Today I had my heart set on going to the open produce market and then to the fish market.
I got up too late and almost decided against it but, then I convinced myself to go. Lol!
We, as a nation enjoy some salty drinks; the most popular being "Ayran" and the other "Salgam Suyu". Ayran is easy to make. Plain yogurt, salt and water. You add salt first and gradually add water making it a homogeneous thickish mixture. It should not be lumpy. I prefer this over any other drink.
The other is trickier to make. You need the right kind of turnips, red beets and purple carrots. You clean and cut up the root veggies, put them in a jar, add a handful of chickpeas and bulgur wheat and pour over salty water. Salt should not have iodine in it. I used rock salt sold for pickling. Every day you need to "burp" it, till it's done. Usually it takes three weeks.
I had never made this before, so, I decided to give it a go. We'll see, how it will turn out. I was out of bulgur. I am going to buy some tomorrow and add to my jar.
Whenever I am in the US, I buy Classic V8 and that is another salty drink I love.
I will also make sauerkraut with red cabbage. This is also another first for me.
After the open produce market, I went to the fish market and picked up two slices of salmon, a slice of swordfish and half a kilo of mackerel. Swordfish will be dinner tomorrow. The rest will go into the freezer. I was so hungry, I had a fish sandwich and a Salgam Suyu at the fish market so, I decided against having fish for today's dinner.
Do you like pickles and fermented veggies? How about fish?
I forgot to take pictures so, here are some sample pictures I found online. Mind you, it was extremely crowded today. I acted fast and got out of the produce market at once although, it is open. Just covered on top.
I love pickles and fermented veggies. I have had some pickled tuna before and thought it was good but the is about the extent of pickled fish for me. I love fresh fish so just a broiled filet is perfect for me.
ReplyDeleteOh, I wouldn't pickle my fish either. I like bigger fish broiled and smaller fish pan fried. I use a special two piece pan using very little olive oil.It is easier to flip all the fish at once, when one side is done. We are not fans of filets much unless the fish is too huge. We like to see our fish whole on our plates, heads and tails and everything. Lol! Of course the fish mongers gut them and clean them thoroughly.
DeleteOh I forgot! There is pickled bonito that I like. I never dared making it myself though. May be next year when bonitos are in season. They dry brine slices of skinned bonito in salt for spome time and then they rub off the salt and preserve the fish in oil. There are a couple of others too but I like the bonitos best.
DeleteOh that market is my idea of heaven!! Lucky you!
ReplyDeleteI thought there would be markets like those in France due to my limited knowledge basically from movies. May be in bigger cities?
DeleteMy kind of market. We have an open market once a week for veggies but not in the winter. Back in North Africa, I used to go to a fish monger early because by 11 am He sold out. I am familiar with the yogurt drink, I make it at home or buy it for my husband but never seen it on the menus at the Turkish restaurants here( I used to go a lot before the pandemic As for the pickled fish I used to do an escabech with blue fish like mackerel were you fry the fish, add a lot of sauté onions, some spices, and douse everything with vinegar. Can keep for a week. Here, I only dream of The Mediterranean fish, so good!
ReplyDelete