Istiklal Cadesi, in the centre of Istanbul, is one of my favourite shopping streets. It's not because things are cheap; they're not. But, I don't usually buy very much anyway. It's just a great street to wander along. The whole thing is pedestrianised and, off either side of the street, there are lots of little covered alleys to explore. There are always loads of people wandering around, any time, day or night, and you can listen to kids busking - sometimes with traditional Turkish instruments plugged into amplifiers.
Any time of year is good to visit, but I like winter because then, after a few hours on the street, you can enjoy nipping into any of the many cafes to get warm and have a coffee, or a hot snack, or even a wee glass of raki if it's particularly cold outside. One of our favourites is the Tramvay Cafe. It's no better or worse than many of the others, but it was one of the first we ever went into and we returned a second time by accident and it became a sort of habit. It's got a weird painting on the wall depicting two trams passing each other on rails that come out of nowhere and disappear into thin air. A conductor is hauling a seemingly unwilling passenger onto one tram by his collar and another conductor is running alongside the second tram, or I think he's supposed to be but because of the scale he looks as if he's jumping into the air. Can you tell I've spent a long time looking at that painting?
Last time we were in the Tramvay, I ordered fettuccine with tomatoes, olives, spinach and cream, but all got was fettuccine with cream and a few red beans. It was good, but, and I was inspired to try something similar - fettuccine with cream sauce and some other stuff - when I got home.
I bought a packet of fettucine from the corner shop just after we got back and then I had a rummage about in the kitchen to see what I could find to go with it. I found a small, slightly wilted cauliflower in the fridge, which was still good enough to do something with. I had a carton of soya milk for the creamy sauce and I figured a few capers would make a good addition. There wasn't much else since we had just come back from Istanbul. A few nuts could go in too, and I almost chose walnuts, but I had three 'c's and thought why not go for four. 'Creamy cauliflower with capers and cashews'. I was stuck with the fettuccine as that had been the original inspiration for the recipe. And besides, I didn't have any pasta beginning with 'c'...
The quantities given here are enough for three or four people. Cook about 100g of pasta for each person (and it doesn't have to be fetuccine).
Ingredients
100g pasta per person
About half of a medium cauliflower
2 or 3 cloves of garlic
A dessertspoon of capers
A heaped dessertspoon of flour
A small handful of cashews
A pinch of dried rosemary
3 cups of soy milk
Olive oil
Salt
Start by washing the cauliflower and cut up into small florets. The way to do this is to first cut all the florets off the main stalk and then split the large ones into smaller pieces. Cut through the stalks only then pull the florets apart. Do this as many times as required to make all the florets roughly the same size. Leave the cauloflower in a caulander or seive to drain off the last of the water while you fill a pan with water for the pasta, salt it and set it on the cooker.
Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the cauliflower on a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. While it is frying, chop the garlic and break up the cashews (the big strong guys will be able to do this by simply crushing them with their hands - give it a try, but if you can't manage, put them on a board and crush gently with the bottom of a mug or a coffe jar). Check the water and if it's boiling, chick in the pasta, turn the heat down a bit and cover the pan.
When the cauliflower is turning golden in places, it's time to add the garlic, nuts and some salt and cook for another one or two minutes before adding the flour. Cook for another minute or two, stirring well to spread the flour around and cook it evenly. Add the milk, capers and rosemary and stir until the sauce thickens. Let it bubble for a few minutes longer and by this time your pasta will be about ready for draining. Spread the drained pasta on the bottom of a wide, flat dish and cover with the cauliflower and sauce mixture.
This dish is a meal in itself, but a wee salad on the side will brighten it up nicely.