Cookery
Cookery features by Berrin Torolsan.
Berrin Torolsan is a writer, photographer, picture editor and the publisher of Cornucopia.
Her articles explore the history and nutritional properties of the main ingredients, and present easy-to-follow recipes.
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Heavenly Berries
The joy of mulberries
From Cornucopia 49
Mulberries come in an array of hues: black, white, pink, purple; some enticingly sweet, others astringent and healing. As Berrin Torolsan can testify, having grown up with them in her Istanbul garden, all are adored – by man, mallard and pine marten alike. Here she traces the history of this lucious fruit
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Fruit of the Gods
Grapes
From Cornucopia 48
Grapes may be Anatolia’s most ancient crop but the birthplace of Dionysus still produces an abundance of tempting varieties – from succulent bunches of fresh fruit to the sweetest of sultanas, and even world-class wines. Grapes also play a vital role in Classic Turkish Cuisine. Text and photograph by Berrin Torolsan
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The Coolest Thing
Watermelons
From Cornucopia 47
Marbled rind and coral flesh… the watermelon, essence of summer.
Text and photograph by Berrin Torolsan -
Sweet Peas
11,000 years of man's favourite pulse
From Cornucopia 46
Adored through the ages by farmers and sultans alike, peas lend a subtle sweetness to everything from Turkish stews to Russian salad.
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Wild at Heart
The scent of strawberries
From Cornucopia 45
Strawberries growing in the wild are gems of mouth-watering delight that bear little relation to the showy, insipid-tasting fruit on supermarket shelves. But there are still good garden strawberries to be found.
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Plum Perfect
The naked plum
From Cornucopia 44
Plums grow in all colours of the rainbow, and bring a delicious magic to sweet and savoury dishes alike.
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Back to Our Roots
Radishes and turnips
From Cornucopia 43
Pungent and piquant, mustardy or mellow, radishes and turnips deserve more respect. Underrated in most of the West, they are still a valued staple in Turkey, where in winter they appear raw, cooked or pickled on every table.
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Pick a Pepper
A New World treasure
From Cornucopia 42
Some liked it hot, others liked it sweet. Either way the pepper revolutionised the Old World’s tastebuds like nothing else.
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Celery’s Sibling
The story of celeriac
From Cornucopia 41
With its gnarled head and earthy aroma, celeriac is a food for grown-ups, eaten all over Turkey at tables high and low.
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The Sweet Taste of Summer
The fragrant melon
From Cornucopia 39
What would summer be without fragrant melons and their honeyed, juicy, cooling flesh? Hundreds of varieties ensure that this most luscious of fruits – a favourite for a thousand years or more – is there just when you need it most. Text and photographs by Berrin Torolsan
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Feast Food
Biscuits and buns
From Cornucopia 38
Plaits and rings, coils and crescents – freshly baked çörek are the treats of high days and holy days.
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Hot Pots
The secret of slow-cooked stews
From Cornucopia 37
The Mongols were the masters of one-pot cooking. Berrin Torolsan hails one of their most lasting legacies, the yahni – a steaming, succulent, slow-cooked stew.
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Heaven on a Plate
Kurabiye, the classic shortbread
From Cornucopia 36
Kurabiye have been a part of family life for generations and are best home-made. Every child has sweet memories of coming home to the heavenly aroma of freshly baked kurabiye. Every mother, every aunt, every grandmother, every neighbour has her own speciality.
More cookery features -
Shafts of Light
The wondrous asparagus
From Cornucopia 35
Some like their asparagus translucently white, others prefer crunchy and green. Whatever your choice, it takes lightness of touch to reveal the delicate flavour.
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Championed by the Cavalry
Winning ways with okra
From Cornucopia 34
Okra was so well established as a food in Turkey by the fifteenth century that Mehmet the Conqueror’s formidable horsemen adopted it as an emblem for their jousting tournaments.
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Simply Sensational
The ten best böreks
From Cornucopia 33
It can be the star at family feasts or the perfect fast food. Berrin Torolsan serves up ten irresistible recipes. Photographs by Berrin Torolsan
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Bounty of the Bosphorus
Fish from the Bosphorus
From Cornucopia 32
Surrounded by four seas and generously endowed with rivers and lakes, Turkey has a huge abundance of fish. But for the Istanbullu, nothing can compare with the fish of the Bosphorus.
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Black Diamonds
Truffles, the cook's best friend
From Cornucopia 31
All truffles conceal heady charms beneath a rough exterior. But Turkey’s truffles are a democratic luxury – far less costly than France’s precious and more pungent tubers.
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Fruits of the Earth
The suble sweetness of Jerusalem artichokes
From Cornucopia 30
There’s nothing grand about the Jerusalem artichoke. The plant thrives on benign neglect, and its gnarled tubers look humble enough. Do not be deceived: its flavour is a revelation – subtle, sweet and quite irresistible.
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Solar Power
Tomatoes, capsules of sunshine
From Cornucopia 29
Red peppers, chillies, maize and sunflowers set the Mediterranean ablaze with their pungent flavours and fiery colours. But of all the Aztecs’ gifts, it is the tomato, above all, that tastes of the sun
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Golden Opportunity
Cooking with carrots
From Cornucopia 28
Carrots have a colourful past and the gift of making us see in the dark, but there’s more to them than meets the eye.
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The Birth of the Big Apple
Apples old and new
From Cornucopia 27
DNA tests prove that Alma-Ata in Central Asia – literally ‘Apple Ancestor’ – is indeed the birthplace of the apple
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The Milky Way
Celestial puddings
From Cornucopia 26
Simple, smooth and soothing, they satisfy the child in everyone. But milk puddings can also be gorgeously sophisticated.
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Mellow Fruitfulness
Chestnuts sweet and simple
From Cornucopia 25
Sweet chestnuts, autumn’s bounty, spread from the forests of Anatolia to feed the Roman legions and provide daily sustenance to most of Europs. Today they are reserved for festiviites.
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Soups for Cool Cooks
Surefire soups
From Cornucopia 24
Berrin Torolsan brings a taste of the Steppes into the urban kitchen with ten surefire, no-fuss recipes
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Perfect Peach
Summer's ultimate thirst-quencher
From Cornucopia 23
For sheer sensual appeal, the peach has no rivals: its velvet skin and fragrant, juicy flesh are irresistable.
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Meatball Wizard
The making of a great köfte
From Cornucopia 22
From Alaska to Australia, from Mongolia to Mexico, meatballs come in a thousand guises.
Berrin Torolsan works magic with mincemeat -
Green & Green
Spinach and purslane
From Cornucopia 21
The sweetmeat of kings, the fuel of warriors, spinach is bursting with colour. The brighter, tangier purslane is a delight still waiting to conquer the West.
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Bringing Back Babylon
Delectable leeks
From Cornucopia 19
The leek, friendly and fragrant, is about to enter its fourth millenium as a favourite ingredient of cooks around the globe.
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A Vine Romance
Vine leaves, the perfect wrap
From Cornucopia 18
What plant can match the bounty of the vine? For thousands of years man has enjoyed the succelence of the grape, the headiness of its wines, its capacity to heal. But the fruit is not its only gift. Its lush green leaves, which offer dappled shelter from the summer sun, also create the perfect wrapping, bringing their delicate, delectable tang to the simplest foods.
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The Family Brassica
Cabbages and cauliflowers
From Cornucopia 17
The cabbage and the cauliflower are the Old World’s culinary warriors, arming high tables and low with essential vitamins and minerals.
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A Feast of Figs
The fabled fig
From Cornucopia 16
It is hard to improve on the intense fragrance of the fabled fig, oozing with honeyed, nutty succulence.
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The Noble Heart
The globe artichoke
From Cornucopia 15
A glorious thistle, the globe artichoke merits better than the usual simple boiling, especially if it is the giant Turkish globe, with its huge mouth-watering centre. Berrin Torolsan reveals how to do it justice
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The Pumpkin Eaters
Sweet and savoury magic
From Cornucopia 14
There is more than a touch of the fairytale about the humble pumpkin. Berrin Torolsan conjures up a feast of gleaming dishes that bring a golden glow to winter.
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Thyme & Tide
Fragrant recipes form a herbal garden
From Cornucopia 13
A hint of mint, a pinch of basil, a sprinkling of thyme, a garnishing of dill - one light touch is all it takes for the common herb to release its ancient magic.
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Eggs on a Plate
Classic recipes made easy
From Cornucopia 12
The egg is the most flattering of partners. Berrin Torolsan makes light work of Turkish classics, from succulent meatloaf to silky meringues, from tangy sauces to honeyed crêpes.
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Bright Orange
A basket of zestful recipes
From Cornucopia 11
Radiant orbs of sunshine, oranges bring delight to the senses with the heady scent of their blossom, the spice of their frasgrant peel, the mouth-watering tang of their juicy flesh.
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Purple Reign
The aubergine
From Cornucopia 10
Elegrant, mysterious, like a plant from another planet, the aubergine is the sultan of vegetables
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Jewels of the Fall
PIckles and relishes
From Cornucopia 9
Nothing from the supermarket shelf can compare to home-made autumn pickles.
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Youth Culture
Cooking with yoghurt
From Cornucopia 8
Elixir of sovereigns, libation of the gods, secret of longevity, the timeless taste of yoghurt has the right cool, fresh tang for summer.
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Stock Taking
The perfect pilav
From Cornucopia 7
Whether plain or exotic, pilav is deceptively simple to prepare yet the ultimate test of the accomplished cook
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Fruits of Victory
Cherries, crimson globes bursting with tongue-tingling juices...
From Cornucopia 6
Cherries, the trophy brought back to the West by Lucullus, are truly fit for a feast.
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Soul Fruit
Pomegranates, jewels of winter
From Cornucopia 5
Long enjoyed for their succulence and their inner beauty, pomegranates have been credited with uplifting properties.
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The Taste of an Eastern Summer
The marrow and its flower
From Cornucopia 4
Summery herbs transform the versatile marrow into light succulent dishes.
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Winter’s Harvest
Cracking nut recipes
From Cornucopia 3
Capsules of concentrated energy, nuts are healthful as well as delicious
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The Essential Rose
Rose petal recipes
From Cornucopia 2
Capture the taste of summer. Berrin Torolsan suggests recipes using rose petals and rose water.
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The Golden Apple of the Hesperides
The quintessential quince
From Cornucopia 1
Daffodil yellow, downy texture with a strong musky aroma the quince can scent an entire room.
Buy the latest issue
Issue 49, April 2013
Travels in Tartary
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