broad beans in olive oil/zeytinyağlı bakla |
We are back in our Aegean village of Assos for the first time this year. All the neighbours are saying how bitterly cold it has been and the garden bears witness to that. Despite everything looking pretty bleak, it’s surprisingly warm and sunny so we haven’t even lit the fire.
assos |
Even though I brought a certain amount of food from Istanbul to tide us over these few days, I couldn’t resist a trip to Ayvacık Pazarı, our local market, yesterday. It’s 25 km away from Assos and is held weekly, rain or shine.
a sunny but still wintry market scene |
There were our old friends from last year! Big smiles of welcome – Hoş geldiniz! – and hugs from the old granny from Zeytin Çiçeği, Olive Flower, our little place on the beach that we love so much.
Günay and her produce |
I thought I would pass on the nettles but instead bought ½ kilo of fresh bakla or broad beans from the smiling Günay Hanım. Later I
prepared them in the typical Turkish way with olive oil broadly following a recipe from the new cookbook Cibalikapı: From a Traditional Istanbul Tavern, that I was delighted to receive recently in the post from my friend Carol La Motte, who translated it. She is a former Peace Corps volunteer in Turkey and a very intrepid lady at that! This recipe is slightly different from the one I was using last year as it contains tomatoes.
beautiful spring bakla |
You can only prepare the bakla in this way ie without podding them, at this time of year, early spring, when they are young and tender. There is no need to string them either which is a huge relief. They are a real treat especially for those who cook by the seasons!
Ingredients for Broad Beans in Olive Oil or Zeytinyağlı Bakla
like this |
gently simmering away |
broad beans in olive oil/zeytinyağlı bakla |
I haven't had bakla with tomatoes, I'll give it a go next week. Looks tasty.
Hi BacktoBodrum! Thanks for leaving a comment!
Oh Claudia I do so love you posts especially when you show us photos of places you go to such as the market. For a vege like me this is a great recipe, thank you and thank you for you comment on my blog post, I was very touched that it reminded you of why you started following. x
Thanks, Froggie – hope you are well and can find fresh broad beans in Reading! x
I've always added tomatoes to vegetables in olive oil. I can't even remember now where I first found the recipe. It just adds something extra to the taste. Hoping to find broadbeans in our village market (one stall!) tomorrow.
Hi Ayak! Not all zeytinyağlıs are cooked with tomatoes if you think about it: leeks for example, artichokes,celeriac … but of course all the others are and very nice they taste too! Did you find bakla today? Gosh, only one stall :((
Yes just one stall, but it's tomorrow. I'm determined to find them this week so if none tomorrow will go to Milas market on Tuesday. I haven't done artichokes or celeriac in olive oil but you're right, tomatoes wouldn't go with these.
Oh, Claudia, the fresh baklas look wonderful! Glad that you are back to Assos, a slice of paradise. Enjoy the markets, bakla looks delicious ; )
Ozlem
Hi Özlem! Assos is a delight but you know what, it is changing fast. Mass tourism is poised to destroy all the things we love and value so much …..come and visit us soon before this happens!
I haven't had this dish in years…..well I haven't been to Turkey in the spring I guess for a while. Your dish and recipe sure looks delicious.
I love those Markets….I just can't get enough of them. Everything is so fresh and just plain perfect and looks and tastes like it is supposed to.
Thanks for sharing your recpe. :-)))
Yes, me too. But you know what I have just heard? That they are removing all the street markets in Istanbul by 2013. Can you imagine. All these things make me very sad.