The Key to Turkish Cooking
Jason Goodwin, author of a series of Yashim the Ottoman Investigator novels and now of the cookbook Yashim Cooks Istanbul, tells us about the flavors and techniques in the Turkish recipes in the book, and why cooking is an excellent activity for a detective marinating on his clues.Â
Kara Rota
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The Key to Turkish Cooking
Author Jason Goodwin first visited Istanbul on foot, walking two thousand miles across eastern Europe from the Baltic coast to reach the city on the Bosphorus. After writing a history of the Ottoman Empire, Lords of the Horizons (Henry Holt), his Ottoman detective series began with The Janissary Tree (Sarah Crichton/FSG), winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel (2007).
In each of Jason’s novels, his protagonist Yashim, the detective, goes into the markets and the kitchen in order to bring 19th century Istanbul to life. Readers and reviewers responded enthusiastically, on both sides of the Atlantic, leading Jason to publish Yashim Cooks Istanbul, his first cookbook.
In this week’s podcast, Jason tells us about the easy, traditional Turkish recipes in the book, some with a unique twist, ranging from the familiar to the unexpected—simple and delicious family dishes like a Greek fisherman’s stew, pumpkin soup, or eggplant chicken wraps, alongside more unusual recipes for feasts, from stuffed mackerel to hazelnut and lemon pilaf, or fish poached in paper. He also talks about why cooking is an excellent activity for a detective piecing his clues together.
Listen to our interview with Jason Goodwin in the top right hand player, or on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify.  Don’t forget to sign up for the forthcoming Clever Cookstr newsletter, full of tips and tricks from the kitchens of the world’s best chefs.
About the Author
Kara Rota headed children’s programming at Chicago’s Green City Market and studied food politics at Sarah Lawrence College. Kara has been a featured speaker at numerous venues including Food Book Fair, the Roger Smith Food Conference, and the Brooklyn Food Conference. She has written about food for Irish America Magazine, West Side Rag, Recipe Relay, and Food + Tech Connect, and is the former Director of Editorial & Partnerships at Cookstr.com.