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05/18/2001 Archived Entry: "Sultan's Delight: A Turkish Dish"

This year the WOR cruise aboard the Radisson Diamond goes to three ports in Turkey, ending in Istanbul where I will stay a few days, so my interest in Turkish cooking has been renewed. (We leave for Bologna, Italy on June 9, but the ship boards in Venice on June 13.)

I say “renewed” because at one time I was quite the Turkish cook. After my last trip to Turkey – oh my, it’s been 12 years – I couldn’t stop cooking Turkish, even going to the length of foraging for grape leaves near my home in Connecticut so I could make the most superb stuffed grape leaves, both with meat and vegetarian. I loved cooking and eating Turkish food so much, in fact, that I used to joke that perhaps I was in a harem in a former life.

Recently, I gave a lecture to Les Dames d’Escoffier, a woman’s gastronomic society, called The Top Ten Most Surprising Things About The Turkish Table and Kitchen, and it was such a big success I am going to repeat aboard the ship. After that I am going to demonstrate the preparation of this dish, one of the most popular and important of Turkish cuisine, which is certainly one of the world’s major cuisines. The Ottoman Empire spread it’s cooking techniques and dishes far afield and so Turkish food is not only found in Turkey, but it’s influence is obvious throughout Europe and Asia. This isn’t the place for a dissertation on Turkish food. You’ll see by the following recipe, however, that it is not just about appetizers and shish kebab.


Hünkar Beendi
Sultan’s Delight
(Braised Lamb on Smoked Eggplant Cream)

Serves 4

For the braised meat:
2 1/2 to 3 pounds lamb shoulder chops
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup finely minced onion (1 medium onion)
1 1/2 cups chopped tomato (1 medium tomato)
5 whole sprigs parsley
5 whole sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cloves
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
About 1 cup beef broth or water
1 tablespoon tomato paste

For the smoked eggplant cream:
2 eggplants (about 3 pounds)
Juice of 1 lemon
5 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
2 cups light cream or milk, heated
Salt
1/2 cup grated kasseri cheese

For garnish:
Whole leaves of flat-leaf parsley

To braise the meat:
Trim the fat off the lamb chops and bone them, cutting the meat into 3/4-inch pieces, discarding the fat and reserving the bones.

In a 10-inch stovetop casserole or sauté pan, heat the butter until it begins to sizzle, then add the meat and the bones. Cook the meat over medium-high heat, tossing frequently, until the juices that exude from the meat evaporate, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the onions and cook until they are very tender and begin to color, about another 10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, herbs, and spices and cook a minute or so longer.

Add the salt and pepper. In 1/2 cup broth or water, dissolve the tomato paste and stir it into the meat.

Cover and simmer gently over low heat for about 45 minutes, or until the meat is very tender. Stir occasionally and make sure there is enough liquid. Add more stock or water as needed. The sauce should be thickish. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Remove from heat.

To prepare the eggplant cream:
Roast the eggplants, preferably over a charcoal grill, or over the gas burner of your stove, turning them slowly, until all sides are charred and the eggplant is soft. Or, you may place them on a baking sheet in a 400-degree oven, or directly on the rack of the oven, and roast until soft. In any case, be sure to make several tiny punctures with the tip of a knife to prevent the eggplants from exploding while they are roasting.

When the eggplants are soft, set them aside until they are cool enough to handle.

In a very large bowl, combine about 1 quart of cold tap water with the juice of a lemon. Peel the eggplants, removing all the black and charred skin and the stem ends. Drop the flesh into the lemon water and let soak for 20 minutes. Drain well, then shred or chop the eggplant into small pieces.

In a medium saucepan, melt the 5 tablespoons of butter. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes.

Add the eggplant pieces. Using a whisk, cook the eggplant 2 or 3 minutes, beating the eggplant until it becomes smooth.

Stir in the hot cream or milk and keep on beating vigorously for 3 or 4 minutes more, until the texture becomes very smooth and creamy and the mixture begins to simmer. Season with salt and stir in the cheese. Cook a second or so, remove from heat and keep warm.

To serve:
Remove the thyme and parsley sprigs, the bones, bay leaf, and the cloves (if you can find them) from the braised lamb. Reheat the lamb gently until very hot. Make sure the eggplant cream is hot.

Spread some eggplant cream over heated plates. Place the lamb over the eggplant in the center.

Serve immediately, garnished with a few whole or torn leaves of parsley.