Original subtitles

I'm Ainsley Harriott and as a chef I've been inspired by food

from all around the world.

But one thing I've never really explored is street food,

so I'm travelling to less-trodden parts of the globe,

into the world's backstreets,

markets...

[man shouts in Turkish]

..and kitchens

to find the world's most exciting street food.

It's delicious!

Dishes normally reserved for locals.

Oh, my word! What is that?

But street food's experiencing a revolution,

inspiring modern chefs the world over...

[laughter]

..from the Arctic Circle to South-East Asia,

and from the spice souks of the Middle East

to the beaches of the Caribbean.

Whilst there's still a few secret recipes out there,

I want to find them, I want to cook them and I want to eat them.

I've arrived in Istanbul. It's a city spread over two continents,

drawing together flavours from the Mediterranean and Asia.

I'll be discovering cooking methods and recipes

that have thrived here since Ottoman times.

This is where they make the coffee. It is amazing.

Does race your heart a little bit though. It's really powerfully strong.

And finding out how traditional recipes

have become restaurant and street food favourites.

This is what Istanbul's all about, discovering new ways with food.

And I'll be experimenting with the vast array of fresh ingredients

from this food lovers' city.

-First class! -First class! Thank you very much.

I start my journey by the edge of the Bosphorus in the heart of Istanbul.

These waters connect the Asian and European sides

of this vast megacity of 14 million people.

All around the Bosphorus, bridges and banks are crammed with fishermen.

They all seem to find a spot and are here from dawn till dusk.

They love fish in this city and just footsteps away,

I discover what all the fuss is about at Karaköy fish market.

-[man speaks Turkish] -They're beautiful fish. Beautiful fish.

From the Black Sea waters come red mullet, anchovies, mackerel, tuna, clams.

Oh! This is what you call jumping fresh here. Look at this.

The fish are alive, just come out of the sea. Look at that.

Absolutely beautiful.

[chuckles]

The variety here is amazing!

-[man sings in Turkish] -And so are some of the characters.

[man sings in Turkish]

Hey, look at him up there.

Waiting to nick all the fish. Come and have a look at this.

That's where all the old fish goes.

Perfectly fresh down here. Anything old, up on the roof.

-How are you? -Oh, I'm fine.

Just looking around here. It's fantastic.

The market is lined with tiny shacks.

The fish are dusted in spiced flour, quickly fried up to be eaten sizzling hot.

Whitebait?

Sardine.

-Sardine? -Yes.

They're delicious,

dusted with a little smoked paprika and a spritz of lemon.

That's beautiful.

A little further along the water, workers on their commute stop off for tea

and it comes served with an Istanbul classic - grilled fish sandwiches.

The mackerel was originally grilled by fishermen on their boats,

and later sold to the locals.

And with just a squeeze of lemon and a dash of red chilli paste,

this recipe has stayed the same for decades.

I want to put my own spin on this local classic

and where better to do it than by the banks of the Bosphorus.

I'm making a chilli, mint and yoghurt dressing

that will a hot and cool note to that simply grilled mackerel.

Thank you so much. Absolutely beautiful.

In my dressing, I'm using diced gherkin...

a touch of fresh chilli

and a small bunch of chopped mint.

Don't want too much of that. Ought to be enough.

In with the yoghurt.

Yoghurt with fish, that's risky.

Yeah, I know, but it's just going to be wonderful. I want you to...

-Will you try it? -I'd love to.

You've got to try this, OK? That could be a bit rude, like this.

-I don't mind. -This is what Istanbul's like.

Everyone's so sociable. I've got sumac. Do you know sumac?

Yeah, sure.

Sumac is a spice made from wild red berries

and has a sweet and sour citrussy flavour.

It's widely used here and gives a lovely kick to marinades and sauces.

Just a touch of that. Hit that with some salt, a little bit of lemon juice.

Ugh!

Now, what I'm going to do is just very gently put a bit of that.

It's not so common to dress fish here in Istanbul.

So it's very interesting you're doing this.

I want to kind of kick it up a little bit. I want to add my own little slant to it.

-And your name is? -Olga.

-Olga... -Thank you very much.

Welcome to Istanbul. Do you live here?

-Yes, I do. -You should be saying the same to me!

-So, welcome to Istanbul. -OK, here we go.

My first customer.

So if I started to sell this here, you think I'd do well?

-I think so. Very beautiful. -Lovely.

So where do you recommend? Because all the time I'm looking for inspiration.

You know, being a cook, I like to, sort of, find out...

I like to discover new interesting places, not the normal touristy places.

I love the Asian side in the Kadiköy market.

That's... How do you say?

That's my home. That's the place where I do my shopping

and I feel this is the place where real flavours could be discovered.

Because Istanbul, as any cultural capital of a country,

combines so many flavours which come from different regions of Turkey.

-Absolutely, absolutely. -You have something from the south-east

which reminds you of Middle Eastern cuisine.

Then you have something from the Aegean Coast which is more Greek in its heart.

And you can find the same in... both in the same city.

So there's very much different cuisines in the east and the west, if you like?

But do they unite? Do you get fusion food or are they very separate?

I think that's one of the very interesting topics, see?

That's why I really said that I appreciate what you did with the sandwich.

Because I think this is something we are missing here right now in Istanbul.

On the other hand, because people are really demanding eaters

and want their flavours to be exactly how they're used to.

This is probably why, as visitors,

we're still able to experience kebabs and baklava

in the way they tasted maybe 100 years ago.

-Thank you so much. -My pleasure.

Thank you. You know, it's a beautiful day.

You've given me a beautiful insight into Istanbul. I'm going to go and discover it.

-Thank you. -Good luck. My pleasure.

I'm sailing east to the Asian side of Istanbul.

This is one of the biggest cities in the world and, on the Asian side, I've heard

that there are places where I can find traditional and seasonal recipes

from all over Turkey.

But as soon as I land, I'm lost.

The market, which way is the market? I just want to go to a market.

-We're looking for the market. No? -No, no, no.

Thanks to the friendly locals, I quickly get my bearings.

Thank you! Thank you very much.

The cultural heart of Asian Istanbul is Kadiköy.

It's one of the oldest parts of the city and, over the centuries,

people from Central Asia, the Balkans and the Mediterranean

have all settled here, bringing ingredients and recipes with them.

And Kadiköy market is where food cultivated

across the vast Turkish landscape can be found.

Including, endless varieties of cheeses I've never seen before.

I want to know the stories behind some of these ingredients.

But I just don't speak the lingo.

I eat, er... You have, er… You speak English?

Turkish.

-Turkish? No English? -No English.

I'm feeling a little tongue-tied!

Further along the market, I stop off at a popular coffee house,

where I get talking to Tuba, who's passionate about Turkish food.

This place is full of beautiful groceries.

Full of a lot of butchers, lots of tiny restaurants,

as well as beautiful local tastes, you know.

This is one of the oldest residential areas on this side.

The Asian side. So, welcome to Asia! I have to say, yeah.

Thank you.

Tuba offered to show me her Istanbul and this extraordinary market.

I don't think I've ever seen such variety.

[Ainsley] Everything's just laid out, isn't it, so you can see the produce?

[Tuba] This is how we like to shop. You know, see everything.

We like to pick and, you know, eyeball everything, yeah?

And these two guys are the best fishmongers in the city.

-They're probably the busiest too. -They're very busy.

[Ainsley] There's just so much. There's spices, there's fresh fruit, there's fish.

There's all sorts.

-Oh, look! What is this? -How great is that?

This is amazing. It's all offal. Ox tongue, hearts, liver.

Yes, lots of brains.

-You don't see them all the time. -No, you don't.

-This is just great. -Look at that! Testicles.

-Yeah. -Yeah, amazing, isn't it?

-Oh, my God! -My mum used to do that so perfectly.

-Used to boil then grill. -OK. And they're from the ox?

-Yeah. -Ox testicles, yeah?

Oh, my word! What is that?

-That is a lamb's head, isn't it? -Yes, that is.

How do they cook them? Do they spice them up?

They don't spice them up because everybody likes to spice them after they cook.

-Mm-hm. -And it's very delicious.

Oh, fantastic. I think I'm tempted. I want to try it.

-I know it sounds ridiculous. -Yeah, we should try one!

But you're here in Turkey, you've got to do the traditional thing.

I think the rich meaty lamb's head needs the fresh crunch of fattoush,

a tomato-based, flatbread salad.

Whilst the lamb's head cooks at the back of the butcher's shop, I go gathering.

Everything I need for the fattoush is right here.

I grab some salad leaves,

crunchy fresh radishes,

cucumbers and juicy ripe tomatoes.

And a quick song and dance with the locals!

[man sings in Turkish]

-I've gotta make a salad! -[man speaks Turkish]

I pick up some freshly baked flatbread to soak up all those lovely tomato juices.

And it's that red berry spice sumac again

which will give the salad a citrussy bite.

First off, cut up some of the flatbread into small squares.

Add to this some roughly chopped ripe tomatoes.

I want all those summery tomato juices to seep into the bread.

And some cucumber for a cool crunch.

I'm not going to bother peeling or seeding them, not when I'm cooking in a butcher's!

Slice a few pink and peppery radishes to give the salad some bite.

And add a large bunch of chopped parsley.

Use it instead of salad leaves. Over here in Istanbul,

parsley's not something to stick on the side of the plate.

It's a star in its own right.

Bring it all together with some anchovies for saltiness.

And make a dressing of fresh lemon juice,

roughly chopped garlic,

and, of course, fresh mint.

Pour in a generous glug of local olive oil.

And a good sprinkling of sumac.

A touch of salt.

Then add the dressing. Beautiful!

All you need now is a slow-cooked sheep's head!

Cor blimey! And there it is!

Yeah! [he claps]

[laughs] Thank you very much.

I'm so looking forward to this. Beautiful. OK, how do we do this?

Pick the cheeks. The cheeks are, you know, the best.

The cheeks? Look at this.

The lamb's head can be slow-cooked for up to four hours,

bringing out all those lovely rich flavours.

-Lovely. -[Tuba laughs]

Ah, beautiful. And salad?

Yeah, please do.

-It's not a strange food then? -No, not for us.

People will see it and they won't run away?

-No, no, no. -Be horrified?

And in the south-east of Turkey, they sell this on the street.

-Yeah. -So this is like a very hearty food. Yeah.

It might look a bit scary, but what people love about this

is the different textures and flavours you get

with the eyes, brains, cheeks and tongue.

Lots of different types of meats and lots of different types of taste.

-Yeah. Mm! -Amazing.

-The salad goes well? -Very good.

The light, crunchy freshness of the fattoush salad

goes perfectly with the meat.

Look at this here. Get your fingers right in there. Look at that.

[man shouts in Turkish]

Ah, Ribay!

-[Tuba laughs] -People just shout here, don't they?

Yeah, because we are proud of our products and we want people to hear about them.

You know, we have the fresh fish, we have the fresh vegetables and everything.

But they use everything here. They seem to embrace every part of the animal.

"Let's cook it, let's do something with it."

-There's the eyeball. -Yeah, you suck it here.

No, er... Show me how to do it.

-You just take this out. -Yeah.

That's it basically.

And you eat the rest.

-Not bad, huh? -No, not bad at all. Quite greasy.

-Yeah, of course, of course. -Yeah.

-What about the tongue? Slice that up? -Please do.

The best part is the back part as well.

-Let me just strip this down a little bit. -A little bit.

-Oh, yeah. There it goes. Great. -There it goes.

-Let's just clean that up a little bit. -Yeah.

-You're right. -How good is that?

Mm, that's very good.

There's another restaurant on Istanbul's Asian side that Tuba wants to show me.

It's become a destination for lovers of regional home-cooked style food.

The owner, Musa, he travels all over Turkey,

discovering traditional recipes that have been passed down through the generations.

Chef Musa is particularly keen on local and seasonal cooking

from remote villages and towns in neighbouring Syria, Armenia and Georgia.

I'm really excited.

I want to go in the kitchen and discover exactly what's he's doing.

-Just look at this. -Yeah.

Musa started with a modest kebab shop and now serves hundreds of different dishes.

This recipe is based on spring lamb and leeks.

But it's the addition of sour figs that makes it sensational.

And they just pop and they release all their lovely flavour into it, yeah?

Fantastic. What have we got cooking here?

[Tuba] That bubbling one is actually... It's like a stew.

This is a sauce of tomatoes, peppers and garlic,

poured over loquat fruits stuffed with minced beef.

It has a tangy sweetness.

Ah!

-Sweet and sour. -Yes.

-It's exciting. It's visually exciting. -It is.

These are dishes that take time and care to prepare,

using traditional techniques to be shared by families and communities.

One of the chefs is cooking a celebration pilaf,

a delicate parcel stuffed with spiced chicken,

nuts, herbs, spices and perfumed rice.

So we start off, we melt the butter, then pine nuts?

And then we add the almonds,

filling of almonds.

[Ainsley] Beautiful.

Then he adds rice.

Some currants

and a pinch of salt.

[Tuba] Lovely.

[Ainsley] Beautiful.

Lovely. And this is followed by... This is just shredded chicken, chef?

-Yeah? -Yes.

And a sprinkling of oregano and pepper.

-Great! That's it. -Wow! Loads of pepper there.

That's really full of pepper. And that is followed by a little bit of chicken stock.

[Tuba] Chicken stock.

And what region does this come from?

This is the south-east region of Turkey. This is actually like a celebration food.

Typically, this pilaf is eaten at weddings.

It symbolises building a new home.

-Loads of butter inside the pot. -So then...

-He's taking the almonds… -Almonds? And sticking them.

Yes.

-Ah! -Just... Yeah.

Using dough made from just eggs, yoghurt, butter and flour, we line the pot.

Then fill the whole thing with the ingredients

that were fried off in the butter.

-[man speaks Turkish] -And you know what we're doing now?

We're putting in the wife and husband together,

and we're building a happy home for them.

[laughs] Fold the dough over the rest of the ingredients.

Smear it with more butter, pop on the lid

and put it in the oven for about 15 minutes.

This is what I came to Istanbul for. The delicate flavours of the pastry,

chicken and spiced rice.

Ah!

I've never had anything like this before.

It breaks.

[Tuba] It's crunchy and… Oh, my God! Look at this.

How's that? You like it?

-I think we should get married. -[laughter]

Mm! Thank you, Musa. Thank you. Mmm!

These flavours are just wonderful. They're very different.

They just burst in your mouth. When you put them in, you get a sense of something

that's been passed down through the generations. It's not just instant.

It's not just grilled. It's been slowly processed. It's been thought about.

And food that's been thought about, you know, you get rewarded in the end.

But you know what? Good food never lies.

And this is why this restaurant is so busy now.

And, I'm not saying anything, but across the road's empty.

We all know what that's like when you go out and you feel so embarrassed.

You're almost hiding from the other restaurant.

But it just comes alive here. It's so exciting.

I'm in Istanbul, exploring the exciting cuisine

that brings together Mediterranean produce and Asian spices.

I've come to the city's historic centre -

once the seat of Ottoman sultans - and to the spice market.

This was once the last stop on the Silk Road

and I can just imagine traders arriving from China and India,

carrying cinnamon, ginger and saffron.

Many of the local restaurants buy their spice mixes here.

And there's a real pride in cooking dishes the way they did hundreds of years ago.

It's important for the customers that their age-old spice mixes never change.

Oh, that's lovely.

You must give the same taste every time.

You don't change? You keep the balance?

You must give these people, these restaurants, always the same.

You know, it's amazing when you walk round these markets,

cos you get so many different smells coming at you.

Herbs, spices, pickles, all sorts of things.

But the most overwhelming thing of all... I wish you could just smell it.

..is the smell of coffee. It is so strong.

-[man] Cheap as chips. -Yeah, cheap as chips.

-I'm very good indeed, mate. -I'm Turkish Del Boy.

-Turkish Della Boy? -I'm Turkish Del Boy.

Nice to meet you, Turkish Del Boy. Cheap as chips.

-Thank you very much indeed. -You want to buy?

I love the spices, but I'm on a coffee mission now.

-Hey. -Hello.

-How you doing? Some coffee? -Yes.

-Turkish coffee? -Yes.

I could smell it all the way down the road. Unbelievable.

-Turkish coffee. -Very nice.

Ah, it's beautiful. Freshly ground?

Come in, please.

You want me to come inside to have a look? OK.

Istanbul was where coffee first arrived from the Middle East

over 350 years ago.

Is this where they make the coffee?

This shop has been here for over 100 years

and is run by a family who have preserved the art of Turkish coffee-making.

It is amazing.

It does race your heart a little bit though. It's really powerfully strong.

This guy‘s been on it for a while. Look at the speed he's going at. Unbelievable.

And if you don't think it's serious, just look at the queue of people outside.

And this goes on all day long.

Roasted and finely ground right here in the shop,

the result is a dark coffee that's as thick as mud.

Let me have a look where the coffee comes out.

People buy coffee in Istanbul like the French buy their bread, twice a day.

Wow! Fresh as you're gonna get really, innit? Very fresh.

I tell you what, I've never seen anything like that before in my life.

You go in there and everything's just at a breakneck speed.

It's fast, fast, fast, fast, fast. That coffee's like a drug.

It gets right into your system. Unbelievable, man!

I want to experience the other taste sensations rooted in Istanbul's history.

But I need some inside knowledge on the best places to go.

These days, some of the best tips come from food bloggers writing online.

Unlike guide books, they won't be writing about something they ate a year ago,

they'll be writing about something they ate for breakfast.

Ah, that's what I need.

One of the city's leading food bloggers is Ansel,

who wants to bring Istanbul's small traditional eateries to a new generation.

What does one look for then, Ansel?

When you are walking down the road is it a certain smell?

Is it a look? What attracts you to a place?

You've got to get into what are called esnaf lokanta.

Esnaf lokanta?

-Exactly. An esnaf lokanta is... -Esnaf lokanta.

It's a tradesman's restaurant. That's the translation.

And it serves the small business people that work in a certain area.

And they take all of their lunches, every day of the week, in that restaurant.

These are people who would probably prefer to go home for lunch.

But they can't because their business keeps them in another part of town.

If you see commerce, there's going to be a good esnaf lokanta around there.

So you just have to sniff around, watch where people go during lunch.

Follow them around a corner and sit at one of the communal tables that...

That's something that's quite international, isn't it?

It's just that… Follow the locals.

So what about street food? If you're on the go,

where can I go, just to pick up something and…?

You have pushcarts selling baked goods.

You have pushcarts selling grilled meatballs or fish sandwiches.

You have everything. There's food everywhere.

So I think if you see a lot of people hanging around there

and eating from it, it could be good. But trust your nose.

-Trust my nose. Trust my instincts. -You know what I'm saying?

Whoa! Great talking to you.

Tucked away in the Eminönü market, I find a tradesman's café,

just like the one Ansel described.

This one specialises in kofta,

a type of kebab made with ground meat, usually beef or lamb,

combined with onions and spices.

But these traditional kebabs are always prepared the same way,

following a recipe that's been handed down through the generations.

So I've convinced the new owner to let me make my own version.

Brilliant, lovely.

First of all, chop up some lamb's meat.

You can use mince,

but I think the larger pieces gives the kebabs a much, much better texture.

-First class! -First class! Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Then chop up some onion.

So I'm having to do this rather quickly because, er,

the gentleman here's given up his whole shop to me.

The customers are going to be coming in, so I am having to move rather quickly.

Add the onion and grate in some garlic.

-You grate garlic for me? -Yes, yes.

Yes?

Add a little sprinkling of cumin.

-Kimyon, kimyon! -Ah, cumin, yeah!

And a touch of chilli.

I love a bit of chilli.

Just heightens it for me. Not too much, you don't want to burn the mouth.

But you want to give it that little bit of a... Just a touch of a kick. That's it.

Of course, some chopped parsley.

OK.

And a little bit of salt.

And this is the traditional meat.

It looks a little bit fatty, but fat for me is flavour. Good smell?

-Very good. -Very good, very good.

Look at the difference. You can see that. That meat retains all that lovely moisture

because there's slightly bigger bits. It's not minced to death, if you like.

The way they make them here is little cigar-shaped kebabs straight on the grill,

but I'm going for bigger ones on a skewer.

I've got to say, I do feel a little bit of pressure.

These people have been doing it for generations

and trying to impress them is a real, real challenge, but, er...

Let's put that in there. Let's see how we get on.

I leave them to sizzle on the grill.

But it's not long before my kebabs start falling off the skewers.

Too fatty I think.

I can see why they keep them so small now.

I'm not sure the owner's too impressed by my kebabs,

so I'm changing my plan.

Well, I've decided to go down the sausage route,

which they've been doing for many, many years

and making them into little sausages. How about that then?

-Better, isn't it? -Yes.

Look at this, look, look. That is different, innit? That is different.

All kebabs in this place are served with a traditional white bean salad.

And here we are.

One kebab, Ainsley-style.

And now for the moment of truth.

Are you gonna try it?

It's gonna be good.

-Very good. Thank you. -Yeah?

-Very good, very good. -Yeah, I told you.

Lots of lovely flavour in there.

Good?

Very good, very good.

-Thank you very much. -Thank you very much indeed.

Outside, Ansel drops by to try my version of the kebab.

Well, Ansel, you need to have a bit of a try and tell me what you think.

-Oh, I'd love to. -Mm.

-That's excellent. -Mm.

Have a try of this too. We know about this.

This is going to be your classic Istanbul kofta.

I'd say that these represent the classic tradition of kofta in this city,

and in a place like this, their job is to protect that tradition.

-Right. -Because...

all of these shops around here, expect them to be just like this.

Absolutely. As a chef you have to challenge it.

You have to say to yourself, "Hey, what can I do that's slightly different?"

And just being put in a position where you're having to go into their kitchen

and watch their faces as you try to create or change something.

Was he shocked when he saw the size of your meatballs?

They all stood there. Once you see the arms folded,

you know that they are thinking, "Hold on a minute, what's going on here?"

But he liked it, you know. He tried it and he liked it.

And I'm glad you like it too. But, as I say, tradition…

There's a place for it, right?

In the neighbouring streets of the old city,

I go in search of more Istanbul street food.

But there's one traditional dish sold on every street corner

that I'm a bit wary of trying.

You know what, I've seen these a few times now

and I don't quite know what they are. I'm a bit worried, because they're mussels.

Mussels can be dodgy. OK?

[man speaks Turkish]

It's delicious!

Just a really simple idea. A mussel that's been split open,

stuffed with a kind of savoury rice.

I think I'm going to nick this idea. It's brilliant!

These are sold across Turkey's coastline.

The stuffing is infused with sweet spices, saffron, pine nuts and currants.

This is what Istanbul's all about. Discovering new ways with food.

Great novel idea that is. Mussels stuffed with a bit of savoury rice.

Further north along the Bosphorus,

I take the opportunity to combine my two great loves, food and footie.

I want to try out the street food around the Beşiktaş football stadium.

Speak English? You go to the football?

Yeah. Beşiktaş game? Yeah, that way.

-OK, thank you. -You are going to the Beşiktaş game?

Yeah. I'm a football fan. I want to see the football, yeah.

The importance is, our stadium

is being demolished this summer and a new one will be built.

So this is the ever last game to be played in this stadium for Beşiktaş.

-It's kind of sentimental this game. -Ah, yeah, yeah.

At the stadium, it's not quite the carnival atmosphere I was expecting.

I find myself right in the middle of a football riot.

It's like a madhouse! There's sirens going off.

There's police everywhere.

They've blocked off the road, so I can't even see all the lovely food

that they normally have at the football match here.

This is madness!

[sirens wail]

I don't get this down at the Emirates.

They're firing water cannon now at the people.

People are running all over the place. Got flames going over there.

[sirens wail, horn honks]

Finally, I call fulltime on the football

and the hope of finding any food stalls here.

But I'm determined to try everything that Istanbul street food has to offer.

It's 6:00am and I'm off to Istanbul's farmers' market in the north of the city.

Thank you.

This is a bit of a Sunday ritual for local food lovers.

I'm off to meet Shemsa, who's the most amazing cook.

She uses the freshest ingredients,

and she's going to take me on a bit of an Istanbul experience.

Shemsa likes to arrive early at the farmers' market

to buy organic produce for her restaurant.

Much of the fruit, veg and herbs for sale here comes from farms

in Turkey's Black Sea region.

And some of the products are quite unusual.

-Spring onion. -Not onions, garlic.

Garlic?

-It's the season for that. -Lovely.

So why do you come to this market? What's so special about it?

Because this market is a very small market. It's only one street wide.

And all these people come from a particular area.

Each Sunday morning, they come here, they travel here.

It's quite a long distance. It's a whole night's drive.

And their product is of the best quality, you feel?

Yes. I mean some products are especially so here.

-You know what these are? -No.

[she speaks Turkish]

-How would you prepare this, Shemsa? -I'm asking him how.

It's always a good way to ask the people if you don't know the stuff.

[they speak Turkish]

-What is it? From the leek family or...? -I think it is from the...

-It's wild leeks, I think. I'm not sure. -Wild leek.

Just pull that off and look at that. All just...

That's wonderful, but it needs a good wash.

-Yeah. -Like with all leeks. [laughs]

-Do you want me to carry this or...? -I'll carry it for you.

-OK, thank you. -I'll be your carrier.

-Thank you. -[they laugh]

Everything here was on the farm just a few hours ago.

So it's perfect for Shemsa's "farm to table" food philosophy.

In her restaurant, she creates dishes based on Turkey's heritage -

food that's a reminder of her cultural roots.

She's invited me to her restaurant later to try an authentic recipe.

But for now, to tide me over, I'm heading back to the old city centre,

as I'm in the mood for something sweet.

What's this, sir? Kunefe?

-Kunefe. -Kunefe. It's good?

Kunefe.

Kunefe.

Fantastic.

It looks amazing.

Kunefe is a rich dessert. For 100 years all over the Ottoman Empire,

it's been made with layers of soft cheese vermicelli, gently heated over charcoal.

Once it's browned by the heat,

it's doused in syrup and covered with crushed pistachio nuts.

It's an unusual mix of flavours and textures,

but it's completely and utterly delicious.

Another street food I've seen on offer all over the city

is a savoury snack called kokoreç.

It's made from spiced offal wrapped in lamb's intestines.

And the meaty mixture is served in bread.

It's one of Istanbul's most popular street foods.

But I'm not sure it appeals to me.

Kokoreç, it's, er...

It's one of those tastes that you... you look at it and you kind of think

it looks like something you're going to have on a Sunday,

a Sunday roast, it's going to be really appealing.

When you put it in your mouth, it's just bitter.

It's almost like my taste buds are just rejecting it.

Normally, I eat most things, but... I just don't like it.

I'm meeting up with Shemsa again at her Kantin restaurant,

where she experiments with what she describes as the "new Istanbul cuisine".

The menu changes every day and the dishes she creates can be a bit of a surprise.

Shemsa, I've seen this on the street. This is a typical street food here?

Yes, it is. It's called kokoreç.

Oh, no! Not that again.

We heavily salt this.

And we put pepper.

So quite a bit of salt and a lot of pepper then?

A lot of pepper, and we'll be putting some chilli flakes.

Which goes very well. And can you pass me the oregano?

Oregano's here. Shall I sprinkle some on top for you?

-Please do. So I'll rub it in. -This adds a real, lots of flavour to it?

-Yes. And if you could pass the olive oil. -Olive oil.

-Shall I just drizzle that on the top? -Yes, please.

-OK. Garlic maybe? -Yes, garlic, a bit.

Well, garlic is not traditional, but that's what we do, we like it with garlic.

But not too much. And also not traditional... Thank you.

-..is the lemon rind. -OK.

-Just an aroma. -OK.

So, OK, that's it. Can you pass it to the other…?

-Other tray? OK. -Other tray, yes.

OK, lovely. It smells good already, doesn't it?

-It already does, doesn't it? -It already smells good!

And if you could put the foil on top, that's done.

And if you could put it into the oven,

for three hours minimum, maybe up to four.

I shouldn't be saying this, but I don't cook for the customers,

I cook for myself.

-And the customers… -You'll get closed down next week!

The customers happen to like what I cook, so I am very lucky in that.

After four hours in the bread oven, the kokoreç is piping hot.

Wonderfully aromatic.

Beautiful.

-OK, a little bit of oil on here? -Yes, please do that.

-And I'll slice this. -Mm-hm.

Shemsa cuts the kokoreç into thick slices.

She then lines a tray with greaseproof paper,

then drizzles over the olive oil ready for the final touches.

On the streets, this dish is made simply.

But Shemsa is elevating the flavours with cut tomatoes, green chillies,

oregano, garlic, a few chilli flakes

and a sprinkling of salt.

The tray then goes back in the oven for another seven minutes.

This looks and smells so different to the street kokoreç I tried before.

You see how it's sort of browned and it's sizzling?

Oh! It looks delicious!

-It's good, isn't it? -Mm.

[they laugh]

-We are being very gluttonous. -Absolutely.

-And very… -Typical chefs behind the scene.

-It's just sort of finger food. -Yeah. Like this, yeah.

-Yeah. That's good. -Mmm.

-There you go. -Mmm!

-OK. Whoops! -Ah, lovely.

I've conquered kokoreç, but there's one other street food I've heard about

that I have to admit I've been putting off trying.

It's a bit like a street food steak tartare.

That's worrying enough.

But I'm not sure that I've got the guts for it.

Do you know, some foods can be a bit dangerous.

Things like pufferfish, fugu, or certain cuts of sashimi.

You know, it's almost like street food roulette.

There's something here called ciğ köfte.

I've been trying to build up me confidence to go and try it.

Originally, it was made with meat and they used to just warm it up with their hands

and put it on bread. The government have stopped that here.

I think it's more like a bean paste now, but, after a few experiences I've had,

I don't quite know what it's going to turn out like

or what I'm going to turn out like. Anyway, I'm going go and try it.

-Çiğ köfte? Çiğ köfte? -Çiğ köfte.

Çiğ köfte?

-This way. -Yeah?

-Çiğ köfte? -Çiğ köfte, yes.

Yes.

-OK. -This.

Oh, what?!

Wow!

I've never eaten food where you get your hand washed at the same time.

It's alright, innit? Yeah?

Oh, look at that! Look, lemon juice everywhere.

-[man] Monsieur, good, huh? -Fantastic.

[laughter]

And you get a kiss.

Great food, hand wash and kissing. What more do you want?

-What's inside it? -Tomato salad, pepper.

-[he speaks Turkish] -Pomegranate juice.

Yeah. Pomegranate molasses, yeah.

Onion. Mix.

Hold on, mate, hold on!

[laughter]

-Oh, my God! -OK?

They are good, huh?

It's like a... To me, this is like a garlicky tomato bean paste.

It's the only way of describing it and it's just pound down.

There's that pomegranate flavour. That pomegranate molasses

that he uses there, really comes through.

That's quite an intense flavour, actually.

-Don't worry about the dry cleaning. -No, no. No problem.

-OK. -It's no problem at all.

-No problem. OK. -What an experience.

When you come... When you come to Istanbul,

you've got to try this. Take care, Ali. Beautiful.

-Adios! -Adios!

Hasta la vista!

Well, I've got to say, that was an amazing experience. I really didn't expect that.

I was a bit "trepidatious", for want of a word,

thinking, you know, "What's it going to be like?"

But, in the end, it was really, really tasty.

I've discovered that Istanbul cuisine

is far richer and varied in its flavours and diversity than I'd ever imagined.

-Do you like it? -I think we should get married.

I've tried traditional recipes handed down over hundreds of years...

I think I'm gonna nick this idea. It's brilliant!

..and unique and surprising flavours from right across Turkey.

Fantastic.

Looks amazing.

There's so much to be enjoyed in this exciting city.

You might get lost here,

but one thing's for sure, you'll never go hungry!

And you can read all the guide books you want about Istanbul,

but that's not the whole story.

There is just so much more to discover.

And I'm lucky enough to have found a few hidden gems.