Lennox Hastie’s Turkish skewers and borek are a taste of Istanbul

Börek is breakfast with purpose. Hot, salty and buttery, it is the ideal fuel for a long day ahead.

Spinach and Feta Borek by Lennox Hastie. Photo: Nikki To / TWAM

Mornings in Istanbul always start early, its citizens awoken by the call to prayer from the city’s minarets. I was there with my brother for only 48 hours, so we decided to hit the ground running. Before the crowds began to seep into Sultanahmet and its famous Blue Mosque, we went in search of breakfast. ­Slipping into the narrow backstreets we grabbed a quick simit – a bagel-like bread thick with sesame seeds – and found ourselves drawn by the smell of buttery dough ­emanating from the door of Özen Börekçisi.

Beyond the fogged-up window, we found ourselves in a small bakery with a humble counter and a brass samovar steaming in the corner. There were trays of börek pastries, and an old man with a crooked smile. His hands were well-worn through repetition of the same meditative motions of light brushing and careful folding. The börek was served still warm and breathing, the first bite resonating with a gentle crackle before giving way to the rich filling of cheese and greens. Börek is breakfast with purpose. Hot, salty and buttery, it is the ideal fuel for a long day ahead. We ate on the street with a tulip-shaped glass of black tea, the flaky shards of the börek falling to the pavement. One of the many neighbourhood cats stretched and made a beeline for the crumbs.

Istanbul is a city for food lovers, whether it’s grilled mackerel sandwiches (balik ekmek), stuffed meatballs (içli köfte) or lamb’s intestines (kokoreç) for the more adventurous.

Grilling for the Turks is second nature, so that evening we headed to Zübeyir Ocakbası, where charcoal grills flare beneath copper hoods and cooks turn skewers with surgical precision. The word “ocakbası” means “fireside”, and like my Sydney restaurant Firedoor the best seat is right in front of the ­action. While skewers of tomatoes and green peppers blister over the coals, animal fats drip and ignite, creating the characteristic smoke and char.

Chicken shish (tavuk sis) is straightforward on paper, comprising marinated meat threaded onto steel skewers and grilled over an open flame. But simplicity, as I’ve learned, is one of the easiest things to mess up. Good grilling means knowing when not to interfere. The grill-master or “ocakbaşçı” patiently waits, then turns, then waits again. Our tavuk sis were served with a wedge of lemon, a raw onion salad sharp with sumac, and a warm blistered lavash ­flatbread. The chicken, marinated in spiced ­yoghurt, came off the skewers effortlessly.

We walked back out into the night, contented, our clothes faintly scented with smoke. That meal reminded me why I started cooking: to immerse myself in the craft, to let the ingredients speak for themselves, and to be fully present in the moment.

Lennox Hastie’s chicken skewers are inspired by the food of Turkey. Photo: Nikki To / TWAM

String your vegetables on skewers for a beautiful effect. Photo: Nikki To / TWAM

Chicken kebabs

Ingredients

• 1kg free-range chicken thigh fillets, skin off
• 200g Greek yoghurt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon sumac
• 1teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 large red onion, peeled
• 3 tomatoes, quartered
• 8 green chillis
• Wooden or metal skewers, ideally flat
• Olive oil, for drizzling
• 2 white salad onions
• Handful of fresh parsley
• Handful of fresh mint
• Lemon wedges

Method

1. Cut the chicken into roughly 3cm-4cm pieces and place in a bowl. Mix together the olive oil, garlic, smoked paprika, sumac, cinnamon, cumin, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add the yoghurt. Rub this over the chicken thoroughly and let it marinade for at least 45 minutes, or ideally a couple of hours. Cut the onion into 3cm pieces.
2. Thread the chicken onto the skewers, alternating each piece of meat with a piece of onion. Divide the tomato quarters across four other skewers, alternating with the green chilli.
3. Finely slice the salad onions and dress with a pinch of sumac and a handful of fresh parsley.
4. Prepare a hot grill, allowing the coals to become maximally hot with a thin layer of ash if using charcoal. Place the skewers over the heat for 3-4 minutes, allowing a deep golden char to develop. Turn and repeat. The chicken should be cooked through, tender and smoky, while the tomatoes and chilli will be blackened and blistered. Remove, drizzle with a little olive oil and scatter some torn mint and parsley on top. Serve immediately with lemon wedges, warm lavash, yoghurt and the sliced onion salad. Serves 4

Turkish bread at its best. Photo: Nikki To / TWAM

Borek

Ingredients

• 1 onion, finely diced
• 200g spinach, washed and chopped
• 1 bunch watercress, washed and chopped
• 200g fetta
• Zest of ½ lemon
• 1 egg
• 100ml milk
• 50ml olive oil
• 8 sheets filo (refrigerated rather than frozen)
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon onion seeds
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook gently for 3-4 minutes until soft. Add the spinach and watercress and cook for a minute or two, until they have wilted and moisture has evaporated. Remove to a bowl and allow to cool slightly.
2. Beat the egg together with the milk and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. On a clean, dry, long section of bench (baking paper placed on it may help) place a sheet of pastry at one end. Brush egg mixture over it lightly (be careful not to saturate it), then place another sheet of pastry directly on top and brush this with the mixture too. Add the third sheet in line with the first two so that they overlap by 5cm-10cm, brush, then add a second layer and brush this too. Add two more double layers of pastry, overlapping with the previous one each time to get a long sheet of double-layered filo. Keep remaining pastry covered with a damp towel before use so that it doesn’t dry and crack.
3. Crumble the feta into the greens and onion mixture, adding the zest and a crack of black pepper. Adjust the seasoning, remembering the feta will be salty. Spoon this mixture onto the pastry in a line along one long edge of the filo. Starting at the edge with the filling, carefully roll the pastry into a long cylinder, tucking in the ends as you go. Coil the roll into a spiral and place on a lightly oiled baking tray. Brush with remaining egg mixture and sprinkle sesame and onion seeds on top. Bake for 25 minutes, until crisp and golden). Serves 4-6