Bonito stew

Palamut yahnisi

You can use tuna or swordfish if you can’t find fresh bonito, and bake it in the oven instead of simmering it in a saucepan.

Quantity	Ingredient
1kg	bonito, cut into large pieces
1	lemon, juiced
6 tablespoons	extra virgin olive oil
2	large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
3	garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon	dried oregano
1 teaspoon	dried mint
4	fresh or dried bay leaves
2 tablespoons	concentrated tomato puree
8	plum tomatoes, quartered
1	cinnamon stick
8	cloves
1 tablespoon	whole allspice, crushed with a mortar and pestle
150ml	red wine
4 tablespoons	red wine vinegar
	sea salt
	freshly ground black pepper

Quantity	Ingredient
a few	fresh mint sprigs

To prepare the bonito, place it in a bowl with the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon sea salt. Add cold water to cover, cover the bowl with clingfilm and refrigerate for 1 hour.
To prepare the stew, heat half the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and sauté the onions, garlic, oregano, mint and bay leaves for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Stir in the tomato purée and tomatoes, season generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Add the cinnamon, cloves, allspice, red wine and red wine vinegar, stir and continue to cook over low heat for about 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, remove the bonito from the water and drain on kitchen paper. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat and sear the bonito steaks for a few minutes on each side. Transfer the bonito pieces to the saucepan of sauce, combine well and continue to simmer, uncovered, for 30–40 minutes until the fish is tender and the sauce has thickened.
To serve, transfer the stew to plates and serve immediately with mint sprigs.

Tags:: Istanbul; Turkey; Turkish food; Middle Eastern; Andy Harris; David Loftus