Lilbitz

One of my top places in Istanbul to for new food challenges.  Lilbitz is all about little bits of this and that.  But you don't know what "this and that" will be, because they change their menu every two weeks (available on their website).  Max, the talented chef and owner of Lilbitz (along with his architect partner Sema Turker), personally creates a new menu, cooks it for you and tells you all about it.  Every table at Lilbitz is like the Chef's Table at fancy restaurants!

The menu is fixed and consists of seven courses that take you through a new journey each time.  Last time I went there, which was at the end of November, the theme for the seven courses was winter fruits.  The menu stared with salmon ceviche nori rolls on apple and wasabi cream with pickled cucumber to kick off.  It was then followed by pear and prurslane (semizotu in Turkish) soup on meatstock.  A pear crisp accompanied the soup (which was one of my favorite little add-ons ever).  A most delicate beef carpaccio on a bed of baby spinach, mung beans, glazed with tangerine reduction prepared us for the more substantial dishes to come.  Oven grilled tenderloin with oil and corn cream and black bean puree came first.  Every dish is at most two three bites, but each plate has several dimensions of flavor and texture.  Max, also an enthusiast of food photography, creates a visual art with each dish, clearly picking his ingredients and cooking methods not just for taste but also looks.  After the tenderloin, we savored grilled sea bream (cipura in Turkish) with beef houmous and micro vegetables, flavored with an orange and anise emulation.   Preparing us for the desert, Max then brought oven melted scamorza cheese with quince jelly and mini crisps of pear.  The desert, just the right size after this journey, was chocolate mousse with anise and Turkish coffee, topped with pommegrenate glaze.

I highly recommend this place and suggest frequenting it to keep your taste buds awake year around!  It's a small venue....just six tables.  Every dish is made really for you. Max brings each dish with the waiters and takes his time explaining his artistic creations.  You can see how excited he is about each one in his eyes.  After your dinner, you find yourself in Nu Pera, pleasantly stuffed for after dinner drinks, music and dancing.

Web: http://www.lilbitz.net , tel: 0 212 245 6054
Address: Mesrutiyet Caddesi, no: 67, Petit de Champs Pasaji, Beyoglu, Istanbul.

Anchoive and Shrimp Tapas

Anchoives.  Or Hamsi as we call them in Turkish. I browsed and browsed and found lots of tomato based recipes for anchoive tapas.  I wanted something fresher.  So I started to play.  Here are three tapas that I came up with which I highly recommend.  They are very easy to prepare and taste delicious.

Ginger, lime, orange honey shrimp
Prepare a vinaigrette by mixing the following:
2 tbl spoons olive oil
1 tbl spoon honey
Juice from two limes

1 tea spoon full of finely grated ginger
2 table spoons full of finely diced red onion
1 teaspoon salt

Prepare 6 pieces of shrimp by placing them in boiling water for 1 minute.  To add a twist, you can boil the shrimp in green tea!

To assemble the tapas, pour 1 teaspoon of vinaigrette on each slice of bread.  Top with a thin slice of avocado and half a slice of orange, and a piece of shrimp.  Drizzle a teaspoon of vinaigrette.  Garnish with crushed walnuts, finely diced red onion.  Season with salt an pepper.

Avocado, onion, marinated anchoives
This was the best I think.
Prepare 6 pieces of de-boned fresh anchoives.  Place them in a bowl with lemon juice (two lemons), 1 tea spoon of salt, and 1/4 cup of finely chopped red onions.  Cover and place in refrigerator for two hours.

Mash one avocado with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, half of a red onion (finely chopped), salt and pepper to taste.

When the anchoives are ready (after resting in the fridge for two hours),  place a table spoon of the avocado mix on a small piece of whole wheat bread.  Place the anchoive on top (without washing the lemon mix off).   Garnish with chopped red onions.  Season with salt and pepper.  Drizzle some olive oil on top and serve!

Garlic, red pepper anchoives

Prepare 6 de-boned anchoive fillets and fry them in hot olive oil over medium heat for 45 seconds to 1 minute, set aside.

Clean the pan, heat two table spoons of olive oil, add half of red pepper (julienned), 2 cloves of garlic (thinly sliced), and 1 tea spoon of chili pepper flakes.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes until the garlic is translucent and the peppers have softned.

Place lettuce leaves on small slices of whole what bread.  Place the achoives on top. Garnies with the garlic and pepper pieces.  Drizzle the oil from the garlic/pepper mix.  Add salt and pepper and serve.