0:00:05 > 0:00:07I'm on a gastronomic journey
0:00:07 > 0:00:10that started with the pleasingly simple food of Venice
0:00:10 > 0:00:15and will end with the vibrant and spicy dishes of Istanbul.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17What's this "aphrodisiac for man"?
0:00:17 > 0:00:20It's something you don't need, but still I'll show you.
0:00:20 > 0:00:26In between, the culinary melting pot of East meeting West - Croatia.
0:00:26 > 0:00:27This is my lunch.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30And back to basics - Albania.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33Ham, salt, beans, water.
0:00:35 > 0:00:36Life!
0:00:36 > 0:00:39And a place I know and love - Greece.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43What would I do with them?
0:00:43 > 0:00:46Well, I'd put them on the barbecue. What would you do with them?
0:00:46 > 0:00:49Who could ask for anything more?
0:01:19 > 0:01:22It's early morning in the little fishing port of Gerakas,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25right in the south of the Greek mainland.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31It's one of those "it's good to be alive" mornings
0:01:31 > 0:01:35because we're off to catch red mullet, a fabulous fish.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Probably my favourite.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41Out there's Crete and beyond, across the Mediterranean, Libya.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48Well, as the Cornish say, "This is where I belong to be."
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Early morning, sun rising, wine-dark sea.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56I've suddenly realised what Homer meant about the sea.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58It must have been at this time of morning.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01I'm watching a net coming in with some red mullet.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05Red mullet, bar none the best fish in the sea.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07The Mediterranean red mullet.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11And memories for me as a 21-year-old on the island of Spetses
0:02:11 > 0:02:15and this is a memory that's fixed in my mind forever...
0:02:15 > 0:02:18Three or four red mullet on a charcoal grill,
0:02:18 > 0:02:20some chips, a Greek salad.
0:02:20 > 0:02:26Simple, and that's what drives my seafood cookery onwards and forever.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34Vibeke, who's Danish, met her Greek husband here on holiday,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37like so many Shirley Valentines.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40All she does here is to dust the fish in flour
0:02:40 > 0:02:43and fry them for a few minutes in olive oil.
0:02:43 > 0:02:48She's taken the gut out, but I know the French like to leave them in,
0:02:48 > 0:02:50like you would with a woodcock,
0:02:50 > 0:02:53and that's why the French call the red mullet the woodcock of the sea.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57That's it. Maybe two to three minutes and they're done.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59Just some of those big, fat lemons.
0:03:00 > 0:03:01Perfect!
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Those are sensational.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07- Do you like it?- I love them.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09And do you know what they say?
0:03:09 > 0:03:12The cats here, they don't eat the red mullets. Do you know why?
0:03:12 > 0:03:14- Why?- Because the person, they eat everything -
0:03:14 > 0:03:17head and tail, everything. Nothing is left for the cats.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20You know, you just need a piece of bread and a good glass of wine.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23- And some fried red mullet.- And some fried red mullet and that's life.
0:03:23 > 0:03:24Yeah.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28We have some people here in the village, they are getting old.
0:03:28 > 0:03:3080, 90, 95 even.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33And I think that's because
0:03:33 > 0:03:36- of that good way they have been living all their life.- I agree.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38- Good food.- It's fish.- Fresh fish. - But it's fish above all.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Olive oil, a little bit of wine.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44- They drink wine, as well. - It's good for you.- It's very good.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46And a little bit of wine. They will enjoy it.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48I was just looking at these old geezers behind you,
0:03:48 > 0:03:49just sitting and nattering.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52- Yeah, that's the life. - That could be me.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54- That's their daily life. - Really?- Mm-hm.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56- Do they like a chat, the Greeks, then? They like it?- They do.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58They do.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02A chat, a small coffee, relaxing and that's it.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04They're probably looking at us now and saying,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07- "What are those idiots doing over there?"- Yes, yes!
0:04:19 > 0:04:22It's common to see octopus drying out on clothes lines
0:04:22 > 0:04:25or in little cases like this, keeping the flies away.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30But very often, what I do is just to simply boil it,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33cut it up and actually put it on the barbecue.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39The island of Symi has been a great base to cook all those dishes
0:04:39 > 0:04:44I've either discovered on my travels or have known and relished for ages.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49Grilled octopus, in my book, is second only to red mullet.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53I love octopus and I just like it done very simply.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55I mean, I've done octopus stews,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58but this time I'm just going to char-grill it
0:04:58 > 0:05:01and then serve it up with lemon juice, olive oil and oregano.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09Well, obviously, the octopus is cooked already
0:05:09 > 0:05:13so, really, I'm just looking to get a nice char-grilled flavour in it.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15It'll only take about five, ten minutes.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21I just remember the first time I had octopus
0:05:21 > 0:05:23and before I'd actually eaten it,
0:05:23 > 0:05:27I remember watching somebody catch one from a jetty in Crete
0:05:27 > 0:05:29and then having it shortly afterwards,
0:05:29 > 0:05:34really black with grilling and slightly dry with the grilling.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37It had this intensely sort of iodine-y flavour.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40And to start with, I didn't sort of really like it.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42I thought, "Is that all it's all about?"
0:05:42 > 0:05:46But it's like so many foods, they sort of grow on you, things like...
0:05:46 > 0:05:50I mean, something as simple as an olive, it grows on you as a child.
0:05:50 > 0:05:51Same with octopus.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54And I can't define the flavour, really.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56I mean, if you asked me about prawns, for example,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59I'd say they're sweet, they're firm.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02Octopus is a lot more sort of austere a flavour,
0:06:02 > 0:06:04but I absolutely love it.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20I'm just so enjoying this.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Just straight off the barbecue.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Lovely dark grilled bits of octopus
0:06:25 > 0:06:28and that lovely white as you slice into them.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30I mean, this is Greece to me.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36A squeeze of lemon and a generous pinch of dried oregano,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39which is quickly becoming my favourite herb.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41A Grecian holiday on a plate.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00This is where East nearly meets West,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Monemvasia, the Gibraltar of the East.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09I came here in my early 20s with my brother John.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12This rock marked the end of our travels.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18If I remember rightly, very few people lived here then.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20There was a bit of building work going on,
0:07:20 > 0:07:23but I recall some of the locals being rather sceptical
0:07:23 > 0:07:25about actually living here.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29They said, "It's full of ruins. Leave it to the rats and spiders."
0:07:33 > 0:07:36There's only one way into this place - an archway.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Too narrow for a car, nice for a donkey.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42Monemvasia actually means "one way in"
0:07:42 > 0:07:45and this tunnel has a kink in it.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48I think it's to stop invading armies in their tracks
0:07:48 > 0:07:51and give them a bit of a surprise when they turn the corner.
0:07:51 > 0:07:56And then you actually turn the corner and I'm in Clovelly!
0:07:57 > 0:07:59No, I'm only joking.
0:08:03 > 0:08:0740 years on, I hardly recognise the place.
0:08:07 > 0:08:08It was a ghost town!
0:08:10 > 0:08:12It's been restored, I think,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15with great love for the old Byzantine ways and traditions.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19I just wouldn't fancy lugging my suitcase to the very top.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25I'm quite enjoying the wandering around Monemvasia because
0:08:25 > 0:08:28when I came here before it was virtually derelict
0:08:28 > 0:08:31and, apparently, just filled with snakes and rats.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35So this is quite a recent bit of building,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38but, obviously, this here is probably 2,000 years old,
0:08:38 > 0:08:40Greek or Roman.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43And you sort of think, "How could they have done that?" Right?
0:08:43 > 0:08:46They would've found this bit of marble somewhere
0:08:46 > 0:08:48and just stuck it up there as a lintel.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50But the chickens are upside down!
0:08:50 > 0:08:52Couldn't they just have seen the chickens
0:08:52 > 0:08:54would be upside down forevermore?
0:08:54 > 0:08:55No.
0:08:55 > 0:08:56Builders!
0:09:00 > 0:09:02This is where the famous malmsey wine,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05much loved in England in the 15th century, came from
0:09:05 > 0:09:09and it was exported in great big barrels called "butts".
0:09:09 > 0:09:14And that...immortalised, of course, in Shakespeare's Richard III,
0:09:14 > 0:09:18where the Duke of Clarence is drowned in a butt of malmsey.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22And possibly the best bit of dramatic irony ever,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25he asks what he thinks is the jailer in the Tower of London
0:09:25 > 0:09:27for a cup of wine but, in fact, it's one of the assassins.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30And the assassin says,
0:09:30 > 0:09:32"Thou shalt have wine enough, my lord...
0:09:33 > 0:09:35"..anon."
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Barrels of malmsey wine were shipped from here
0:09:45 > 0:09:47by Venetian and Genoise traders
0:09:47 > 0:09:49to eventually end up in England.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53But when Constantinople fell to the Turks 500 years ago,
0:09:53 > 0:09:55everything changed.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59Port and Madeira wine
0:09:59 > 0:10:02eventually took over in popularity from malmsey.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11I remember my favourite wine merchant in the world, Bill Baker,
0:10:11 > 0:10:13who's sadly no longer with us,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16telling me the story of malmsey.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20He said it was the tipple of all the well-to-do people in England.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23It had a taste of honey and dried fruits
0:10:23 > 0:10:26and it was exotic, delicious and expensive.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Maybe these vineyards near Monemvasia
0:10:33 > 0:10:36supplied the grapes for the original malmsey?
0:10:36 > 0:10:40But their owner, Giorgos Tsimbidis, and his wife Elli
0:10:40 > 0:10:43have made it a lifetime dream
0:10:43 > 0:10:46to bring it back to the place where it began,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49which, I think, is quite amazing after 500 years.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55Oooph!
0:10:57 > 0:10:59- Hello!- Hello!- Elli?
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Elli. Very nice to meet you here.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04- Welcome, welcome.- And Giorgos?
0:11:04 > 0:11:07'Giorgos doesn't speak any English,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11'but wine has a way of making people understand each other anyway.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13'It really does. I wonder why?
0:11:15 > 0:11:17'I often find myself in a situation like this
0:11:17 > 0:11:19'and we get on like a house on fire.'
0:11:19 > 0:11:20Come on to our cellar.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22Oh, it's nice and cool!
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Good Lord! It's very nice, actually.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27It's a sort of working cellar.
0:11:27 > 0:11:28I mean, so many times in France,
0:11:28 > 0:11:30they look like they're there for visitors,
0:11:30 > 0:11:33- but I love this.- Thank you. - That's really nice.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41I wish my friend Bill could have been here to try this.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43It's like tasting history,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46because no other wine was more famous
0:11:46 > 0:11:48during the Middle Ages than malmsey.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52It was called Malvasia by the Venetians,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55but it'll always be malmsey to me.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02Oh!
0:12:02 > 0:12:05That's so good. It's full of warm sunshine.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08It's unctuous. It's lovely and sweet.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10It's got lots of fruit in it.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12I just want to carry on drinking it.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17But tell me why he felt so passionate
0:12:17 > 0:12:20about reintroducing malmsey or Malvasia again.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23He recreate again this wine
0:12:23 > 0:12:26because it was lost for many, many years
0:12:26 > 0:12:31and he want to make this all as present to his country
0:12:31 > 0:12:34and the people of here.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39And this wine is for all the world from our little place.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42The fact he's brought it back, I think, is fabulous.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44I first came here in the '70s
0:12:44 > 0:12:47and I'd heard about malmsey and Monemvasia and I thought,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49"Oh, it'd be so good to get some."
0:12:49 > 0:12:51But, of course, there wasn't, it wasn't.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54And I just...when I heard that you were producing it again,
0:12:54 > 0:12:56I thought, "Great!"
0:12:56 > 0:12:58because that's... Going to places
0:12:58 > 0:13:01and finding something special in that area is so wonderful.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03So...
0:13:03 > 0:13:05- So you're happy to drink again this? - I'm very, very happy!
0:13:05 > 0:13:07- Yasou!- Yasou!
0:13:12 > 0:13:18Monemvasia makes a fitting, big, fat full stop in the Aegean
0:13:18 > 0:13:19to my Greek odyssey.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22Next, of course, is Turkey.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25But here's a sweet, respectful reminder
0:13:25 > 0:13:28about some of the dishes that Greece has to offer.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33So, if you ever find yourself here,
0:13:33 > 0:13:35then you have to have a dish
0:13:35 > 0:13:39of these famous sweet, spicy Vatika onions
0:13:39 > 0:13:41cooked with fresh tomatoes.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43It's one of those dishes
0:13:43 > 0:13:46where it's all to do with the climate and the soil
0:13:46 > 0:13:49and it's supposed to be terribly good for you.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55I have to say, it's one of those dishes I keep thinking to myself,
0:13:55 > 0:13:57"There must be something else in there. It is so good."
0:13:57 > 0:14:00But it's not. It's just about these fabulous onions.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04But also, it's testimony to the Greek vegetable dishes.
0:14:04 > 0:14:05You just don't need meat.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12And then you've got to try these little almond cakes,
0:14:12 > 0:14:16shaped into crescents and dusted with loads of icing sugar.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19Sitting with a coffee outside the bakery
0:14:19 > 0:14:21is something that has to be done.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28Fish stews, using whatever's caught that day,
0:14:28 > 0:14:30loads of vegetables,
0:14:30 > 0:14:32a bit of saffron and it's delicious.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36It's not complicated, like some bouillabaisses I've tasted.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38It's simple and refreshing.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44Rooster, or cockerel,
0:14:44 > 0:14:47straight from the farmyard at the back of the taverna,
0:14:47 > 0:14:52fried in olive oil and eaten with this lovely pasta called hilopites.
0:14:52 > 0:14:57And it's covered with that beautifully sour mizithra cheese.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01And souvlaki.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05I know everybody serves it, but I think it's lovely.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07No green pepper or onion.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09Just pork.
0:15:09 > 0:15:10Any retsina going?
0:15:14 > 0:15:16Moussaka.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Much-maligned, with some good reason, I have to say.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22But when it's right, it's fabulous.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24Light and golden and creamy.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28Lots of spice, like cinnamon, and fresh tomatoes.
0:15:28 > 0:15:29Yum!
0:15:30 > 0:15:32Well, I think you know what I'm going to say.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35It's the best moussaka I've ever tasted.
0:15:35 > 0:15:36No question about it.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40I think what I really love about it is it's so light.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47It was here, in this very agreeable taverna in Kardamyli
0:15:47 > 0:15:51where they did stuffed peppers and tomatoes with Greek salad,
0:15:51 > 0:15:53the film crew's favourite lunch ever,
0:15:53 > 0:15:58that I met Maria, a Greek girl from here who's moved to the UK.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02And, naturally, we talked about food.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05- Maria, you live in Barry now, in Wales.- Yes.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10How do you find food in Barry compared with here?
0:16:10 > 0:16:17The people, they don't spend time together around the table
0:16:17 > 0:16:20to have a drink, to have food,
0:16:20 > 0:16:22but to take their time to do it.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24Also to prepare the food.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27You know, they're in a hurry, everything is in a hurry.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Obviously they have better things to do.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33I can understand that. I do have as well better things to do.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35But I know that I have to cook as well.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39Food, for me, is very important how to brought up a family.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41Food is love.
0:16:41 > 0:16:42Nothing else but love,
0:16:42 > 0:16:45because it has to do with good health.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48I'm very moved by what you say, really, because...
0:16:49 > 0:16:52..you know, in England, you can tell people,
0:16:52 > 0:16:54"We should be cooking stuff,"
0:16:54 > 0:16:58and they just think you're just a sort of person that's doing good.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01I remember when Jamie Oliver tried to explain
0:17:01 > 0:17:05people ought to feed better food in schools, everybody said,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08"Just stop interfering," you know?
0:17:08 > 0:17:11But having you saying something like that, you're not from Britain,
0:17:11 > 0:17:13is marvellous.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15Things have to change
0:17:15 > 0:17:16but I don't know the way.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Do you think it'll happen here in Greece?
0:17:19 > 0:17:21Erm...
0:17:21 > 0:17:22I hope not.
0:17:22 > 0:17:23I really hope not.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27What more can I say about that?
0:17:27 > 0:17:28You don't need to say any more.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38This is the last leg of my journey
0:17:38 > 0:17:41and Turkey and eventually Istanbul
0:17:41 > 0:17:43is a fitting end.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47The meeting place of two continents - Europe and Asia.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54Through here came the spices and aromatics
0:17:54 > 0:17:56from India and South East Asia.
0:17:56 > 0:17:57Mace and cloves,
0:17:57 > 0:17:59cinnamon, saffron
0:17:59 > 0:18:01and ginger
0:18:01 > 0:18:02and vegetables and fruits
0:18:02 > 0:18:04that we take so much for granted,
0:18:04 > 0:18:08like aubergines, okra and spinach.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14This is the land that cooked meat, spices and fruits together.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18This is the place that gave us our much-loved mince pie,
0:18:18 > 0:18:21not to mention the Friday-night special,
0:18:21 > 0:18:22the doner kebab.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26A doner kebab.
0:18:26 > 0:18:27Very popular in the UK.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32Almost as popular as fish and chips, chop suey, chicken tikka masala.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35In my opinion, best had after midnight
0:18:35 > 0:18:37with a lot of pints on board,
0:18:37 > 0:18:39at which point you say,
0:18:39 > 0:18:43"Do you know, this is the best food I've ever had in my life!"
0:18:46 > 0:18:48But now it's time for breakfast.
0:18:51 > 0:18:56Well, I thought it'd be nice to share a breakfast with you,
0:18:56 > 0:19:00because I find, actually, Turkish breakfast is so interesting.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03It's almost like you're in a sort of parallel world,
0:19:03 > 0:19:07because there's nothing about a Turkish breakfast which is familiar.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10We know about Indian breakfast, we know about Chinese,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13I even know about Japanese, but that's another story.
0:19:13 > 0:19:14But this is so different.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17And, actually, this place does all-day breakfast.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21We are a bit late. It's three o'clock in the afternoon.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23But let me begin.
0:19:23 > 0:19:24Where shall I start...?
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Well, first of all, we've got two types of olives here -
0:19:27 > 0:19:29black olives with oregano,
0:19:29 > 0:19:33green olives, new season's olives, with oregano.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37That's familiar. But now, small, glazed kumquats in syrup.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39And here, this is interesting,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42this is rose petal jam.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44Lovely rose petal jam.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49Salcha, tomato salcha with chilli pepper on top.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Lor, that's like ricotta.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54It's a very mild cheese, with blackberries on there.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58And now some salted lor with olive oil and chilli pepper.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02Tulum, which is a lovely local goat's cheese.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05We have a curd cheese, which is just the basic curds
0:20:05 > 0:20:07covered with honey.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09And here we've got chillies.
0:20:09 > 0:20:10Nothing but chillies.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12Here we've got cucumber.
0:20:12 > 0:20:13Tomato.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15You've got to have tomato with olive oil.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Some more glazed fruit, this time figs.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21Over here, two dishes have just turned up.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23This is fried aubergines and peppers
0:20:23 > 0:20:26with tomato and yogurt and garlic.
0:20:26 > 0:20:31Over here, we've got spinach, onion and cheese pie.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33And lastly, the Cetin speciality,
0:20:33 > 0:20:35which is the name of the restaurant -
0:20:35 > 0:20:38scrambled egg, cheese and local sausage
0:20:38 > 0:20:41and a little bit of fried parsley on top.
0:20:41 > 0:20:42I mean, is this just for me?
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Oh, look at that bread!
0:20:44 > 0:20:46That is fabulous.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48Done over charcoal.
0:20:48 > 0:20:49Sesame seeds.
0:20:50 > 0:20:51Fabulous!
0:20:51 > 0:20:53Where do I begin?
0:20:57 > 0:20:58Oh...!
0:20:59 > 0:21:01It's so...
0:21:01 > 0:21:02voluptuous, I would say.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Now, then, I say unto thee,
0:21:07 > 0:21:08which would you prefer?
0:21:08 > 0:21:12This or a full English breakfast?
0:21:13 > 0:21:15MAN: A full English, actually.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18With some brown sauce.
0:21:18 > 0:21:19Toast.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21Well, no surprises there!
0:21:22 > 0:21:25This was supposed to be a breakfast for one.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27So when I asked the waiter, "Why is there so much?"
0:21:27 > 0:21:30he said, "Well, it's for one or for four.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32"It doesn't matter. Just eat up!"
0:21:37 > 0:21:40They're busy chopping up these baked aubergines,
0:21:40 > 0:21:42preparing the evening meal here.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44They suggested I stay on to try it,
0:21:44 > 0:21:46but I'm so full I can hardly walk!
0:21:47 > 0:21:51Anyway, the dish was called "sultan's delight",
0:21:51 > 0:21:53one of the best Turkish dishes ever.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58The perfect meal to cook back on my island kitchen in Symi
0:21:58 > 0:22:02where, from the balcony, I can see the coast of Turkey in the distance.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06This is hunkar begendi.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09Lamb stew with aubergine puree.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15I've just put a couple of aubergines in the oven
0:22:15 > 0:22:17and they're going to cook for about 25, 30 minutes
0:22:17 > 0:22:21and I'm going to make a puree with those, which is utterly sublime.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25And I'm just chopping the vegetables to go into the lamb stew.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Hunkar begendi means "sultan's delight"
0:22:29 > 0:22:31and I wouldn't mind guessing
0:22:31 > 0:22:33that it's more of a delight than the sultan's concubines.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35It's that good!
0:22:35 > 0:22:39What I really like about it is it's a very, very spicy lamb stew.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42I would have thought it's probably as close to an Indian curry
0:22:42 > 0:22:45as you can get in heat.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47There's none of the Indian spices, of course.
0:22:47 > 0:22:48And I love it.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52And I love the combination of this lamb, spicy lamb stew,
0:22:52 > 0:22:53and an aubergine puree.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55It's a delight.
0:22:55 > 0:22:56A sultan's delight.
0:23:01 > 0:23:02'A sultan's delight...
0:23:02 > 0:23:05'I wonder, was there much delight in being a sultan?
0:23:05 > 0:23:08'After all, a sultan was like a god.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10'He could have anything he wanted,
0:23:10 > 0:23:14'order the most fabulous food for a feast for a thousand.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17'Life and death was a click of a finger.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20'He was surrounded by an army of yes men
0:23:20 > 0:23:22'and a harem of beautiful women.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25'It's a bit like being in the Rolling Stones!'
0:23:29 > 0:23:32So I'm really, really trying to brown the meat here,
0:23:32 > 0:23:35because I think people often eat with their eye
0:23:35 > 0:23:38and a good stew has to have a really dark colour.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40It's more appetising.
0:23:40 > 0:23:41And the first way of getting that
0:23:41 > 0:23:44is to make sure that the meat is nicely browned.
0:23:46 > 0:23:47'Now for some garlic,
0:23:47 > 0:23:50'say about four cloves, roughly chopped,
0:23:50 > 0:23:52'and an onion, a red onion.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55'From what I've been told, they really believe in
0:23:55 > 0:23:58'the health-giving properties of onions and garlic.'
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Now, this is one of my favourite ingredients in the store cupboard.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07It's called biber salcasi.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09It's red pepper paste,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12but it's chilli pepper paste from Turkey.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16It just gives such a lovely red heat to any stew.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19And, in fact, I've tried making it up myself quite successfully,
0:24:19 > 0:24:21just by roasting red peppers
0:24:21 > 0:24:24and adding a bit of tomato puree and chilli.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27But this is the real thing. I love it!
0:24:31 > 0:24:36So now I've got some sundried tomato paste, which is called salcha.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38Again from Turkey.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40Slightly more interesting than ordinary tomato puree.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42Tastes of the sun, of course.
0:24:44 > 0:24:45And now I'm just adding
0:24:45 > 0:24:48those chopped up green chillies and peppers.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53And now my tomatoes.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01Gosh, this is looking nice.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03And it's smelling very nice, too, I must say.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07And now some Greek oregano. Get the same in Turkey.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10Plenty of that.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13Some salt.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15OK, it's quite a lot of salt, sorry.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18But I like a good, well-seasoned dish.
0:25:19 > 0:25:20And pepper.
0:25:22 > 0:25:23And some water.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26I must say, this looks so lovely.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29I don't know where the influence of the eye
0:25:29 > 0:25:31and the influence of the nose meet,
0:25:31 > 0:25:33but somewhere in the middle
0:25:33 > 0:25:36you get this idea of something absolutely exquisite.
0:25:36 > 0:25:37And that's it.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41Just leave that to stew away now for about three quarters of an hour.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45So now I'm making a simple roux.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48First of all, some butter in a hot saucepan.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53And now, almost equivalent amount of flour. Stir that in.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57And now some milk and just stir that until it starts to thicken.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02This works really well with the aubergine in this puree.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05It just gives it a lovely creaminess
0:26:05 > 0:26:08and actually lightens it up a bit in colour.
0:26:16 > 0:26:17Cor... It ain't half hot!
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Possibly a fork and a spoon would help.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31So, just put that in with my white sauce.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34Now I'm just going to mash that with a potato masher.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36But I've noticed in Turkey quite often
0:26:36 > 0:26:38that they just puree the whole thing,
0:26:38 > 0:26:40so you just get this sort of off-white puree.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43But I like a bit of the texture in there.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45And I keep quoting the Herrick poem,
0:26:45 > 0:26:50"A sweet disorder in the dress kindles in clothes a wantonness."
0:26:50 > 0:26:51But it's true for me.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53I like my food to be a bit rugged.
0:26:55 > 0:26:56Some salt.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59Some pepper.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02And now some lemon juice. Just about half a lemon.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08And finally - and very important, this -
0:27:08 > 0:27:10about 50 grams of Parmesan.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16Taste.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21Mm...
0:27:21 > 0:27:22Delicious, that.
0:27:22 > 0:27:23Delicious!
0:27:26 > 0:27:30'Now, if you like curries and spicy stews like tagines,
0:27:30 > 0:27:33'then this you will love.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36'Hunkar begendi or, more correctly,
0:27:36 > 0:27:38'hooncar beyendi.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41'Remember this when next in Turkey
0:27:41 > 0:27:43'or indeed Tottenham!'
0:27:50 > 0:27:55I've been invited to a hill farm, high above the Cesme Peninsula,
0:27:55 > 0:27:57to visit a family of goat farmers.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01And I think this journey is partly reacquainting myself
0:28:01 > 0:28:03with flavours past.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06Even when I was young,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09I've always been adventurous when it comes to food.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11Nothing really scares me.
0:28:11 > 0:28:12But this...
0:28:12 > 0:28:15Well, this is a very different story.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19This is a great moment for me.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22About 12 years ago, I first came to Turkey
0:28:22 > 0:28:25and I went into a market near here and I saw this cheese -
0:28:25 > 0:28:27it's called Armola cheese -
0:28:27 > 0:28:29in a goat skin in the market
0:28:29 > 0:28:31and I just didn't have the bottle to try it.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34It was, like, in a goat skin.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36You know, like...in.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38And this is how it's made.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41Basically, they just get some other cheese, some lor,
0:28:41 > 0:28:42which is like ricotta,
0:28:42 > 0:28:44and some tulum, which is another goat's cheese.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46They put it in this bag
0:28:46 > 0:28:48and they put salt in
0:28:48 > 0:28:50and then they add milk.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52And the salt and the cheese all react together
0:28:52 > 0:28:56and they say the more milk you put in, the more delicious it becomes.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59And the salt draws the water out
0:28:59 > 0:29:02and the water comes out through the bag,
0:29:02 > 0:29:07so the bag is actually essential to the way the cheese is made.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11And gradually, over ten days, it just gets thicker and thicker,
0:29:11 > 0:29:15until you get this very rich, unctuous-looking cheese.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20I've actually had a very similar cheese in Greece and it's delicious.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22I'm sure you can see that.
0:29:25 > 0:29:26Can I try some?
0:29:28 > 0:29:31I know perfectly well what the film crew are thinking.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35You can see them working out their excuses why not to taste it.
0:29:37 > 0:29:38Oh...!
0:29:38 > 0:29:41I know you don't think it is, but it is!
0:29:41 > 0:29:42It's absolutely wonderful!
0:29:44 > 0:29:46And don't worry about the goat skin.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49That gives it patina. That gives it real flavour.
0:29:49 > 0:29:50Good!
0:29:52 > 0:29:53MAN: Well, finish it, then.
0:30:08 > 0:30:09I've so enjoyed watching this.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12I'm just thinking that when women are working together
0:30:12 > 0:30:15doing something like this, it's so efficient.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19They're all chipping in, chopping up the dill and the cheese there.
0:30:19 > 0:30:21And no wonder that something like
0:30:21 > 0:30:23The Great British Bake Off does so well.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26This sort of communal cooking, I think,
0:30:26 > 0:30:29is just part of the best part of life.
0:30:36 > 0:30:41I just have to say this is probably as basic as bread is ever, ever.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44This will probably go back thousands and thousands of years.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46But I just tasted a bit.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48It was cold, it was made earlier.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50Beautiful!
0:30:50 > 0:30:53There's no end to Turkish hospitality.
0:30:53 > 0:30:58Now the ladies are frying off some courgette flowers in batter.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01I only came here to taste the famous Armola cheese
0:31:01 > 0:31:05but, instead, I get a feast prepared in my honour.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07Look at all this food!
0:31:07 > 0:31:10RICK SPEAKS TURKISH
0:31:11 > 0:31:13Yoghurt.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19This is very nice but I was just thinking,
0:31:19 > 0:31:22I'm staying in quite a smart hotel and you can get all this food,
0:31:22 > 0:31:24you know, when you go down to the buffet.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26And, yeah, it's nice.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28But having it like this, sitting out here...
0:31:28 > 0:31:31You know, I really believe where you eat something,
0:31:31 > 0:31:34the atmosphere around you, actually changes the flavour,
0:31:34 > 0:31:36makes it better.
0:31:36 > 0:31:38And this is just the best little turnovers,
0:31:38 > 0:31:40the best courgette flowers
0:31:40 > 0:31:44and the best stuffed vine leaves I've ever, ever eaten!
0:31:45 > 0:31:47RICK SHOUTS IN TURKISH
0:31:47 > 0:31:50You have to shout in this country!
0:32:01 > 0:32:04In the town of Alacati, famous for its windsurfing,
0:32:04 > 0:32:08I met up with Kemal Demirasal,
0:32:08 > 0:32:10a chef who opened a restaurant here.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12The perfect place for him,
0:32:12 > 0:32:14because it's got a great market,
0:32:14 > 0:32:17one of the best I've ever come across.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19I've said this before,
0:32:19 > 0:32:22but the best recipes come from having a good look
0:32:22 > 0:32:24at what the market's got to offer.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27Such a great market, this, I must say.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30Everything, we have it three days a week.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33- And no supermarkets. No big stores. - No, no.- Wow!
0:32:33 > 0:32:35I mean, look at all those herbs over there.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37- The herbs here.- Thyme. - Smell. Yeah.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40So, having a market like this, what does it mean to you, then?
0:32:40 > 0:32:42- Limitless creation, you know?- Yeah.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44You got everything and...
0:32:44 > 0:32:46you're not limited to something.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48So every day is a new day.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51By springtime, we got more than 1,000 species of edible herbs.
0:32:51 > 0:32:52So, this is the samphire.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55- And this is rock samphire.- Yeah.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57- We just give it blanch for two... - A blanch?
0:32:57 > 0:33:01Yeah. And then we go with garlic, olive oil and some lemon.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04Kemal, what are the most important herbs and spices
0:33:04 > 0:33:05in Turkish cuisine, then?
0:33:05 > 0:33:09So, we have the thyme, lots of thyme, not one species.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12And we have the basil, the rosemary and sumac,
0:33:12 > 0:33:14which is very important...
0:33:14 > 0:33:16- Oh, yes, lemony?- Yeah, lemony.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18- ..with the meat dishes.- Yeah.
0:33:18 > 0:33:19- And we got lavender.- Lavender?
0:33:19 > 0:33:21Yeah, we use it a lot.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23So, Rick, you should also check out that.
0:33:23 > 0:33:25- That's a local mushroom.- Wow!
0:33:25 > 0:33:28- What are they called?- Cintar. Yeah.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30Wow! They look like the sort of thing
0:33:30 > 0:33:32you're bound to die if you eat them.
0:33:32 > 0:33:33Yeah.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35- And this one, it's a huna.- Huna?
0:33:35 > 0:33:37Yeah. It feels like apple.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39Tastes like apple, but much sweeter.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41But it's not apple, yeah.
0:33:41 > 0:33:42- It's not an apple.- Yeah.
0:33:42 > 0:33:43It's delicious!
0:33:48 > 0:33:53This is Kemal's restaurant and he's going to cook a lamb tandir,
0:33:53 > 0:33:55virtually the same as tandoor,
0:33:55 > 0:34:00a word universally known from Turkey to India as an oven.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02He's got a shoulder of lamb,
0:34:02 > 0:34:07which he's scored and infused with fresh rosemary, black pepper
0:34:07 > 0:34:09and loads of olive oil.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16Searing the lamb, Kemal says, is important
0:34:16 > 0:34:20because you get a barbecued flavour of caramelised fat to start with.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31The idea is that the lamb will cook over these vegetables.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33Then it's more rosemary.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37He adds some water, lemon juice and, finally, seasoning.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39It's very simple.
0:34:39 > 0:34:40Lamb cooked like this
0:34:40 > 0:34:43will be familiar to cooks and lovers of food
0:34:43 > 0:34:46all across Europe and the East.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53And talking about the East,
0:34:53 > 0:34:55Kemal's going to make a pilaf.
0:34:55 > 0:34:59What he does is to mix a blend of cinnamon, cumin and raisins
0:34:59 > 0:35:02into a large jug of water.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05I think that's an awful lot of spice but when in Rome...
0:35:06 > 0:35:10He then fries some onions in well-seasoned oil
0:35:10 > 0:35:11and adds pine nuts.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14And then in goes the rice
0:35:14 > 0:35:17and he makes sure that every grain is coated with oil.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21I think - very important here, I'm guessing -
0:35:21 > 0:35:24to well-saute the rice and saute the nuts as well.
0:35:24 > 0:35:25Before you add the water.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28So you get a lovely sort of nutty flavour from both, yeah.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30- Flavours in. - I'll get out the way now.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34'Pilaf sounds a bit Indian, and it is,
0:35:34 > 0:35:37'and was introduced to Europe by Alexander the Great.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39'A little nugget of history, there.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41'Kemal adds a touch of sugar
0:35:41 > 0:35:43'and then chopped fennel and parsley.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45'He then takes it off the heat,
0:35:45 > 0:35:47'covers the pan
0:35:47 > 0:35:49'and then lets the rice work its magic.'
0:35:50 > 0:35:52So that's very interesting.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54- You've only cooked that for a couple of minutes.- Yeah.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57- And then you just leave it to rest? - To rest.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59- So it just absorbs all the water, then?- Yes.- OK.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01OK, great.
0:36:02 > 0:36:03'Time to serve,
0:36:03 > 0:36:08'and the long, slow-cooked roast lamb is making my mouth water.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11'It's such a welcoming, juicy meat.
0:36:11 > 0:36:16'All I crave for is a glass of red wine to complement the fattiness.'
0:36:19 > 0:36:23So, the lamb tandoori and the pilaf.
0:36:23 > 0:36:24Lamb tandoori.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27With some local wine to enjoy.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29Gosh, that's so moist, that lamb.
0:36:30 > 0:36:32I mean... Oh!
0:36:32 > 0:36:37If you ask me to cook a dish that reflects the land,
0:36:37 > 0:36:40I say the lamb tandoori.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44What is strange, normally everyone likes the meat rare or medium,
0:36:44 > 0:36:48but this technique, you cook the lamb until it's falling apart.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51It's juicy, tasty.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56THEY TOAST EACH OTHER IN TURKISH
0:36:56 > 0:36:58The wine's good, too.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03So, it's time for me to cook now back in my kitchen
0:37:03 > 0:37:05on the island of Symi.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10This dish is called spicy liver flat bread
0:37:10 > 0:37:12or arnavut cigeri.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22First of all, I'm just slicing up some lamb's liver
0:37:22 > 0:37:26and then I'm going to coat it in some spice and a bit of flour.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28ROLLING THUNDER
0:37:28 > 0:37:31Listen to that thunder. It's going to pour down in a minute.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33And then tomorrow, you've got six days of sunshine.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35That's Greece for you!
0:37:35 > 0:37:40So, first of all, we've got some hot red pepper, Aleppo pepper.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43Then we've got some oregano
0:37:43 > 0:37:46and we've got a little bit of cumin
0:37:46 > 0:37:48and then we have some flour.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52And then we have some salt.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56I feel a bit sort of weird saying the word Aleppo pepper,
0:37:56 > 0:37:58but it means so much to me
0:37:58 > 0:38:01because when we filmed in eastern Turkey, on the Syrian border,
0:38:01 > 0:38:03it's where I really wanted to go.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06Now, of course, sadly, it's almost completely destroyed
0:38:06 > 0:38:08and you can't possibly go there,
0:38:08 > 0:38:10but the name still means something to me.
0:38:14 > 0:38:16So now to make some...
0:38:17 > 0:38:18..flat bread.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20Just a very simple dough.
0:38:20 > 0:38:21Just yeast,
0:38:21 > 0:38:23flour, water,
0:38:23 > 0:38:26salt and a bit of olive oil to make it pliable.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29I'm just going to dry fry it in a frying pan
0:38:29 > 0:38:32and I just find that the easiest way.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35You don't need any elaborate equipment. That's all you need.
0:38:35 > 0:38:36No oil.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38I love flat breads.
0:38:38 > 0:38:40I mean, I keep some flat-bread dough
0:38:40 > 0:38:41and if I want a flat bread,
0:38:41 > 0:38:44out of the fridge, let it get up to room temperature,
0:38:44 > 0:38:45roll it out and it's done
0:38:45 > 0:38:47and it always tastes better.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49You know, you buy packets of flat breads,
0:38:49 > 0:38:53whether they're called wraps or pide or whatever they're called,
0:38:53 > 0:38:57they always taste sort of doughy and cold.
0:38:57 > 0:38:58Make your own, I say.
0:39:00 > 0:39:04Just wait till it puffs up, turn it over and it will be done.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13So I'm just going to marinade these sliced onions
0:39:13 > 0:39:15with just some sumac,
0:39:15 > 0:39:18which is this very sort of lemony spice
0:39:18 > 0:39:21that the Turkish use in great abundance.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24It's a very distinctive feature of this dish.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26So we'll just leave the onions there.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28And now to fry my liver.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30Bit of olive oil in the pan,
0:39:30 > 0:39:32some garlic.
0:39:34 > 0:39:35And now the liver.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43And the trick, for me,
0:39:43 > 0:39:45is to get them very nicely browned on the outside,
0:39:45 > 0:39:48but just to keep them a little bit pink on the inside.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50When I say "for me",
0:39:50 > 0:39:53I think the Turks tend to cook them all the way through,
0:39:53 > 0:39:54but I like a little bit of pinkness.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57That's great.
0:39:57 > 0:39:58Now to make one up...
0:40:01 > 0:40:04First of all, some liver.
0:40:06 > 0:40:08Bit of lettuce, perhaps.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12Not essential but I like a bit of salad with my liver.
0:40:12 > 0:40:16Some tomato and most importantly...
0:40:18 > 0:40:20..some onions.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22There we go. Roll it up.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26And eat.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29ROLLING THUNDER
0:40:30 > 0:40:33Now, where's the ice cold beer?
0:40:44 > 0:40:48I think wine's pretty important on my journey, but every time
0:40:48 > 0:40:52I turn up at a vineyard there are no grapes to be seen,
0:40:52 > 0:40:56the weather's awful and nothing's happening.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58But this, thank goodness, is the right time.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03I'm on my way to meet Can Ortobag, who makes Urla wine.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06I've actually tried this wine already back in Padstow
0:41:06 > 0:41:09and it was really good. Local grape.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13It's interesting about Can because he was running an arboretum.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16It's where you grow trees and sell them,
0:41:16 > 0:41:20and next to the arboretum he found a group of amphoras -
0:41:20 > 0:41:23you know, old, old containers for wine -
0:41:23 > 0:41:27discovered they were over 2,000 years old and he just thought,
0:41:27 > 0:41:31"If they used to make wine here, we can make wine now."
0:41:46 > 0:41:48Can. Very nice to meet you.
0:41:48 > 0:41:49Welcome. How are you?
0:41:49 > 0:41:53Oh, fabulous! What a lovely morning and great vines.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56So, Can, I know they used to make wine here,
0:41:56 > 0:41:59but for you it's like starting something new.
0:41:59 > 0:42:04If somebody would ask me 20 years ago you are going to produce wine,
0:42:04 > 0:42:07I would say, "Are you kidding me?" so you never know.
0:42:07 > 0:42:12Life brings you where and I'm so happy.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15It is very tired. It makes you very tired.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18I mean, it's very long-term investment. You lose money.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21I'm still losing money but, you know,
0:42:21 > 0:42:24can you imagine I lose money and I enjoy?
0:42:24 > 0:42:28I work 16 hours a day, seven days sometime, harvesting.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32We started harvest a month ago and I'm sleeping average two,
0:42:32 > 0:42:34three hours a day.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37Well, when you drove up you were on the quad bike.
0:42:37 > 0:42:39I was thinking, "Is this the boss?"
0:42:39 > 0:42:42It's the boss.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44I don't know if I'm a boss or whatever.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46I don't know. I do everything.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53In a nutshell, there was a great deal of wine-making in this region,
0:42:53 > 0:42:59Anatolia, and wine was enjoyed by both Christians and Muslims.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01But in the 1920s came partition.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05The Greek families who lived in this part of Turkey were told to
0:43:05 > 0:43:08pack their bags and go back to Greece.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12Similarly for the Muslims who lived in Greece, the same story.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16The trouble here was that it was generally the Christians who
0:43:16 > 0:43:19made the wine and tended the vineyards,
0:43:19 > 0:43:25so the vineyards became overgrown, then useless and finally lost.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35We talked about grape but we never tasted it.
0:43:35 > 0:43:36- No.- Would you like to taste?
0:43:36 > 0:43:38I would, I would.
0:43:39 > 0:43:44So sweet. Absolutely bursting with flavour.
0:43:44 > 0:43:49The grape should be tasty and delicious to make good wine.
0:43:49 > 0:43:53But I thought I heard somewhere that it didn't matter with wine grapes.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56They don't taste like table grapes do.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59They are very different and I believe they are more tasty.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02If it is not tasty, you can never make a good wine.
0:44:02 > 0:44:06You make the wine in the vineyard, not in the winery.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10So every time I taste your wine in the future I'll be back here.
0:44:10 > 0:44:12You are always welcome.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20The best wine is the wine that you enjoy.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23I hope you will like it.
0:44:23 > 0:44:28I'm thinking deep, dark velvet, tobacco, liquorice,
0:44:28 > 0:44:31all that sort of thing. How am I doing?
0:44:31 > 0:44:32Excellent, excellent.
0:44:32 > 0:44:34Now tell me what I should be saying.
0:44:34 > 0:44:37The most important thing is if the wine is good or bad.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41- Good.- Thank you. Very nice to hear that.
0:44:41 > 0:44:42- Cheers.- Cheers again.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48I got the feeling that Can keeps pretty much an open house
0:44:48 > 0:44:50here at the vineyard.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53There were women cooking really good stuffed flat breads
0:44:53 > 0:44:56for the wine buyers and the visitors.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59I just watched those two ladies make these - gozlemes,
0:44:59 > 0:45:02they're called - and I actually watched them about five times
0:45:02 > 0:45:06because it's just so mesmerising watching them doing it.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09And when I was watching them I was thinking, like, when you're a child
0:45:09 > 0:45:14and you watch your mother making maybe just some shortcrust pastry.
0:45:14 > 0:45:16It has that same sort of effect,
0:45:16 > 0:45:19that there's something incredibly comforting and reassuring
0:45:19 > 0:45:26about people, particularly women I think, making something like these.
0:45:26 > 0:45:29I think that's where my love of cooking came from originally,
0:45:29 > 0:45:31it was just watching my mum cooking,
0:45:31 > 0:45:35cos that's the same feeling I get watching them.
0:45:35 > 0:45:36And this....
0:45:36 > 0:45:40I've watched them make savoury ones, but this one,
0:45:40 > 0:45:44with some tahini and some sugar... Oh!
0:45:44 > 0:45:47Now I just want a little glass of tea.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58This is a food journey, but I had to come
0:45:58 > 0:46:02to the exquisite ancient city of Ephesus.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05Well, everybody does, it seems.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08Lovely sweet figs here, perfect for a hot day,
0:46:08 > 0:46:10and I like old ruins,
0:46:10 > 0:46:15especially if I can find any distant reference to food.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27This was a rich, comfortable place to live.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30It was Greek, but then the Romans turned it into one of
0:46:30 > 0:46:33the most prosperous ports in the Aegean.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38My mum sent me a postcard from Ephesus
0:46:38 > 0:46:41when I was away at boarding school,
0:46:41 > 0:46:43a big postcard, and I remember... I think it was one
0:46:43 > 0:46:47of the amphitheatres, and I thought, "Oh, I've got to go there sometime."
0:46:47 > 0:46:51But the thing that interests me is over there there's that plain -
0:46:51 > 0:46:54there's the cars in the distance, the trees,
0:46:54 > 0:47:00and all of that was sea 1,000 years ago and gradually it silted up.
0:47:00 > 0:47:04Now, in Padstow, cos I have to put this on a human scale,
0:47:04 > 0:47:07we have a dredger going up and down the estuary every day
0:47:07 > 0:47:11trying to keep it clear, and succeeding, for small boats.
0:47:11 > 0:47:13But imagine if you were here,
0:47:13 > 0:47:17and this was one of the biggest ports in the Mediterranean
0:47:17 > 0:47:22in Roman times, and gradually seeing it all go, all fade.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25How awful would that be?
0:47:25 > 0:47:29Fate, inexorable fate, would be taking its toll of your life.
0:47:31 > 0:47:36Before the sea went away, people would have lived very well.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39Many would have been rich and the food would have been exotic.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41They had cookery books -
0:47:41 > 0:47:44I suppose, to be more accurate, cookery scrolls -
0:47:44 > 0:47:48how to cook lamb stew with garum or roasted flamingo in aspic
0:47:48 > 0:47:51for your mates after a day at the coliseum.
0:47:57 > 0:47:59Look at that!
0:47:59 > 0:48:02A pomegranate tree with ripe fruit.
0:48:02 > 0:48:07Isn't that beautiful? What could be more splendid than that?
0:48:07 > 0:48:09And they would have had pomegranates aplenty.
0:48:09 > 0:48:14Oranges, lemons, grapes, olives, herbs,
0:48:14 > 0:48:20lovely green vegetables from Anatolia, fish, goats, lamb.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23They would have done all right.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31There's quite a famous fishing port nearby.
0:48:31 > 0:48:33It's the sort of place I like.
0:48:36 > 0:48:40The boats are small and the catch is supremely fresh.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44If I had a restaurant here, I'd be waiting to see the best of
0:48:44 > 0:48:47the catch because I know, believe you me, people on holiday
0:48:47 > 0:48:53near the sea want fish and they're willing to pay for it.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56Fabulous. Just the one, thanks, for me.
0:48:58 > 0:49:00This makes me a happy boy, I must say!
0:49:00 > 0:49:03It's probably all my favourite fish in one box.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06I mean, obviously we've got sea bass,
0:49:06 > 0:49:09then of course, yes, we've got the red mullet.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11Thank you very much.
0:49:11 > 0:49:17Apparently the Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent had his red mullet
0:49:17 > 0:49:21taken to Istanbul from this port, it was that good.
0:49:22 > 0:49:26And then we've got a rascasse or scorpion fish.
0:49:26 > 0:49:30I have a feeling that we're going to get some soup made with that today.
0:49:30 > 0:49:32Oh!
0:49:32 > 0:49:33The gurnard,
0:49:33 > 0:49:35the Mediterranean gurnard,
0:49:35 > 0:49:39another of those rock fish which make such wonderful soup.
0:49:39 > 0:49:41Thank you, chaps.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50These little parcels of fish, I suppose, represent something
0:49:50 > 0:49:54like eight hours' work by a couple of people on board a boat
0:49:54 > 0:49:56for most of the night.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58Not big money, but I've always said it...
0:49:58 > 0:50:00Fishing is like gambling -
0:50:00 > 0:50:04you never know when the jackpot comes along.
0:50:05 > 0:50:10I just found out a lot of red mullet was about 30 quid,
0:50:10 > 0:50:13about 90 lira, which is a bit cheaper
0:50:13 > 0:50:16than back home but not that much.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19It's the most expensive... It's the most expensive fish here.
0:50:24 > 0:50:28Every little tourist town-cum-fishing village anywhere
0:50:28 > 0:50:31needs a little fish market like this because they almost go hand in hand.
0:50:31 > 0:50:34You've got a lot of fish restaurants around here,
0:50:34 > 0:50:36but this little market...
0:50:36 > 0:50:39You would feel so happy - I would -
0:50:39 > 0:50:42coming to a place like this and seeing this,
0:50:42 > 0:50:46cos I know that everything that I'm going to be eating
0:50:46 > 0:50:49in the restaurants would be coming straight out of the sea.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57Well, Yasmin is making a scorpion fish soup.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00One of the things I've picked up already is that she's going to
0:51:00 > 0:51:04make everything in the pot, all in the pot, nothing's pre-cooked.
0:51:04 > 0:51:08And I believe it's all about getting the freshness out of everything.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11And I don't think she's even going to add any water,
0:51:11 > 0:51:14just going to get the juice from the fish and from the tomatoes
0:51:14 > 0:51:15and from the lemon.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19Scorpion fish?
0:51:19 > 0:51:23Well, at home, because they're difficult to find, I'd use gurnard.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26A big gurnard, a tub gurnard, they call them in Cornwall.
0:51:29 > 0:51:34Loads of tomatoes. That's the secret here, skinned tomatoes.
0:51:34 > 0:51:37Garlic, four cloves into big chunks,
0:51:37 > 0:51:41and a big, generous handful of parsley.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46Slices of peeled lemon and lemon juice, say from two lemons.
0:51:48 > 0:51:52Tomatoes and these lemons give it a fresh, clean,
0:51:52 > 0:51:56slightly astringent flavour, which will go really well with the fish.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59And then plenty of olive oil.
0:51:59 > 0:52:02Don't stint on the oil, Mum! Then salt.
0:52:02 > 0:52:06On the stove for, I'd say, about 40 minutes.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12People ask me all the time, "How do you cook these less popular
0:52:12 > 0:52:17"fish like gurnard, ling, pollack or even weaver fish?"
0:52:17 > 0:52:19and this is a good way, I think.
0:52:20 > 0:52:22Great.
0:52:25 > 0:52:27Tesekkur ederim.
0:52:27 > 0:52:29Rica ederim.
0:52:29 > 0:52:30OK.
0:52:32 > 0:52:34Look at that beautiful flesh, there.
0:52:35 > 0:52:37Wow!
0:52:37 > 0:52:39Just a little to start with.
0:52:39 > 0:52:44I would call this a celebration of the good things to be had in life.
0:52:47 > 0:52:51That's gloriously simple and fresh.
0:52:54 > 0:52:56Just try some of the broth now.
0:52:56 > 0:53:01My first thought is it's very lemony and very tomato-y.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05I sort of think in the Mediterranean you have to
0:53:05 > 0:53:08sort of go back to basics, because I'm so used to filming in places
0:53:08 > 0:53:13like India, south-east Asia and having, you know, tamarind, chilli,
0:53:13 > 0:53:19soy, you name it, just big flavours, and this is very, very delicate.
0:53:19 > 0:53:20But then if I go back
0:53:20 > 0:53:23and try some of the fish with it,
0:53:23 > 0:53:25there's the point.
0:53:25 > 0:53:29Because although those big flavours, the fish tastes nice with it,
0:53:29 > 0:53:32you don't appreciate the delicacy like you do with this.
0:53:37 > 0:53:41I love the story of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent sending for
0:53:41 > 0:53:43his red mullet from here.
0:53:44 > 0:53:49It's not just the fantastic flavour of seafood that makes red mullet
0:53:49 > 0:53:53such a royal fish, It's also the red and the gold.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56It looks like it's in some uniform.
0:53:57 > 0:54:02To me, red mullet is the symbol of Mediterranean seafood
0:54:02 > 0:54:05and this is a great way to cook it.
0:54:07 > 0:54:12This is fried red mullet, one of my favourite dishes,
0:54:12 > 0:54:16but I just really like a fried mullet with a bit of orange,
0:54:16 > 0:54:20so I'm going to just zest an orange here.
0:54:20 > 0:54:24And actually, I think red mullet is probably as good as it gets,
0:54:24 > 0:54:26but I do like a little bit of embellishment.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29Now just cutting the peel off. I love doing that.
0:54:29 > 0:54:33Makes me feel like I'm a proper pastry cook, which I never was.
0:54:33 > 0:54:37Actually, one of my chefs once said what I'm doing here is taking
0:54:37 > 0:54:40the PITH, which I don't think's very funny.
0:54:40 > 0:54:45Anyway, next thing - just going to cut little segments out like that.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48I just want a few to decorate the final dish.
0:54:48 > 0:54:52I sometimes prefer orange juice than lemon juice in fish dishes.
0:54:52 > 0:54:57It's sort of less assertive and sweeter and more aromatic.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00Just squeezing all the juice out with the zest.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03So, ready to go now with the mullet.
0:55:03 > 0:55:05I've already gutted and scaled them.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08Sometimes you cook red mullet with the guts in.
0:55:08 > 0:55:11It sounds dreadful but they don't have any gall bladder,
0:55:11 > 0:55:13so in fact they taste quite gamey like that.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16Maybe not what you like but sometimes I like it like that.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18Just cutting off the fins.
0:55:18 > 0:55:20And a simple thing I've learnt about fish cookery
0:55:20 > 0:55:24is it's much better to season the fish when you're going to coat them
0:55:24 > 0:55:28rather than season the coating that you're going to put the fish in.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31So, just a little bit of salt in this case.
0:55:31 > 0:55:33And then the coating.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36And what I've got here is coarse semolina, and I like that
0:55:36 > 0:55:39because it gives a lovely crisp skin to my red mullet.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44So there's my fish all coated,
0:55:44 > 0:55:48but before I fry it I'm just going to toast some pine nuts.
0:55:48 > 0:55:52Not only do they give a lovely sort of piny, resin-y flavour,
0:55:52 > 0:55:56but also a bit of texture as well, just to make it more interesting.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00And now for the red mullet.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02Get some olive oil in the pan.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05Now, I always use extra virgin olive oil.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08I think we tend to get a bit too worried about there being too many
0:56:08 > 0:56:13calories in these dishes but Mediterranean cuisine isn't
0:56:13 > 0:56:18very calorific, so you can afford to put plenty of olive oil in there.
0:56:18 > 0:56:21Now, they'll take about three minutes on either side.
0:56:24 > 0:56:26Look at the colour on that!
0:56:26 > 0:56:28And I think you can see why I like semolina.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30It's got that lovely sort of coarse texture.
0:56:30 > 0:56:31It's quite, sort of, funky.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36They're now ready, so I'll just get them out of the pan.
0:56:39 > 0:56:43And finally, to finish, the sauce or dressing, whichever you will.
0:56:44 > 0:56:46Some oregano.
0:56:46 > 0:56:48Then some chilli. Just a pinch of chilli.
0:56:50 > 0:56:52And then capers, small capers.
0:56:52 > 0:56:56They've got a lovely bite to them.
0:56:56 > 0:57:00Big pinch of parsley, then the orange juice.
0:57:00 > 0:57:02There's the big blaze.
0:57:02 > 0:57:04Doesn't matter if it flares up a bit.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07Some salt and, last, the orange segments, because I want them
0:57:07 > 0:57:11warmed through but I don't want them to fall apart in this final cooking.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14And then my pine nuts.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17Shake that around. There we go.
0:57:17 > 0:57:20Just trying to find a spoon.
0:57:20 > 0:57:22There we are. Lovely colour.
0:57:22 > 0:57:24Just a little bit.
0:57:24 > 0:57:28I don't want it to be absolutely drowned in bits and bobs.
0:57:31 > 0:57:35And finally, just finish off with just a little bit of olive oil.
0:57:35 > 0:57:37Not too much. And that's it.
0:57:37 > 0:57:41And what I'm always looking for with mullet is to find the way to
0:57:41 > 0:57:44bring that flavour out of the skin as much as the flesh.
0:57:44 > 0:57:46It has the most fantastic flavoured skin
0:57:46 > 0:57:48and I think this really does it.
0:57:52 > 0:57:56'Next time, I'll be catching the famous blue fish in
0:57:56 > 0:57:57'the middle of the Bosphorus.'
0:57:59 > 0:58:02Well, that's the third blue fish we've caught this morning.
0:58:02 > 0:58:04I can't wait for my next bite.
0:58:04 > 0:58:06I've had two bites, two fish.
0:58:06 > 0:58:07It's just...
0:58:07 > 0:58:11I feel so privileged to be out here right in the middle of the Bosphorus
0:58:11 > 0:58:13between Europe and Asia, and with all these blinking great boats
0:58:13 > 0:58:15passing I feel a bit vulnerable,
0:58:15 > 0:58:20but it's the most sensational feeling.
0:58:20 > 0:58:23It's just great to be alive.
0:58:23 > 0:58:29'And so my gastronomic journey from Venice to Istanbul continues.'