(bright music) - [Sara] Sara's Weeknight Meals is made possible by, Aboard Oceania Cruises, we share a journey of culinary discovery.

From shore excursions dedicated to local food traditions, to our hands-on cooking school at sea.

Our master chefs take inspiration from vibrant markets and flavors as they create the international dishes served to guests each evening.

That's the Oceania Cruises Epicurean experience.

(bright music) And by USA Rice.

(bright music) Today on Sara's Weeknight Meals, Turkey's Aegean coast, with the coolest girls in the kitchen, but first, an enormous breakfast.

This is a lot of food.

- Yeah, correct.

- [Sara] Back at this Chef's Village Inn, and farm-to-table restaurant, we are making lamb shanks.

- My grandmother's recipe.

That's why we are using lots of fresh herbs and lemon.

- [Sara] Oh, so this is really like a one-pot meal.

- [Domla] Yeah.

- [Sara] Later, another Turkish farm overlooking the Aegean.

Another very strong female chef.

- [Nande] Yeah well, we're going to do the pumpkin fritters.

We are eating in season.

- [Sara] For the main course, kofta, ground lamb kebabs, or, as I like to call them, this is just burgers on a stick.

I can't tell you what a thrill gives me to say, dining al fresco by the Aegean.

And then we start with a whole bottle of vodka.

The secrets of limoncello.

How long does this sit?

- For six days, and on the seventh day- - Ah, that sounds Biblical!

Three female chefs, two lamb entrees, and a limoncello topper, today on Sara's Weeknight Meals.

(bright music) Go to Ephesus for the antiquities or the museums, but stay for the food.

Just up the road in Kusadasi, is a farm-to-table oasis.

I met up with its chef Domla Ugurtas at a local farm nearby.

- We are in a organic farm.

They're producing their own vegetables and foods, olives, and they're working with a women's cooperative and they produce canned food for this place.

And they also make their own cheeses that we're gonna have in the breakfast.

- Oh, breakfast, nice.

- Yeah.

- Turkish breakfast.

- Turkish breakfast we are famous for.

- [Sara] She's not kidding.

Here at De█irmen Çiftlik or Mill our pond side table was loaded.

Oh, wait a second, we're having tea?

No coffee?

- - Yeah, we are having Turkish tea.

- [Sara] What happened to Turkish coffee?

- Yeah, we don't drink coffee for the breakfast normally.

Breakfast in Turkish means (foreign language), coffee, before coffee it is.

- Oh my goodness.

This is exciting.

- I'm gonna break the bread.

- That is a thing of beauty.

- It is still hot.

So there you go.

- Oh wow.

Look at- Oh, this was just made.

- And then- - [Sara] Olive oil first.

- [Domla] Olive oil, right.

Use the chaman spread.

This is basically made out of tomato and red bell pepper paste with some spices and herbs and some walnuts in it.

And the cheese.

- [Sara] And this is- - [Domla] A cow cheese.

It is softer.

- [Sara] This is feta?

- [Domla] Yeah, I like making a little sandwich.

- Of cheese.

It's my kind of breakfast.

It's a wonderful combination.

- Yeah, it's spicy.

- It's creamy.

- [Domla] Yeah.

- It's bready.

- [Domla] Definitely.

- All right, but I'm intrigued about what that is too.

- (foreign language) The dough is prepared by flour and water.

Inside is, we have a curd cheese, similar to Ricotta, but more salty.

We have some seasonal greens inside, like spinach, like spring onions, like nettles.

- Oh, that's quite a mouthful.

So this is a lot of food.

- Yeah, correct.

Is that what a Turkish breakfast means is to just eat a lot of food?

- It's cultural, you know, gathering around the table and to enjoy the table as a whole family.

- I'm a huge fan of that.

- Yeah.

- Sara's Weeknight Meals.

- Yeah.

- Is this it?

- No, we are gonna have some eggs definitely.

At a family table you can just dig in.

- [Sara] Okay.

- This is called menemen.

- [Sara] Mmhm, scrambled eggs?

- Kind of with some green peppers, tomatoes and onions.

Well, it's so typical Turkish breakfast this is the sausage sujuk.

- What makes them red?

Does it have paprika in it?

- Yeah, yeah, lots of paprika in it.

Lots of spices in it.

- What is your favorite part of the whole breakfast?

- Well, I love olives are a really important part of our breakfast as well.

- [Sara] Do you do this every day?

- Well, generally it is more Sunday thing.

I do prepare kind of the half of it for my daughter every day before school.

- Oh, wonderful.

(bright music) This would be a great weeknight meal.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, it would be.

- [Domla] A full table.

- Well, I could sit here all day and just eat and eat and eat, but I understand we have some cooking to do.

- Yeah, on full stomach.

(bright music) - Well, here I am at this gorgeous place, your restaurant inn called Chi.

- Correct.

- Now tell me, what is it all about?

- So we are in a Aegean village and we are changing our menus according to the seasons.

We use local producers.

- And what we are making lamb shanks.

Tell me about these and what do you want me to do for them?

- So we have marinated them for like two days now, and I've used green apples and lemon zest.

- Grated and grated.

- Yeah.

- Now whose recipe is this?

- My grandmother's recipe, that's why we are using lots of fresh herbs and lemon.

She was from Greece, from Kos island.

- Should I season?

- Yeah, please do.

Season to taste and then dust them with the flour.

- [Sara] Okay.

- Here we are making her recipe after all this time at the other coast of Aegean this time.

- [Sara] Here we go.

- I probably have 50 milliliters of olive oil in here.

- And of course it's really good local olive oil.

- Yeah and in this area we have lots of olive oil producers.

- [Sara] And I imagine you use it in everything.

- I do.

- Let me know when you think we're ready.

- Yeah, we are ready, definitely.

It's smoking.

- We've seasoned it and floured it.

Now what happens?

- [Domla] So we are gonna steer them until it's getting brown.

- And then we're gonna deglaze it with red wine.

- So this is a local variety from northern part of Turkey.

- Everywhere makes wine really.

- These lands are the beginning of the ancient times, ancient history, so we are very familiar with producing grapes, figs and olives.

Hope you like it.

Enjoy.

- [Sara] Yes, I know.

Ooh, smells great.

- Yeah, I'm gonna turn them over.

(lamb sizzles) - [Sara] Ooh, that's browning nicely.

- Yeah.

- [Sara] Oh, you can smell it too.

- Now we are ready to put the wine.

- Right into the fat.

- Right into the fat.

We love it, that is the best part.

- I love the way you think, I really do.

So now we just need to reduce it a bit.

- Yeah.

Sara, is it okay if we add the bay leaves, rosemary and sage now?

- [Sara] Sure.

It's so much fun.

We don't really see fresh bay leaves in the United States much.

And you're gonna add a whole sprig.

- [Domla] Yeah, whole sprig.

- Okay and these are hardy herbs, which is why we're adding them now, so they'll infuse it with flavor.

They're not delicate.

Okay.

- [Domla] Now I think add the water about 250 to 300 milliliters.

And we need to, can you season it for me as well?

- Oh yes, okay.

And what kind of salt are we using?

- Sea salt from the Aegean.

- [Sara] Of course.

I don't want go overboard with the pepper.

Okay.

- Now I'm gonna cover it with the parchment and let it rest.

- Let it simmer.

- Let it simmer.

Not rest, yeah.

- [Sara] Cook.

- [Domla] It's kind of a resting to me.

- [Sara] Yeah, it is, it's resting.

- In a warm blanket.

- In a warm blanket while simmering and becoming tender.

- So I'm now closing the lid.

- [Sara] And this takes quite a while, right?

- [Domla] Yeah, like two and a half hours.

- [Sara] But the good thing about it, you make it on the weekend and then just reheat it cuz this will be even better a few days later.

Let's take our wine and have a walk in your gardens.

- Yeah, please.

- Okay.

(bright music) So tell me about the name of the restaurant, Chi.

- Chi means morning dew and my name means water drop, so it's reminds me of the seasons coming and going.

And we are in a valley, so we are trying to give back what we are having from it.

- Back to the land.

Take care of the land.

- Right.

- I get that.

Wow, it smells great.

- Let's see.

- So what do you think?

- [Domla] I think- - [Sara] Oh, it's shrunk back.

- [Domla] Good.

- Yes, liquid's reduced.

Looks delicious.

- Yeah, we are done.

- [Sara] Mm-hm.

- Definitely.

I'm gonna remove the shanks in here with the liquid so that we can saute the onions for the orzo, the herbs.

- [Sara] that looks so beautiful right there.

- Yeah, they are.

- But there's more, as they say, there's much more.

- Let's let some carbohydrates to our diets.

(bright music) That's too hot, okay.

(bright music continues) We love to have all those bits and pieces in there.

- Mm-hm, the juices that caramelized on the bottom.

- [Domla] Yeah, definitely.

- [Sara] From the lamb.

- [Domla] So we are gonna add the onions.

Can you please season the onions?

- Okay, so you also season as you go?

- [Domla] Yeah.

- [Narrator] You don't wait till the end.

- [Domla] Because every layer has its own taste.

- Right, so we're looking for it to just get translucent.

- So I'm gonna put the eggplants, slice it and salt it.

- [Sara] Oh, you salted it?

- Yeah.

Salted water and then drain it.

- And the salty water brings out some of the liquid from it, but also tamps down the bitterness.

- [Domla] It also prevents it become getting that brown color.

- [Sara] Yeah, learning oxidizing.

- Yeah, our cuisine loves to use culture.

It's a pepper paste or tomato paste.

- The two together.

- Yeah and- - [Sara] That's the pepper paste.

- Yeah, this one.

- That is really thick.

Yeah, that's beautiful.

- [Domla] Like a half a tablespoon.

- [Sara] Yes, I would call that a tablespoon.

- [Domla] Tomato paste.

- So what this is gonna add besides tomato and pepper taste is umami.

- When you use ferment tomatoes, it gives you a unique taste.

Turkish people love it.

We don't want that raw smell of it.

- [Sara] No.

- So we are gonna caramelize it then add the liquid.

- Because we're adding orzo, right?

- The measure is one to two normally.

- So two cups liquid to every one cup orzo is what you're saying?

- Yeah.

- Mm-hm, and you said this is more like the P-lock method, like what you do with rice.

- [Domla] Correct.

- [Sara] When you cook it that way.

Oh, look at that lamb.

- [Domla] Back to the pots.

- I wish you all could smell this.

- We are gonna be getting messy in here.

And then I'm gonna add- - [Sara] And I've got the orzo here.

- [Domla] Yeah.

- Should I just do the dump?

- Yeah, please do.

- And all the orzo here.

- Not all the orzo.

- Okay, you'll say when?

- [Domla] Maybe half of it.

- [Sara] Half of it.

- [Domla] Okay, yeah.

- So the orzo is gonna absorb a lot of these juices and flavors.

- Yeah and it's gonna be so delicious.

(bright music) - [Sara] Alright, so what, about 10, 15 minutes?

- Yeah, we are gonna add our cherry tomatoes in there.

So we'll see in like seven to eight minutes.

- [Sara] Okay.

(bright music continues) - Okay, now it's time to add the tomatoes in there.

- [Sara] Boy, it's gonna be such a pretty dish.

- Okay, see you in five minutes.

(bright music continues) Do you hear the sound?

- [Sara] Yes.

- I love it.

- And add the parsley to the orzo.

- [Sara] So more herbs.

- [Domla] More herbs, definitely.

So I'm gonna just make a bed of orzo.

- Here I can hold it.

- [Domla] Yeah okay, thank you.

- Oops.

- Oh wow, this is beautiful.

But these are some gorgeous tomatoes.

That looks fantastic.

- [Domla] Let's go on with the shank.

- Oh, my husband's so jealous.

This is, and my son, this is like their favorite kind of thing.

- Really?

- Yes.

The lamb, the orzo, the yummy sauce.

I might just take a bite of the orzo first.

- [Domla] Yeah.

- With everything in it.

The eggplant, the onion.

Mmm, mmm.

It really did pick up all the flavor.

Mm, mm, mm.

Well let me just say thank you so much for inviting me to your beautiful property and inn and restaurant and showing me how to make these delicious dishes.

- It's a pleasure for me.

(bright music) (hens cluck) - [Sara] Turkish food is simple and fresh because it's a country of many farms like this one in Saros on the Aegean.

My host, farm owner Hande Bozdogan is the founder of the Istanbul Culinary Institute.

And this farm supplies her students with produce.

- May look as if it's quite a lot, 500 fruit trees, but thinking about all the activities we have in the school.

- Yeah.

- We really make use of everything.

- And we are cooking with Hande's crop too.

So much of what we need is here, starting with quince for liquor.

- [Sara] It's a little furry on the outside.

- Yes.

- Oh, that one was ready.

- That's a nice choice, okay.

We're ready for that.

Sara, this is the walnut I was telling you about.

So you see this is now ready to be picked.

- [Sara] Oh.

- When the shell opens up like that.

- It says I'm ready, pick me.

- I'm ready, pick me up.

- Let's go.

- [Hande] And seriously, they're so good for the cholesterol.

- [Sara] Yes.

- [Hande] Walnuts.

- [Sara] Yes.

Boy, isn't it fun to have everything right in your backyard?

Like I think I'll go look and see what I'm gonna make for dinner.

- So we need to pick few peppers.

- Well, these are so pretty.

- Only one or two is enough cuz they're quite spicy.

- [Sara] Okay.

- This is the famous Turkish bay leaves.

- I should say so.

I always tell people use Turkish bay leaves, not California.

- I see them a lot in the recipes.

- [Sara] Lovely, lovely.

- [Hande] Yeah, they smell good.

(hens cluck) - Oh, so here are the eggs.

- [Hande] Still warm?

- They are.

I'm like, oh my goodness.

Wow, these are unusual pumpkins.

Wow, that's heavy.

How much does that weigh?

- I don't know, it's heavy.

- No wonder you need a wheelbarrow for that.

- [Hande] Yeah.

- Do you need a driver's license for that?

So now we're ready to make our farm fresh feast.

We start with a big guy, our pumpkin.

- Okay, now, so we're going to do the pumpkin fritters.

You know, typically we do it with the zucchini, but we are eating in season and it's the perfect time for the pumpkin.

- It's pumpkin season.

Okay, so I really have an important question.

How the heck did you cut this in half?

I mean, I'm like, you know, I don't, I don't see it with- - I'll show you, but be careful.

- Oh my goodness.

Oh dear.

- It's the best.

- [Sara] That's dangerous.

- Looks kind of dangerous, but it's really, it works smooth.

- Note to self, add two kitchen equipment one big saw.

- One big saw.

- Okay, moving on, moving on.

To start our grated pumpkin is sauteed with diced onions.

It's quite steamy when it comes out of the pan.

Ooh, pumpkin facials.

We add chopped dill, then parsley, scallions, feta cheese and eggs.

Flour binds it together.

Then the fritters are deep fried.

So you don't have a deep fat thermometer, how do you know this oil is hot enough?

- We just do- - Oh, you put a lone ranger in there.

- Yeah, I mean it's obviously it's ready.

- [Sara] Looks like it's ready.

- Yeah, let's do it.

And we are going to drop one by one, bite size.

- [Sara] Ooh, those are beautiful.

- [Hande] Ready.

- [Sara] Boy, those smells so good.

- [Hande] Done.

- [Sara] That was easy.

Now on to the quince liquor.

We pack a jar with chopped quince, add sugar and flavor it with cloves.

- That goes in as well.

- One cinnamon stick.

- One cinnamon stick is plenty for this amount.

And then we're going to top it with vodka.

- Oh, I like that idea.

- After I fill this up to the brim, I'm going to close the lid and I'm going to keep it, if possible, under the sun, but if not, at room temperature for like three weeks.

- [Sara] Then she strains it, adds chardonnay to mellow it, and the result is ambrosial.

Let's try it.

That is lovely.

- That's strong, - It's very strong, but it's sort of elegant.

- Okay, so now it's time for the main courses.

- [Sara] There's nothing more Turkish than kebabs.

We have two kinds, our garden vegetables and lamb on rosemary skewers and simit and ground meat kebabs.

We make them with soaked cracked wheat mixed with a teaspoon each of oregano, cumin, paprika, and all spice.

Then some chopped pistachio, grated onion and garlic are mixed with ground lamb and veal.

Why do you mix it up?

Why not just straight lamb?

- It can be too oily.

- [Sara] Oh, I see.

- [Hande] If you use only lamb meat.

- [Sara] The cracked wheat is combined with the meat mixture.

Now it's time to get dirty.

We dip our hands in oil so they don't stick as we form koftas or meatballs on skewers.

It's just burgers on a stick.

- [Hande] Something like that.

- Mine isn't pretty though.

I'm having smit kebab anxiety.

Boy, this one is really long.

This is the footlong kebab.

- It's going into the Guinness World of Records.

(glasses clink) (kebobs sizzle) - Grilling in Turkey.

Now this is a meal, a salad of our farmed tomatoes, walnuts, parsley, and peppers, drizzled with pomegranate molasses, crispy pumpkin fritters and two kinds of kebabs.

Delicious farm fresh food.

And what a backdrop.

I can't tell you what a thrill gives me to say dining al fresco by the Aegean.

(Sara giggles) You know, that is like, whoa.

(upbeat music) If you wanna find the best pasta or the best olive oil or any Italian delicacy, Kathryn Kelly is the one to show you.

She's been introducing tourists to the culinary magic of the Amalfi Coast for over a decade.

I went straight to her for a lesson in making the legendary local aperitif, Limoncello.

(upbeat music) One of the most popular drinks in Italy is Limoncello.

It's a very simple drink to make, however, it takes a little bit of patience.

I've never made it before.

I'm excited to learn.

I've got my friend here at Kathryn Kelly who has some background in Limoncello.

But let's start with your recipe.

Tell me about it.

- So the secret is to remember two numbers, 10 and five.

- Okay.

- This is a 10 day lemon cello recipe and we start by peeling five lemons.

- And any tips about picking the right lemon, do you think?

- Well, I like lemons that when I push down a little bit on the surface, it's nice and soft.

- [Sara] And you wanna get one that's not waxed.

- Yes, that's important and also if you can, splurge on getting an organic lemon.

- And if you can't get an organic lemon, you just wash it.

- That's correct.

- Okay.

- [Sara] Do we want any of the white part of the lemon in here?

- No, Sara, we don't.

What we wanna do is take the peel off and leave that white pith behind because it's bitter.

- All right, so now, where do we start?

- We start with a whole bottle of vodka and we pour it over the peels of five lemons.

- Can I do the honors?

- Absolutely.

(upbeat music) - Okay and so how long does this sit.

- For six days and on the seventh day- - Ah, this sounds biblical.

Yes.

- On the seventh day we're gonna go to the second step.

- [Sara] Okay, so this is after seven days, right here.

Look at the difference in color there, wow.

- Yeah, you'll have a little bit of that pale yellow and we want to keep these lemons in for seven days to infuse the vodka but we don't wanna leave them in longer than the seven day because otherwise it'll start to get a little bitter.

- [Sara] Okay.

- So on day seven, have the infusion and we take the lid off.

And can you smell a little bit of the lemon?

- Oh my God, yes.

- So we have our seven day alcohol and we have our simple syrup.

Two parts sugar and one part water.

We put it in a pan and just over gentle heat make sure that the sugar is melted.

- Okay.

- And then we wanna bring that to room temperature.

Now we wanna take these lemon rinds out of the alcohol.

Now you see they're kind of Sara, almost cooked.

- [Sara] They are.

- Yeah, you see that?

- Jeez, is that what happens to us when we drink alcohol?

We get sort of internally cooked.

- Maybe too much.

- [Sara] Yeah.

- Now if one or two is a leftover in here, it's not a big deal, but what we're gonna wanna do is make sure that these lemons are in that lovely simple syrup.

And we'll cover back up the vodka and it's gonna sit here and wait for three days until the simple syrup has the alcohol, lemon peels infusing the sugar.

- Got it.

Okay, we have one of those we already did.

- Yes.

- So here we go, this is after three days.

It gets a little yellow too.

- It does have a nice little yellow color.

- Yes, wow.

- So now we're on day 10, we take the lemon rinds out of the simple syrup.

You can use this in iced tea or you could use this- - [Sara] Oh!

- [Catherine] In a nice little spritzer.

- [Sara] Of course, of course.

So how much simple syrup are we gonna add?

- Ah, that's the question.

- Okay, so there's not one formula?

- Absolutely, there isn't.

Just like drinking sweet tea in the south, some of us like our tea real sweet.

- Very sweet so a spoon will stand up in it.

- Some of us like just a kiss of sweetness.

So I usually for a bottle, use about a half a cup as our starter.

- As our starter.

- Okay?

We'll mix a little and then we'll taste and see if we want it sweeter or not.

- Woo!

- Got a bit of a punch.

- Woo, I like that.

- So we can also, you can leave a little bit of the simple syrup table side, so if someone wants to sweeten it a little more, they can do that.

- I know that- I mean, it's always fun Christmas or whenever you wanna make a gift for somebody, you can take a bottle and just make it the way you like it and then you can just make your own label and boom.

- Yes, it makes a nice hostess gift when you go to a party.

- Well, geez, I'm not giving this away.

I say let's go and enjoy it ourselves.

- Absolutely.

(bright music) - Is that about the right amount?

- That's just perfect.

- All right, I think we need to taste.

So here's a question.

When is the right time of day to have a limoncello?

- Some people believe that limoncello is a great aparitivo to have before a meal, but others believe that it's a great digestivo, which means that you have it after your meal and it helps you digest.

- Do we believe that?

- Anytime to drink limoncello is a good time.

(Sara laughs) - I see, I see.

Okay, so I understand you have a story.

- When I was 11, my mother and I were traveling to see my grandmother in Revelo and we were at the head of the Amalfi Road, the very windy road along the coast, and there was a little snow cone stand there serving yellow snow cones, which were of course full of limoncello, but we didn't know that.

We each had one.

And then my mother wanted to have another, and she said, oh, after this one I'm feeling a little tipsy, why don't you drive?

- Wait, what?

Whoa, whoa.

- [Catherine] Yes.

- Excuse me, you are 11.

- [Catherine] 11.

- Had you ever driven before?

- No, I'd driven a tractor on the farm where I grew up.

So I drove very slowly down the Amalfi Road to my grandmother's home in Revelo who greeted us thinking my mother looked a little tipsy and figured it must have been the limoncello.

- Whoa.

Well, let's have a toast to your crazy mom.

(glasses clink) For recipes, videos and more, go to our website, saramoulton.com.

Sara's Weeknight Meals is made possible by - [Narrator] A journey aboard Oceana Cruises is designed to cultivate curiosity.

Guests can explore local treasures and epicurean traditions.

Staff and crew are dedicated to guest interests, relaxation, and entertainment.

Evenings offer craft spirits, international wines, and dishes prepared by our master chefs.

That's the Oceana Cruises small ship experience.

And by USA Rice.