🧿 A note from Istanbul

What's coming your way from my kitchen in Istanbul in 2025.

Jan 18, 2025

Dearest reader,

A (much belated) happy new year to you! May it be a wonderful one filled with time with loved ones and incredible food experiences.

In this first newsletter in a while, I wanted to take a quick look in the mirror, revisiting my favourite posts and recipes from last year. But I also wanted to look at the road ahead. If you read on, I’ll be sharing some of my (exciting) plans for this newsletter and my website A kitchen in Istanbul in the coming months.

A few favourites from 2024

I sent out 65 newsletters in 2024 (exactly the same number as for 2023).

Just over half were brand new recipes. The rest, a nice mix of travel letters, ingredient deep dives, stories from the local food culture and seasonal recipe roundups.

Here are some of my favourites:

🖊️ Stories & kitchen tips

All of these articles are currently free and open for all to read.

From my trip to Mardin and Midyat in what is now South-East Turkey, but once was Mesopotamia.

Visiting Mesopotamia (Part 1, Part 2). The story of my visit to Mardin and Midyat in today’s South-Eastern Turkey, ancient cities with an incredible history of different cultures and wine-making monasteries.
A village feast to remember. While stopping at a viewpoint on Turkey’s West coast, we stumbled upon a village feast nearby. We were, of course, promptly invited to join the festivities.
5 ways to maximise the flavour of vegetable soups. A mini Masterclass in building flavour in soups with meat.
The Turkish way with tomato paste. One of the major differences between Turkish cuisine and most Western cuisines is the use of tomato paste. It’s not just a way to boost the flavour of tomatoes, but an umami-rich ingredient in its own right with a wide range of uses.
21 culinary recommendations for your Istanbul adventure. At long last, my insider tips on restaurants to consider on your visit to Istanbul.
A cookbook photo shoot. Ever wondered what a cookbook photo shoot looks like? It’s a lot more hard work than you may think. Every book is different, but here’s how my books are shot.

🍴 Recipes: 8 dishes to try

Most new recipes last year were for paying subscribers. My personal favourites among them reflect this split: Three were published for free for all to read, while five were for paying subscribers.

For a limited time period, I’ve opened up all these 8 recipes to be free for all.

Ezogelin soup. The true Turkish lentil soup classic with a story to tell of Ezo the Bride.
Adana kebab. Perhaps the most famous of Turkish kebabs, here’s how I approximate a homemade version.
Chicken fatteh. Fatteh is a dish of fried bread and yoghurt sauce that can be made in a myriad of ways. This one’s an explosion of flavours.
Banjaan borani. My attempt to recreate one of the dishes at my favourite Afghan restaurant – aubergine in a deliciously spiced tomato sauce topped with garlic yoghurt.

Beetroot & lentil salad with tahini. 📷 Bahar Kitapci

Spiced orzo with prawns and feta. They say seafood and cheese is a no-no, but this dish proves otherwise. One of my favourite meals I’ve cooked in the last 6 months.
Beetroot and lentil salad with tahini. So simple, yet so full of flavour. A top 5 recipe from my second cookbook.
Bulgur, fennel & chicken. I know this sounds simple, and in many ways it is. But the flavours are so light yet comforting, even I was surprised at how excellent it came out.
Börek with ground beef and feta. My take on Turkish kol böreği, with feta added for extra flavour. Delicious!

What’s coming in 2025

I’ll be extending my break from this newsletter by another few weeks. Not for holidays, but to improve the experience for paying and free subscribers alike.

Here’s what I’m working on for you behind the scenes:

An improved experience

When I return, all of my recipes and articles will be available on my website A kitchen in Istanbul – including the ones for paying subscribers.

For those familiar with the technicalities, I’ll be moving away from Substack onto a custom platform. This will give me a lot more flexibility than the current set-up.

In time, I’ll introduce additional member benefits which aren’t currently possible, such as ad free browsing and mini courses.

Essentially, I’ll be transitioning the paid portion of my work from a paid newsletter to a richer website membership, of which additional newsletters are one of the member benefits (but not the only one).

Rest assured you don’t need to do a thing.

You’ll continue to receive the newsletters right here in your inbox.
Paying subscribers will continue to receive member exclusives by email.
Paid memberships will remain entirely optional.
The price will also remain the same, at least initially.

If you’re a paying subscriber, your subscription has been paused until we relaunch, meaning you won’t be charged for this period. You’ll also have one month added to your membership for free as a thank you for your patience over the last few weeks.

New recipes, kitchen tips & stories from Istanbul

There’s no shortage of new recipes and articles that I want to share with you. I recently spent some time writing down ideas, and that brought me well into the second half of the year already!

Expect a good mix of authentic recipes, stories from Istanbul and beyond and tips from my kitchen, including how to use a few key ingredients typical of Turkish and Middle Eastern cuisines.

Exactly how much time I can dedicate to writing new recipes and articles for you in 2025 will depend on how many of you sign up for the paid membership. The more sign-ups, the more time I’ll be able to dedicate to new content for you.

In order to focus even more on the quality of each newsletter and post – as well as to ensure better consistency than last year – I will be scaling back slightly on the frequency of newsletters and new content. I’ll also be spending more time on additional benefits for paying members beyond extra recipes.

If there’s anything you’d like to see in 2025, feel free to leave a comment for me here: