Cooking Across Continents: Preparing Turkish Cuisine, Virtually.

Connecting with my Istanbul instructor, I learned about killing onions, feeding neighbours, and always adding extra olive oil.

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Preparing Turkish cuisine starts with delicious ingredients like these!

There's an old-fashioned tradition which dictates that, if you cook something especially fragrant while preparing Turkish cuisine, you must share it with your neighbours. After all, you never know who might be particularly roused by your aromatic fare. Perhaps there is an expectant mother who has a craving or an elderly person who isn't able to easily visit their favourite cafe.

There's a second part to this tradition. If you are so fortunate to receive a sample of your neighbour's cooking, you must return the cleaned plate with some cooking of your own. It's simply poor form to return a dish empty!

I first heard about this cozy custom from Aysin, my cooking teacher in Istanbul. Under her tutelage, I learned more about Turkish culture and cuisine than I thought possible - and we did it all as a virtual experience, cooking side by side even though we're half a world away.

I hadn't signed up for Aysin's cooking class with Culinary Backstreets because I had a burning desire to make Turkish cuisine. In truth, I hadn't given Turkish food all that much thought over the years. But I was keen to travel and nothing says "travel" to me quite like a cooking class, even if it's virtual. There's nothing that makes me feel closer to a destination than exploring a market, rolling up my sleeves, and digging into a new recipe.

Virtual cooking classes have increased in popularity since the beginning of COVID-19. Anyone keen on trying a virtual culinary experience will be spoiled for choice. But even before I started seriously looking, I knew I'd sign up with Culinary Backstreets. I was lucky enough to enjoy their food tour of Athens in 2014 (remember how I caused a bit of a scene at the meat market?) I've been hoping to reconnect with them ever since and I'm definitely not alone.

According to Yigal Schleifer, Culinary Backstreets' editor: "Participants are from all over the world... More than half of our courses are actually private classes for friends & families to cook and eat together in this time when it was not so easy. We also have lots of schools and companies joining as well."

Sign up was easy. The class schedule is organized by hemisphere, so if you're based in Canada or in Asia, there's a time that's convenient for you. The $35 fee is per screen, not per person so if you're participating as a family, the cost is really reasonable. Well before the class, I received a shopping list as well as some information about the recipes so I'd have an idea on what to expect.

One of the unexpected joys of my Turkish cooking class was searching for the ingredients. The list itself was straightforward enough and I could find everything at my local supermarket. But I was hunting for ingredients that don't normally hit my radar. How many times had I walked past that aisle of peppers without ever really looking at it? That in and of itself felt like a nice break from my regular routine.

I appreciated that the grocery list was flexible and that vegetarians could easily make substitutions. However, there is one thing I would do differently for my pre-class preparation my next time round. I'd read the recipes a bit more carefully in advance. Keen on having surprises, I had only skimmed them. With a more careful read, I would have realized I could have easily cut the recipes in half as the portions are usually designed for a family of four. I had a lot of leftovers!

One thing I absolutely did right was making sure my entire kitchen was cleaned and that the sink and dishwasher were empty before class began. As you can see from my prep photos, you don't need much in the way of supplies. The recipes are designed that anyone can make them, even if you just have a small, basic kitchen. But it helped a lot to not have to search for an extra knife mid-lesson.

As my virtual classmates and I set about the task of shredding our zucchini and smashing our garlic, Aysin took on the formidable task of explaining the entirety of Turkish history, culture, and cuisine. Nothing to it, right? By giving us a bit of instruction about Turkey's history of trade and migration, the development of different kinds of cuisine started to make a lot of sense.

For instance, Aysin told us that "Istanbul Cuisine" reflects the city's cosmopolitan nature and centuries of geo-political wins and losses. Meanwhile, "Anatolian Cuisine" is everyday home cooking, heavily influenced by the region of your ancestors. Finally, "Ottoman Cuisine" reflects the traditions of what would have been served in the Sultan's palaces. We had influences of all three in our cooking and by taking the time to talk about Turkish cuisine, Aysin made sure that everyone had time to catch up between dishes.

We also got a few valuable lessons in becoming masters of our culinary domain. Among the gems Aysin shared was the fact zucchini and dill are best friends who should never be separated. Who knew!? I vow that I'll never let my garden zucchini be lonely again! I also learned that, in Istanbul, every family keeps tomato paste and red pepper paste in their fridge to make quick and easy sauces. How deliciously clever is that?

​Thanks to Aysin, I now know that you can never add too much olive oil, for it always makes food delicious, and when you sweat onions, you should REALLY sweat them. In fact, there's a local expression that roughly translates to "kill your onions" to describe this. How cute!

It was within these little anecdotes that I really felt like I was enjoying a true travel experience. Coming to us live from her snug kitchen, the miles melted away as Aysin walked us through the different steps of the recipe, doling out encouragement, and sharing tidbits about everyday life in Istanbul. It really felt like we were working side by side.

I don't want to share too much information about the dishes we prepared so you can enjoy the surprises during your own session. The theme in our class was preparing Turkish meze or small dishes that are perfect as appetizers and snacks for sharing. It was the perfect theme for a cooking class that's forced to happen virtually, a reminder that a world of socializing awaits for everyone following the pandemic.

For me, the highlight of the class wasn't our delicious dishes or everything I learned about Turkish culture and cuisine along the way. It came at the end, when Aysin had us all lift our dishes up to the camera for her inspection and she told us how proud she was. Now I'm sure she says encouraging things to every class but in that moment, it felt like me and my virtual colleagues were the finest amateur chefs she had ever seen. Not a bad feeling, considering only a few hours earlier I was pondering my pepper choices at the grocery store!

Preparing Turkish cuisine with Aysin in my Culinary Backstreets online cooking class was the best "travel" experience I had in a year and I didn't even leave my own kitchen. It was a delightful way to spend an afternoon and I think any travel or food-loving soul would enjoy it just as much.

​You can see a full list of Culinary Backstreet's online classes here.

Looking for a Turkish cookbook? Try Essential Turkish Cuisine by Engin Akin, available via Bookshop (which supports independent bookstores), Amazon (American readers) and Chapters/Indigo (Canadian readers).


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