Sinanation

I am a big shrimp fan, but as many I can’t eat it alone. It has to be somehow marinated with lemon and other spices in order to reach the ultimate flavor. And when it comes to the preparation many of us choose to stay away thinking it is such a hassle. Thanks to Chef Aksoy, those days are over. Coming from a Latin American background, she knows her way around a great ceviche and has thought me how to prepare it at home. It is really quick and easy to prepare.

Ingredients (for 2):

• 20 pieces of cooked jumbo shrimps
• 2 limes
• 1 purple onion
• 1 orange
• 1 table spoon of ketchup
• Half a table spoon of mustard
• Salt
• Pepper

Cut the onion in thin half-moon slices. Put them in a bowl and pour a good quantity of salt on top of them. Squash the onions with your bare hands inside the bowl in order to kill their strong flavor. Once they are soft and slimy, rinse them with water. Now on top of the onions, squeeze the limes and the orange. Add the ketchup and mustard. Pour some pepper (to taste). Remove the tail of the shrimps, cut them in half and blend them into the mix you prepared. Serve it right away.

Yet another delicious Simla Sefer dish, the Crunchy Chicken answers the prayers of every bachelor. It is easy to cook, tasty and fulfilling. What makes this dish so successful is that it takes away the stiff and boring taste of a chicken.

Ingredients (for 4):

• 4 Chicken breasts
• 473 ml heavy whipping cream
• A large bag of your favorite chips or corn flakes (I go for the Kettle Chips (sea salt with crushed peppercorns))
• Salt and ground pepper to taste

Select the bake option and warm up the oven to 400 degrees. Take the large bag of chips and crush them with your fist until they come down to tiny pieces. Put the crushed chips on to a large plate and pour the whipping cream into a bowl. Add salt and ground pepper to the cream. Take each chicken breast, soak it in cream and then roll it on top of the chips. When done place each breast on an oven tray covered with aluminum foil. Cook in the oven for approx. 35 minutes (until the top layer is crisp).

Kısır (Barren in English (don’t ask me why)) is a popular Turkish dish that resembles a cold orange lentil salad. It is usually served at cocktails on a lettuce leaf or with the main course as a side dish at dinner parties.

No matter what the occasion is Kısır is one of my favorite dishes, especially with cold white wine. Light and healthy, it gives you the best break from all the order-in junk food. And when it comes to making it, my dear friend Simla Sefer should be considered one of the best chefs.

Ingredients:

• 4 glasses of Fine Bulgur or Cracked Wheat
• 6 Oz of tomato paste
• Half a glass of olive oil
• Half a glass of sour pomegranate juice
• One lemon, squeezed
• 10 small cucumbers
• Half a unit of dill
• Half a unit of parsley
• 2 bunches of scallions
• One spoon of salt
• One teaspoon of pepper
• Cayenne pepper to taste

Mix the tomato paste with 3 glasses of boiled water to turn it into a tomato sauce. Mix the bulgur with the sauce and let it stand for 30 minutes. If the bulgur is still a little dry, add a little more boiled water on top (keep in mind that this mix had to have the consistency of steamed rice). Let it stand for 20 minutes. Chop the parsley and the dill. Take out the seeds of the cucumbers and cut them into really small pieces. Also cut the scallion into thin circles. Mix the parsley, dill, cucumber and the scallion together and add them onto the bulgur. Also add the olive oil, sour pomegranate juice, lemon juice, salt, pepper and the cayenne pepper. Mixing everything together with your bare hands is recommended. You can add more of the ingredients afterwards to your taste. Cool the Kısır in the refrigerator for at least an hour before you serve.

Credits to one of my best friends, Ekin, for getting us addicted to burrata this weekend. We should have eaten so much of it that I think mozzarella will not taste as good as it did before. Coming from the same family, burrata’s exterior shell is made from mozzarella and contains a mix of cheese and cream inside, giving it a white water-filled nylon bag look. It is also made from the water buffalo milk and means “buttered” in Italian.

This tasty snow cone is better served with some salt, olive oil, basil and diced tomatoes. Unlike mozzarella, burrata is not easy to find. You can get it at a few Italian restaurants in town or at gourmet supermarkets.

I have never been a fan of the original New York pizza. I usually get the cheese and end up cleaning the extra grease on top of the slice. Hunger defies calories and I end up eating the huge warmed up triangle with no appreciation.  So no wonder I had to write about Waldy’s Wood-Fried Pizza in Chelsea at some point to say that this place is one of the best pizza joints I have been to in the city. Named after its owner Waldy Malouf and set between the 28th and 27th streets on 6th ave. (www.waldyspizza.com), this place flushes you with every detail of how a pizza place should be.

An original wood-burning oven warms up the room pushing out all the best scents from the pizzas it is baking. Naturally grown greens from basil to parsley are set on the right side on top of the extra wood stocked for the fire, ready to be cut and decorated on top of the crispy, thin crust pizza (or the pie as Waldy’s calls it). Different flavors of olive oil and spices accompany the greens. Necessity and simplicity finds sophistication in this place. You quickly realize that the food here is original.  Even the label describing the different sizes of the pies stand out with hand-drawn images of each size.

It is here that I leave the stressful 6th ave. traffic outside and feel as if I steeped into a warm chalet ready to be fed after a long day in the winter cold. I order my favorite pie with roasted eggplant, zucchini and olives with (unbelievably) nothing extra to add and take it to go (thinking I should stay in one day).

It is tragic that Waldy’s’ delivery area is so small that most of the time I end up ordering Domino’s, not finding the will to walk down to the shop. I have been pushing the cooks to expand the area, but haven’t been successful so far. Who knows one day I might actually erase Domino’s number from my contact list and become a fulltime Waldy’s customer.

I surrender to Ecuador’s most beloved chef Deniz Aksoy for the best home-cooked steak fajita I have ever eaten. Here are the ingredients (for 2):

• 1.5 (0.7 kg) pounds of skirt steak
• 3 small cloves of garlic, grated
• 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
• 1/2 white onion, sliced thinly
• 1 table spoon of paprika
• 1 table spoon of cumin
• 1 lime, squeezed
• 3 table spoons of soy sauce
• Ground pepper and salt, to taste
• A splash of your favorite beer
• The Secret Polanco ingredient

Cut the skirt steak thinly after getting rid of excess fat. Put everything in a bowl and mix them well with your bare hands. Cover the top and put in the refrigerator. Let stand a few hours to get the best results from marinating.

Cook the onions first in a heated pan. Once they are caramelized, throw in the steak.

Serve with heated corn tortillas, sour cream, grated cheddar cheese and guacamole.

Having been to a few famous burger shops around Manhattan, I thought it would be wise to compile the best ones in a list. Here are my favorites so far. Grilled, juicy and rare hidden in between two soft buns:

5 Napkin Burger

Located in Midtown on the corner of 45th and 9th Ave., 5 Napkin burger came highly recommended by my girlfriend. She was not mistaken. The place has one of the best burgers I have ever eaten in Manhattan. So do not be alarmed by the small section of sushi on the menu. Get the onion rings to start and then a medium rare 5 Napkin Original Burger. The melted comte cheese on top with caramelized onions makes all the difference. Smores shake for desert.

Ruby’s

Located in SoHo on 219 Mulberry St., Ruby’s is a tiny burger sport run by Australians. Bronte from the burger list is my favorite. Bear in mind that it is a little on the sweeter side because of the sweet chili. The creamy chicken pasta is also delicious. Ruby’s accepts cash only.

Shake Shack

The famous burger stand found inside Madison Square Park. There is always an unbelievable line. Shack Stack with beer is the favorite.

Burgers at Le Parker Meridien

You will feel like you are in an adventure while spotting this simple burger joint inside the fancy lobby of Le Parker Meridien Hotel located at 119 W. 56th street. It is actually located right behind the front desk and is definitely worth trying. Keep in mind that the place accepts cash only.

Five Guys

The only chain in the list that deserves unique credit. Five Guys has multiple locations around Manhattan. The menu is pretty self-explanatory.