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Aegean cuisine offers a unique world of flavor with its olive oil dishes, vegetables harvested in season, and aromatic herbs that reach the table directly from nature. The mild climate and fertile lands of the region create a favorable environment for the growth of various wild herbs. These herbs sometimes add freshness to salads, and sometimes they take center stage in olive oil dishes or pastries. Let's take a closer look at the Aegean herbs consumed at different meals of the day and the flavor they bring to our tables.

Blessed Thistle: The Indispensable Element of Traditional Recipes

If you want to add richness to your tables with a characteristic Aegean herb, you can give blessed thistle a chance. Drawing attention with its slightly bitter aroma, this herb finds its place especially in recipes prepared with lamb. When combined with the taste of the meat, a highly balanced and delicious result emerges. This herb is also suitable for cooking with olive oil.

Holding a special place in Aegean cuisine with its nutritious structure, blessed thistle is a plant you can easily find in local and village markets during the spring months. It frequently finds its place in meals.

Radika and Cibes Delighting Palates with Their Flavor

Boiled very lightly and served with olive oil and lemon, radika (dandelion greens) offers quite a rich aroma beneath its simple appearance. You can utilize this delicious herb in mezes, salads, and olive oil dishes, and it is frequently consumed especially at dinner tables.

Related to broccoli, cibes (cabbage shoots) has a slightly sweet flavor. Usually cooked by roasting, this plant allows you to add an Aegean touch to omelets. You can also easily use cibes in olive oil dishes.

The Lightness Coming with Wild Fennel and Mallow

Finding its place especially in fish dishes, wild fennel draws attention with its thin leaves and a scent resembling anise. The unique aroma of this plant, which can be utilized in both mezes and main courses, is of a rare kind. Wild fennel is especially preferred in olive oil dishes and mezes with yogurt.

Mallow, on the other hand, is consumed by roasting it or putting it inside pastries thanks to its soft texture. If you want to prepare a simple and delicious pastry filling, you can add grated tulum cheese into curd cheese, and then obtain a beautiful taste by adding mallow.

Purslane: A Healthy and Light Alternative

Growing naturally on its own, purslane is an herb you can easily find while wandering the countryside of the Aegean Region. Adding a pleasant nuance to meals and mezes with its mild taste, this special herb is generally consumed raw or cooked in olive oil dishes. Becoming much more delicious when served with olive oil and lemon, purslane can also be added to bulgur and rice pilaf.

If you want to add a pleasant aroma to green bean dishes with olive oil, simply adding a few bunches of purslane is enough. Easy to cook, this special herb is also frequently preferred in vegan and vegetarian diets because it contains more omega 3 compared to other plants.

Sea Beans: The Salty Breeze of Aegean Cuisine is at Elite World Grand İstanbul Küçükyalı!

Growing on the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, sea beans rank among the most special flavors of coastal cuisine with their unique salty aroma and crisp texture. Once a simple part of fishermen tables, this coastal plant has transformed over time into a valuable gastronomic product interpreted with different recipes in modern kitchens, and it meets guests with the Sea Bean Days held at Elite World Grand İstanbul Küçükyalı between August 3 and August 16.

According to a rumor told on the Aegean shores, elderly fishermen believed that more vibrant and green sea beans washed ashore during periods when the sea was abundant. Carrying the beans they collected to their tables saying, "The sea is smiling today," the fishermen saw this plant as a symbol of the sea generosity and abundance. The Sea Bean Days also bring this story coming from the shores to today tables with creative recipes.

The menu prepared specifically for the event starts with sea bean soup presented with a touch of whipped cream and accompanied by dried sea beans. Bringing together three interpretations as with yogurt, with olive oil, and with tomatoes, the trio sea bean meze unites the fresh aroma of the plant with different flavors. The sea bean baklava pastry, prepared with thin baklava dough and sea bean filling, is served accompanied by mushroom sauce. One of the prominent flavors of the menu, sea bass with sea beans in parchment paper, is cooked with olive, caper, tomato, onion, and lemon aromas, and completed with baked potatoes.

To discover the freshness of the sea, the stories of the Aegean shores, and different interpretations of sea beans at the same table, you can visit Elite World Grand İstanbul Küçükyalı between August 3 and August 16. You can make your reservation for your accommodation and gastronomy experience.