to one arak thing or another, just never happened..

Well, never mind. He came into our house, a book in his hand, introduced himself..
And it was that old cliche you always hear..”I felt like I had known him my entire life”. But it was true.
The book he had brought to me was in fact a copy of his book, “the PINK Cookbook”

http://www.lundlund.com/food-stylists/peter-norman/biography

Now, as all of you know, I do not read, or own, any cookbooks. But this one was different.
Not so much a cookbook, this was the single most aesthetically beautiful piece of food art I had ever seen.
And what made it even more striking to me was, the same time as I had been travelling the world, to 13 locations, filming “Duet”- Peter had been travelling the world- to 13 locations- shooting on location each chapter of his book.
It was remarkable, and his book took my breath away- And it still does.

Within hours of meeting, (Well, the place in Herzliya was closed!) we were all sitting at a steak house in NeveTzedek- (Makom shel Basar, to be exact, and I actually happen to really like this place- site : http://makomshelbasar.rest-e.co.il/)  Eating steaks, drinking countless bottles of wine, talking about travels, life, food, adventures, as if we were lifelong friends just reunited after a few months of travels apart, comparing stories..

That night (which in fact happened to be Peter’s birthday) ended up with us all over at Peter’s place-
(A beautiful, welcoming oasis of impeccable taste, refinement, and beauty, in the middle of Tel-Aviv)
drinking Swedish Aquavit, downing frozen vodka, eating caviar, dancing around the room to Brazilian remixes of 70’s disco classics, and generally having the time of our lives!!

And that was the start of our friendship.
From that day on, we trawled the markets of Tel-Aviv, ate countless dinners in his beautiful home, gossiped, planned menus, brainstormed ideas for all kinds of projects, cooked and ate beautiful meals, and of course, drank endless bottles of wine..

Peter, as is his nature, that is to say, he is a true citizen of the world, and follows his heart fearlessly, and purely, has moved away to Mexico City, just 2 weeks ago, with his partner, who we all fell in love with as he did..

And I will say this-
My life, and in fact, all of Israel, became a duller, and poorer place the day he left.
I have never met someone like Peter before- Full of charm, grace, laughter, wit, generosity, empathy, and blazing talent- Yet without one bit of the pretentious ego or narcissism that plague many in our field, with far lesser gifts than his..

I know I will visit him many times in beautiful Mexico,  a country which is also one of my true loves..
Strangely, in another part of my life, I was sure I would move there to live one day.

And I know he will be back to Israel many times, too, as the dust of this strange land has gotten under his skin, and will never allow him to turn his back completely on this place..

Meeting Peter was one of the rare occurrences which even fleetingly, make me believe in a higher power-
One which brought us together in order to experience life all that much more fully.

Miss you Peter

Rima Olvera & Peter Norman’s Grilled Fresh Shrimp with Tarragon and Pistachio Butter

20 large fresh shrimps, cleaned by cutting through the back of the shell with scissors, removing the sand vein, but leaving the head attached (if you simply insist on it, you can remove the heads, but they look and taste much better with them on..)

Carefully butterfly the shrimp tails (open them, but leave the shell whole from the back to hold the butter while roasting..)
2 sticks (200 grams) unsalted butter, softened,
3-4 cloves fresh garlic,
1 bunch fresh tarragon leaves,
about 1/4 cup fresh flatleaf parsley,
splash of Pastis, Pernod, or white wine,
zest from 1 lemon,
several turns fresh ground black pepper,
1/4 cup of shelled crushed pistachios,
big pinch sea salt-
Process all in food processor.
Spread each opened shrimp tail (look at photo) with a thick layer of the butter, and roast on top rack of oven, on hottest temp/”broil”, for about 4-5 minutes.
Serve immediately, with fresh lemon wedges (Meyer’s if available) nice sourdough bread, a frisee and lettuce salad, and a few bottles of crisp, dry white wine (like Sancerre, or good unoaked Sauvignon Blanc)

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This is just a “short” note to discuss a risotto I ate last night at Il Pastaio,
which for lack of a better word, was @#$% ing Transcendent! Ethereal! Sublime! Exquisite! Celestial!!

Il Pastaio

In any case, you get the point that it was delicious.
It was this:
Lemon and Saffron Risotto.
The Arborio rice was al-dente- perfectly so.
*Note to TLV “Chefs” – You DO NOT make risotto by putting rice and water into a pan, covering it, and walking away. Testo di Cazzo!!!!!
You must STAND THERE AND STIR IT, CONTINUALLY, THE ENTIRE TIME.
And PS. remember the Italian saying of how to make perfect risotto:

“Rice is born in water, and dies in wine”

This means, add wine to the rice in the pan first- before anything else!
Not water, or  the old Israeli favourite- powdered chicken soup concentrate.
I’ll give you guys this helpful tip free of charge!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arborio_rice

It was FLAT- which by the way, is EXACTLY the way it is supposed to be!
You aren’t supposed to be able to stack up risotto up in a tall pile!!
(i.e., unlike the SPACKLE which is passed off as risotto everywhere else in Tel-Aviv- soggy, mushy, filled with butter, cheap cheese, and believe it or not usually cream too, and so thick it can be and usually is, put into ring-molds and formed into solid, nasty, mountains- and usually served with some more crap piled on top of that, I might add!!)

It was filled with the delicate taste of both fresh lemons, and the ephemeral fragrance of a very special type of saffron.

Saffron Harvesting

Which comes from, well, let’s just say:
“A Nation with whom Israel does not have Diplomatic Ties with”.
It is the best saffron in the world, and if you happen to watch the Istanbul episode of my show, Duet, (here’s a promo clip from here. The clip is in Hebrew, sorry.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=142785493139&ref=mf

The show itself however is in English.
If you happen to live in Asia, Europe, Russia, or Israel, you can see it on tv.
If not, ask GRB media, which is the US distributor, to release it in the US. Thanks!!

There you will see me comment on finding some of it in the market there.
NO ONE here, other than me, uses this stuff, and instead uses the cheap,
C-grade Spanish saffron which has an unmistakably bitter aftertaste.

Did I mention the slight creaminess of EXACTLY the right amount of Parmigiano Reggiano?!

Parmigiano Reggiano

The colour of that heavenly saffron shining like the golden rays of a sunset in Paradise?!
The sighs of sensual delight as we all devoured every last grain of rice and then felt like picking up the plate and licking it?!

Well, in any case, the last time I had a risotto that perfect, it was made by the blessed hands of my legendary saute cook, “Manny”  (Manuel)-
A tiny, aggressive, Yucatan Mexican Mayan Indian, who happened as well as being one of the best line cooks I ever had the privilege of working with, was a true master of the art of making a perfect risotto, had a wicked and cynical sense of humour, and was also married to a 6- foot tall Irish redhead who loved to drink  and fight almost, well, ok, even more, than Manny himself.
What a Legend!

But I digress: the risotto, made by Manny, that had been burned into my memory as being the best I ever had, up until last night ,
(And p.s. this includes the dozens I have eaten all over Italy)
happened to have been a wild mushroom risotto, made with a mix of pristine wild chanterelles,  lobster mushrooms, and porcinis, from the forests of California, and hand-delivered by a bear of a guy who looked like he himself lived in a hollow log in the same forest his precious mushrooms were collected in!!)

Wild Mushrooms

Manny, “En Camote” (deep in the S**T ) of a particularly vicious service which included, among other things, tickets rumbling out of the printer like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, RH half-drunk on a bottle of red wine hidden indiscreetly behind the waiter’s buzzer, yet nonetheless expediting perfectly the seething mass of aggression, stress, and fiery madness that was an  Enrico’s Friday night dinner rush-

And in the middle of this mayhem, Manny passed down the line to me, as I was working my usual station on the grill, directly in the malevolent, tractor-beam like glare of RH, the leftover remains from a pan of that mythological risotto.
I stuck a spoonful of it in my mouth, in between throwing on the grill a frightening number of duck breasts, tuna steaks, boneless quail, and god knows what else the Evil Expeditor had mercilessly called to me all at once..
And I tell you when that risotto hit my tongue I heard a heavenly chorus of Angels singing!

The singing Angel actually didn't look like this. but this picture is more interesting

About 20 minutes later, a waiter comes running in, risking the Wrath of RH by showing his face in the kitchen without being buzzed- warning us that a table of Italians were on their way to the kitchen and they wanted to speak to the chef about the risotto they had just eaten.

“WTF?!” I remember thinking, “what in the name of Batman’s Mother does anyone have to say about the risotto?! It was perfect!”
I turned my attention back to the grill, whose entire surface was by now completely covered, with not a centimeter to spare- yet nonetheless didn’t prevent RH from calling me another 9-10 items which he could see with his own eyes I couldn’t possibly fire, yet still earned me a withering comment referring to my clumsy ineptitude, or something of that nature.. and a dirty look, too!

A few seconds later, 3 Italian guys who looked like they just rolled out of their Villa in Sicily, burst into the kitchen :
“Who made that risotto?!” they demanded, looking around aggressively.

Sicilian Villa

RH turned and fixed them with a scowl frightening enough to turn your blood to ice- and sad “That guy”- pointing to Manny, who at this point was 12 saute pans deep in the middle of a typically colossal fire of orders-

What happened next was a shock, I’ll tell you-
That was 17 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday!
These 3 Italians jumped behind the line, grabbed Manny, and one after the other, kissed him on both cheeks- shouting that they had made a bet that the only person who could have made that perfect risotto was an Italian- and that the waiter told them that not only was Manny NOT Italian- he was a Mayan Mexican Indian- and they had bet him 100$ each that he was lying-

After shaking his hand and giving Manny 100$ as well, they went out of the kitchen in search of the waiter, who had just made a hefty bonus for the evening.. and who Manny himself searched out after the shift to demand a 50% cut of the proceeds that the waiter had earned due to his risotto skills…!!
Well, anyway, as usual, I seem to have gotten distracted, but the point being, is up until last night as I said, Manny’s Risotto was the best I’ve ever had…

So enough of this talking.
Get your A** over to Il Pastaio this instant, and ask Tel-Aviv’s incarnation of Manny- (Moshe- who is chef Itzaac’s sous-chef, who I demanded to meet last night and basically did to him what those Italians did to Manny years ago-)
to make you a risotto- ANY damn type he decides to make-
Although I would highly recommend asking, or outright begging, if necessary, for that saffron and lemon risotto, which I will be dreaming of, with lust and desire in my heart, until next time I am there to eat it again!!!!!

http://www.ilpastaio.co.il/pasta_ita.html

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Man!!  it takes a lot to surprise me, but seeing Istanbul for the first time was something i will never forget..
Ok! let me speak frankly! I had just come there directly from a 8-day shoot in Mumbai, India and words cannot describe how horrible that was.. !!
So- of course, everyone always says to me “Oh! You and your Istanbul!!  you go on and on as if it’s paradise on earth, but it’s only because you got there straight after Mumbai!”
Nonsense!!!
This is what i saw when we got there:

The incredible Bosphorous straits, the bridge spanning two continents shimmering across it like a necklace of diamonds.. the cool air laced with the scent of spices, the alleys filled with carts selling everything from roasted chestnuts to tins of saffron.. Oriental music drifting out from some tiny hidden club.. beautiful girls tripping down the cobbled streets on impossibly high heels, dressed impeccably.. and the minarets of scores of mosques, with the haunting calls to prayer of the Muezzin filtering through the air..

What a place! What history! What beauty! what culture! and of course..
WHAT FOOD!!!!

Now, at the risk of sounding like a paid commercial (which of course is NOT  the case!) I will tell you that i was in Istanbul to film an episode of “Duet”, at Restaurant Feriye- with chef Vedat Basharan-
and everyone who knows me (and that includes the entire crew) knows that Istanbul, and this particular chef, and the entire experience there, was my favourite of them all… First of all, Chef Vedat Basharan is no ordinary chef.
He is a PhD in Ottoman History, and furthermore, he even speaks and reads an ancient and almost forgotten dialect of Arabic which was used in the days of the Sultans! He learned this archaic language to translate ancient historical recipes from the kitchens of the Sultans themselves!
And these recipes are what he prepares and serves at Feriye- which i must now say is the MOST BEAUTIFUL restaurant I have ever seen in my life!! 2 meters from the kitchen IS THE Bosphorous Straits!! and here is photo to prove it!!

Not only that-He plays the kannun, which is an ancient instrument of the Ottoman Empire! and he is a master of traditional calligraphy as well!
And, of course, he is a world- class Chef, and I say that from the bottom of my heart!

His hospitality, generosity, and class, were unmatched in anyone i have met- When I arrived, in the evening, me and the crew went to Feriye to check the location, and to check my ingredients etc for next day’s shoot- what i usually find in this situation is, a box of half-wilted products, and a note!
but, at Feriye- this is what i found:
His ENTIRE Brigade, including the manager of the restaurant, there, dressed in full kitchen whites, full crates of the VERY BEST PRODUCTS i have ever seen, and the most helpful, cool, and amazing crew i have ever seen!!! I thought i had died and gone to Heaven!
http://www.feriye.com/

I won’t even begin to post every detail about this experience in Istabul, because, let’s face it! it would go on and on for pages!  I will save some for later!!!
All i will say, is, Istanbul is one of the absolutely most exquisite cities i have ever set foot in- and the people and the food- well- both were mouth-wateringly beautiful, and left me with a ravenous thirst for more…

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