Surprise Trip to Turkey!!

August 26, 2009 | By Rima Olvera | No Comments »

i don’t know where to start-

i was running around like a madman today, getting ready to make sushi at Moshe’s tomorrow…

Alon told me around 7pm we had to jump to a friend’s… so we did..

and then we got home and this is what i came home to:

(a plan Alon and Yomi had devised as a surprise for me..)

A table set with candelabra… beautiful Turkish music (my favourite)

a bottle of “Mini” ouzo on the table… and Yomi Levi in my kitchen.. making me the most F***ing amazing dinner i have had in years!!!!

Now listen here:

this is what i had: first of all, “tchiros”- which is a delicately salted dried mackerel.. served with freshly picked dill and lemon.. that’s all!!

Nothing more needed!

So gentle, exquisite… and served with sesame crusted Turkish bread, perfectly warmed…

Yomi was pouring Ouzo..

and then he brought out “Pastruma”- a handmade, artisanal air-dried entrecote- which as he described it, involves it being carefully trimmed- salted- and weighted with 50kg weight for a few days.. Then covered with paprika and tied with twine, hung and air dried for a week or so..

and who taught him this technique?? His Grandfather- a Turkish delicatessen owner who was known for years as having the finest products Istanbul had to offer.. and he taught Yomi all his secrets!!!

The result??

Delicate. buttery smooth, perfectly cured beef, similar to, but far superior to the finest Italian bresaeola..

he served it with the great Turkish bread, unsalted butter, and fresh parsley.. So simple, and yet so perfect.

What I started to realize was, he understood perfectly . that simplicity is best; As he put it:

“ i want to taste clean flavours- i don’t like to taste 10 different elements in a dish. This isn’t the way food was meant to be..”

And he is so right.

Everything I ate tonight.. from the cured fish.. beef.. the crispy fried yet pure and clean sole fillets with cucumber slices and an on-the-spot chopped fresh salad of cucumber, tomato, sweet onions, parley, and lemon, was alive and jumping with happiness in my mouth..

I can’t believe the delicacy of the fresh Kataif dessert he made- covered with fresh crushed pistachios and preserved strawberries made by his mom!

and with real Turkish style kaaiymak.. (rolled fresh cream from buffalo or goat’s milk.)

Yomi is a friend of mine. But he became a friend because first and foremost, he owns a shop which i buy the best products from Turkey and Greece and other places, that can’t be found anywhere else in IL..

Only later, when i saw how much love and respect he puts into his work..

and he saw the same in me.. did we become friends..

and more. He is like a brother to me.

and then i realized- The recipes, stories, history.. that he learned from his grandfather.. and practices to this day.. this is a rare and special treasure. And he treats these gifts of his heritage with respect every day.

Not many people have the gift Yomi has- not just in his work ethic, his love for his profession, his joy in creating food from his heart, and his enormous capacity to love, appreciate, and share- But also in his real and genuine respect for his his background…

I had one of the best nights of my life tonight..

Full of surprises, beauty, and special tastes made even more delicious because i could feel the love that was put into every bite .

Thanks Yomi and Alon, i love you guys, i will never forget this exquisite dinner!!!!