Let’s get lost

and a recipe for poached halibut with fresh tomato sauce

My husband has a built-in GPS.

Of course this doesn’t stop me from trying to give directions. And because we speak a different spatial language, my “suggestions” are often confusing and anything but welcome. It doesn’t help that I invariably get left and right wrong. “Turn left!” I shout, while wildly gesticulating right. It’s only because he has the good sense to ignore me that we get anywhere at all.

But sometimes a wrong turn can be exactly the right move. Detours, planned or spontaneous, can lead you to the most unexpected places and experiences.

Changing directions

We were on the backroads of Turkey in search of the eternal flame. The Chimaera to be exact. On a rocky mountainside above the village of Cirali, about a dozen flames wax unflaggingly, adding their tiny bright light to the sun and moon and stars, as they have for millennia.

Once a beacon for ancient mariners, the Chimaera now beckon tourists from far and wide. You’re reminded that a natural phenomenon is also an opportunity for commerce. As you make your way along the winding path, there are resourceful young boys selling bottled water and shiny souvenirs. Arriving hot and slightly dusty after your thirty minute trek, the flames are bright and alit as promised, but somehow have lost a bit of their shine in the light of modern tourism.

And so back to the car en route to our next stop, Kaş, a small fishing village on the Mediterranean. We could have taken the easy and possibly more scenic route along the coast. Instead we took the road less travelled and promptly got lost.

lost (/lôst,läst/) adjective

unable to find one's way; not knowing one's whereabouts.

“Lost” is a funny sort of word. The emotions it conjures up are often negative. Feeling lost can equate to fear and anxiousness. When we lose something or someone, our loss is a feeling of sadness.

Yet there is a joyful, more affirmative feeling of being lost. We can lose ourselves in a piece of music, a daydream, an idea. The altered state that comes with going deeper and letting go can allow us to places of discovery, both real and imagined.

In Turkey, it led us to gozleme.

On a backroad nowhere near the Mediterranean, we saw a roughly drawn sign simply announcing Gozleme. “Pull over!” I cried.

A Turkish woman sat like an apparition, intent on the task at hand. Rolling out a small ball of dough to paper-thin consistency, she carefully laid it out on a piping hot iron plate that sat on top of an open flame. With deft movements, she spread the dough with oil and herbs, laid another sheet of dough on top of the first and with a sleight of hand I couldn’t quite make out, flipped the entire disk over so that each side was slightly crispy, spotted with dark circles from the white hot heat.

This was gozleme. Crispy, golden Turkish flatbreads stuffed with all sorts of tasty fillings. In minutes she had made two: the original herb and a second flecked with cheese.

I can’t remember how much these freshly made delicacies were. A trifle compared to the magic of tasting them, all the more delicious for how unexpected they were. If this was getting lost, I was all for it.

Eventually we found our way back to our route, and on to Kaş, where we surrendered to the blazing white heat, the startling blue sea and the stunning bouganvillas that cascaded down everywhere.

We were back on track, our journey once more following its prescribed route. But being lost took on a new nuance and meaning. The promise of the discoveries that getting lost can bring wasn’t - well - lost on us. And it’s a path we’ve been taking ever since.

Poached halibut with tomato-olive sauce

Biba Caggiano, From Biba’s Italian Kitchen

serves two

Like giving unwanted directions, I have a few bad habits that become particularly pesky depending on what time of year it is. Right now, in the height of summer’s glory, my habit of buying too much food runs rampant.

When tomatoes come into season I tend to go a little crazy. The counter is full of bowls of ripe tomatoes of all sizes, waiting to be made into my favourite tomato, corn and peach salad or this ready in 15 minutes fresh tomato soup.

It may be hard for me to break my habits but having too many tomatoes is one I’ll never lose. When I have an abundance of cherry tomatoes bursting with flavour, I turn to this delicious and quick recipe for tomato-olive sauce that’s perfect to poach halibut in, and has dinner on the table in less than an hour.

Note: this sauce is an excellent finish to your favourite pasta. Doubled or even tripled in quantity, it freezes beautifully.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

½ cup minced onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 anchovy fillet packed in oil, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

2 generous cups fresh ripe cherry tomatoes, larger tomatoes cut in half

8-10 pitted black olives, halved

1 tablespoon capers, drained and rinsed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 6-ounce halibut or sea bass fillets (skin on or skinless)

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is lightly golden and soft, about 5 to 7 minutes. Be sure not to let the onion brown.

2. Add the garlic, anchovies and the parsley. Sauté for 1 to 2 minutes more, then add the tomatoes, olives and capers and season with salt and several grindings of pepper. Bring sauce to just a boil, and then lower to a simmer over medium low heat and partially cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are softened and breaking down, about 10-15 minutes.

3. Taste and adjust the seasoning then add the fish, skin side down, and cover the skillet. Bring sauce to a simmer and sauté the fish gently until it is cooked all the way through, about 10 to 12 minutes.

4. To serve, spread some of the sauce in the centre of serving dishes, place to fish over the sauce, and spoon more sauce on top. Serve with a good crusty bread to sop up the delicious sauce.