On Ingredients

Most of the ingredients in this book need no introduction: they are refreshingly ordinary. Istanbul, after all, is a city of pronounced seasonality, making use of common winter vegetables like squash and carrots as well as the more delicate exotics. Seasonality means fresh, very fresh.

As we go to print, the fate of the 1500 year old Yedikule Gardens, the mother of all urban farms, hangs in the balance. Famed for their lettuce, as well as peas and tomatoes, these market gardens under the massive walls of old Constantinople have been tilled since early Byzantine days. They are threatened by the municipality, which wants to turn them into a park, with paths.