Cooking time: 30 minutes (excluding roasting potatoes, 45 minutes)
Cost of 4 servings: 239 rubles
Cost of 1 portion: 60 rubles
Ingredients:
Lavash thin Armenian (size about 60x35 cm) - 15 rubles
Sauce:
Leek (green part) 150g - 36 rubles
Milk 200ml - 10 rubles
Frozen green peas 50g - 5 rubles
Salt, a few pinches
White pepper
Filling:
Hot smoked mackerel 1pc (300g) - 129 rubles
Potatoes 3pcs (300g) - 8 rubles
Dill 5g - 1 ruble
Parsley 5g - 1 ruble
Olive oil with garlic 30 ml - 34 rubles
Cooking:
- Pre-bake potatoes in foil. Without peeling off the peel, wrap the tubers in foil and put in the oven for 45 - 60 minutes at a temperature of 180 - 200 degrees. Readiness can be checked with a wooden skewer. Let the potatoes cool.
Sauce:
- Cut off the white part of the leek and discard - you won't need it. Cut off the dried ends of the green stems. Cut in half and separate the leaves from each other. Rinse under running water. Cut the onion into half rings.
- Put the milk on heat. When the milk begins to boil, throw in the leek and half of the harvested peas. Bring the onion to readiness (it cooks very quickly, about 5 minutes). At the end, season with salt and white pepper. Remove from heat and puree the sauce with a blender. Once again put on heat and bring to a boil. Remove from fire. The sauce is ready.
Filling:
- Remove skin from mackerel. Cut the flesh along the ridge and finely pick the fillet with your hands, removing the bones.
- Peel the cooled potatoes.
- Spread lavash. Finely chop the potatoes with your hands, evenly distributing it over the entire area. In the same way, throw mackerel and peas on pita bread. Sprinkle with dill and parsley, tearing the greens with your hands. Drizzle with 2/3 of the sauce. Wrap the roll and immediately cut into portioned pieces 4-5 cm wide.
- Do not let the roll stale, otherwise the pita bread will become damp and will not turn out crispy. Place the pieces in a baking dish. Drizzle with remaining sauce and garlic butter.
- Send to the oven for 7 minutes at 160 degrees.
- When serving, decorate the rolls with green leaves.
If you've been to Istanbul, you've probably tried the street food. Turkish food. And we will not be mistaken if we say that it was balyk ekmek or “fish and bread”. Traditionally, the dish is prepared with a baguette, grilled fish, a variety of hot spices and fragrant spices, fresh olive oil, onions and tomatoes. In the same form, it can be cooked at home, especially if you live in the private sector and you have a barbecue. In other cases, you should use a simplified recipe when mackerel is baked in the oven or on a grill pan and its electric counterparts.
As for the "bread" component, mackerel in lavash less high-calorie, so this variation is more often cooked in our kitchens. In addition, it turns out faster and easier, and there is more of the most delicious - fillings from the delicate pulp of fish, vegetables and spices - more. By palatability, this version is in no way inferior to the original. Just as tasty and healthy.
To prepare this simple, unpretentious, but very tasty and satisfying, while healthy treats, you will need a minimum set of products. Therefore, this dish is also available to a wide range of consumers. Moreover, regardless of whether you will cook the traditional version or in pita bread.
Balyk ekmek is equally good for lunch and dinner. It can be prepared for a home meal, lunch at the office and for a picnic. Ready meal easy to put in a lunch box, it is convenient to eat even on the go. There is no reason to refuse this way to eat fish deliciously.
Mackerel in lavash with tomatoes
For cooking you will need:
- packaging of lavash (it is desirable to choose a square lavash);
- one fresh mackerel;
- tomato (the amount depends on the size of the fruit);
- one large head of onion;
- one large lemon;
- olive oil, spices and spices to taste, to choose from.
The cooking process begins with cutting the fish. It must be thoroughly washed, emptied, separated head and tail. Mill with a special knife. Then remove all black films, remove the bones with tweezers and wash again.
Pat dry with paper towels, place on a baking sheet. Season with spices and spices. Send to the oven for 20 minutes (cook at a temperature of 180 degrees). If you have a grill pan, you can fry in it. Actually, any other frying pan, electric grill, microwave oven will do.
Prepare the dressing: mix the juice of half a lemon with olive oil. Optionally, you can add freshly ground cumin (zira).
Prepare the vegetables: peel, wash and cut the onion and tomatoes into thin rings.
Spread pita bread on a work surface. Lubricate one half of it with dressing, then put tomato rings in a row, onion on top and cover all this fish fillet. Roll the stuffed pita bread into a roll and place in the pan. Top with the rest of the dressing and lightly brown on both sides.
The finished dish can be put into cardboard cups for street food or on a dish and served with herbs.
Interesting! Initially, balyk ekmek was cooked on decks and sold to poor fishermen for a penny. Thus, the surplus of the day's catch was sold.
Mackerel in a baguette lettuce
This variation is extremely close to the traditional one. More "dressy" can be served as a hearty snack, as in holiday table as well as a picnic.
For cooking, you will need the following available products:
- one baguette or Turkish bread;
- two fresh mackerels;
- two large tomatoes;
- one lemon with a thin skin;
- 1 middle head red onion (you can use sweet Yalta onion);
- leaf lettuce (the number of leaves depends on the selected variety of greens);
- olive oil;
- spices to choose from and to taste.
Cooking begins with the processing of fish: clean, wash, separate the head and tail. Cut into fillets, remove bones and dark films. Season and put on a pan or on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes at 180 degrees.
Cut the baguette on one side so that it can be opened. Remove some of the pulp to make room for the filling. Unwrap and lightly brown the insides of the baguette in a dry frying pan.
Put the toasted baguette on a dish, drizzle with oil. On one half put the rings of tomato and onion. For the second half - lettuce and fish. Sprinkle with lemon juice, add spices as desired and “close” the roll with the filling. Serve on the table.
Important! The taste of the dish largely depends on the freshness of the olive oil. When choosing oil in a store, pay attention to the production date. Shelf life of olive oil - 1 year.
If for some reason it is not possible to cook with fresh fish, there is always an alternative with canned fish. Simple and fast using simple ingredients that are in every refrigerator, you can cook hearty snacks. For example, Lavash roll with canned mackerel will be an excellent alternative to balyk ekmek, fishmak and other variations of a fish sandwich.
To prepare this dish you will need the following products:
- packaging of thin Armenian lavash of any shape;
- 200 grams of canned mackerel;
- 200 grams of any hard cheese;
- 3 boiled eggs;
- 70 ml low-fat mayonnaise;
- one bunch of dill and onion feathers;
- spices to taste.
You can cook the roll both with subsequent frying, and as a cold appetizer.
Cooking process: clean boiled eggs and grate on a medium grater. Do the same with hard cheese. Divide into different containers.
Chop the dill and onion, remove the canned food from the jar into a bowl and mash a little with a fork, dividing into small pieces.
Spread pita bread on a work surface, grease it with a thin layer of mayonnaise, sprinkle with a mixture of onions and dill, add eggs and roll into a tight roll. Lubricate the second pita bread with mayonnaise, sprinkle with herbs and cheese, put the egg roll on the edge of the pita bread.
Lubricate the third pita bread with mayonnaise, sprinkle with herbs and fish. Cover it with the previous sheet and twist everything into one tight roll. If desired, brown in a pan and cut into portions.
… To fall in love with Istanbul, it is enough just to come there! History, attractions, entertainment, shopping and of course food!!! Turkish cuisine is one of the most “delicious” and diverse: here you will find both meat and flour dishes, and sweets, and fruit desserts, and drinks… Today we decided to tell you about the legend of Istanbul street food — Emin Usta (Mario) - Emin-usta, the master of his craft, to whom we recently looked.
And this is us - Sevara and - with Emin Usta!
This handsome and good-natured uncle, with a mustache and moderately well-fed, makes the most delicious fish sandwiches in the world - balyk ekmek.
Finding it in Istanbul is easy. His "workplace" is on the embankment near the Galata Bridge. Cross this bridge, past the boats at Eminonu Pier, past the fishermen, pleasure boats, and you get to the other side of the bay. On the left side of the bridge you will see the Karakoy fish market, where you can always find the freshest seafood. Go further along the embankment until you notice the grills of fish sandwich masters. Look for this nice chef Emin Usta there.
"And why exactlyEmin Usta?» - you ask. Yes, indeed, a fish sandwich can be bought for a penny on the bridge, and under the bridge, and from any merchant within a radius of hundreds of meters. But none of them will have such a sandwich. They say that Emin puts something secret in the sauce, fries fish in a different way, cuts tomatoes and bakes peppers in his own way. And voila! An ordinary sandwich becomes balyk ekmek with a divine taste!
Rumor has it that the reason for this miraculous transformation is ordinary licorice.
Emin Usta neither confirms nor refutes this version. Smiling silently. Because no one knows his secret, and all guesses are just guesses!
When Emin-usta first appeared, competitors laughed: what is it, they say, he wraps fish with vegetables in pita bread? But for 15 years they have been trying to repeat his recipe, but all in vain. No one else can do that. And Emin-usta is now the star of culinary films about Istanbul and the favorite of those who prefer gastronomic tourism, and most importantly, of Istanbul residents themselves. He was also shown in Eagle and Tails. Reboot. Istanbul”, and in many other programs watched by people from all over the world.
Usually a long queue stretches to Emin-usta. But that doesn't scare anyone. Luckily there weren't many people when we got there. But by the way, we still stood for 20 minutes.
One fish costs 12 lira, which is almost $4.
Oh yes!!! Don't forget to say "Not spicy" if you don't like spicy!
Emin Usta's job is not easy. “But,” he says, “in the air and with people.” In some ways, he looks like a sailor who, in his apron and cap, plows the culinary expanses. He jokes, communicates with people, loves what he does. Loves life. Such is he, Emin Usta, the face and soul of Istanbul, the "luminary of street food", having met and talked with whom one day, you will definitely return to Turkey!
To meet again with this good-natured man, a master of his craft, to be recharged with positive energy from him and, of course, to eat the best balyk ekmek in the world!
