turkish delight au poisson

There was, understandably, consternation in the kitchen last night. I decided to test a recipe for Turkish Delight and, as this meant standing by the stove for an hour, I reckoned I might as well cook a smoked haddock kedgeree for tea at the same time. Mmmmm, fishy, turmeric-infused Turkish Delight, anyone? However, the fears of Simon and the children were allayed as I stirred the glutinous mass of what looked like sticky Vaseline and remembered to change spatulas when moving to the rice and fish.

We've made Turkish Delight before but it didn't turn out well. TD has a very strange texture but this stuff had the wrong strange texture, was too wet and slimy, and the flavour wasn't sufficiently 'boudoir'. As a result, I wasn't convinced that TD could even be made at home.

But I was not prepared to give up that easily and decided to have one last attempt. I found another recipe, stocked up on sugar and cornflour and set to work creating the extra-thick wallpaper paste-like mix to which we added rosewater and fuchsia food-colouring at the last minute.

Turning it out of the tin this morning, I could see that it had worked well. It is beautifully, pinkly translucent and gently scented, and when I cut it up and covered it with snowy icing sugar and cornflour, I could almost imagine myself in Narnia.

And how does it taste? Well, I reckon it's the closest I'll get to the real thing when making it in a domestic kitchen. It's soft and sticky yet firm and yielding. It's sweet and perfumed and it makes you very thirsty. It's not authentic Turkish Delight because I really don't think you can beat TD made the traditional way in Turkey. But I like to think it might tempt Edmund in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

One thing, though. You can cook TD and kedgeree at the same time, but I wouldn't say you'd get any Michelin stars for serving them together.

Or maybe I'm wrong. Now I come to think of it, my rose-scented, gelatinous Turkish Delight and smoked fish combination is not a million miles away from Heston Blumenthal's signature dish of oysters and passion fruit jelly with lavender... And look at the way he's convinced people it's what they want.

Comments

[Zoe]

Someday when I am not a poor student I will save my pennies and go to the Fat Duck. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the first thing on the menu was kedgeree turkish delight. I just hope it won't be along the lines of smoked mystery fish in aspic, which I had once at a very old-fashioned club lunch and felt ill the rest of the day.

[indiebird]

Just a quick note to say I am loving this blog. The turkish delight looks yummy. Never tried it myself but you have inspired me. Have made kinder toffee before (honeycomb) and this turned out ok once but not the time after.I'm not good at precise rules.... I think it must have been a temperature problem.

[Carol]

Well done and another beautiful photo. And Heston? I've been lucky to go to the Fat Duck and everything said about him is true. Pure genius.

[Rebecca]

Turkish Delight has been on my list for some time, my son is very curious to try it (as a result of Edmund)and I haven't managed to locally source anything that tastes remotely like the real thing, in situ. I am inspired by you to bump it a little further up my list, off to add cornflour to my shopping list (the rosewater has been sitting unopened in my cupboard for months...)

[Krista]

oh my... it looks SO lovely! i've never thought to try it but it will be nice to have a recipe on hand down the road for when we're reading Narnia with my little dude. (he's 3, a little too young yet as much as i'm itching to go from Elmo to Tolkien and Lewis!)

[Kathy Merrick]

Jane, I can't believe one can make Turkish Delight at home! Well, you can.
I made my kids TD lovers from reading Narnia and then from bringing some home from Fortnum and Mason or Harrod's food hall every time I went to London.
Maybe it's time again.

[Margaret Powling]

I want some. Now!!!

[Maryjo]

this looks seriously delicious!

[Jennie]

That Turkish delight looks divine! I've just eaten some chocolate covered Turkish delight but I am betting yours tastes a million times better than shop bought!

[kim]

That turkish delight looks delicious! A couple of years ago I attempted to make it for my daughter's Narnia party but it was a disaster and very time-consuming. We resorted to gorgeous shop bought TD which the children loved of course but your TD looks so tempting ...

[Brigitte]

If you put the Turkish Delight into the fridge for a while, it's much easier to eat and enjoy. You can even slice it thinkly and enjoy it slice-wise, like a lady does... :-)

[domesticshorthair]

That looks so delicious, and the color is just right.

[Gina]

That Turkish Delight sounds and looks divine! I love the real stuff but can't stand the sickly confection that is usually passed off as Turkish Delight.

I'm not convinced about the smoked fish combination though!

[Kathleen C.]

I remember that passage with Edmund and the Turkish Delight. As a child born and raised in the USA I had *no* idea what that was... but it sounded like it could be related to taffy... and I LOVED taffy. I would have considered abandoning my siblings and joining the White Witch for some good butter toffee taffy. (Hee! Still might!)
But this is something that I don't recognize. It sounds like a taffy texture... but rosewater scented? Gosh! And translucently roseyfuschia colored? Oh my! How beautiful!

[Lynn in Tucson]

Wow! Thanks for the article. That was great!

Marshmallows are quite fun to try at home. I use this recipe: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/real_food/article2340229.ece substituting a cup of broken peppermint candies for a cup of the sugar. We then dip the cut marshmallows in melted dark chocolate and add more broken candy bits to the top. They've become our annual Valentine's treat!

[Betsy]

My AP Literature class convinced our teacher to let us read "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" our senior year, and we went to see the movie..So my friend decided to make Turkish Delight for the class, and it did not turn out so well..Yours looks much better..

[Melissa A.]

That fish dish sounds delish!

I don't think I've ever had Turkish Delight, but I did admire some at a local Turkish restaurant once.

[Margo]

I read the Narnia Chronicles about every other year (I'm 32) and always thought, like Kathleen C., that Turkish Delight had to be buttery and caramely and utterly creamy. Well, I tasted some Turkish Delight a few years ago and just banished it out of my mind because I disliked it so much. I have my own mental version of Edmund's Narnian Turkish Delight which doesn't involve rose-scented anything!

[Elizabeth]

Thank you for the photos. I've read the books, but never know what Turkish Delight was.

[Kristin Nicholas]

Hi Jane: What a lovely color that confection is - that white powdered sugar puts it over the top. You're a brave soul to try such a thing.

And congratulations on the 3 year annie on the blog - it's such an amazing accomplishment, don't you think? I so enjoy your photos and writing - thanks from the bottom of my heart for doing this for all of us! You are a gem (as my dad would say). XO

[Sherry]

Gorgeous! I am looking forward to your book so much.

When I was growing up, I thought that Turkish Delight must be some thin, light, flaky sweet pastry, like the kind that I sometimes had for breakfast. I was actually pretty disappointed when I discovered what it really was and I still haven't tried it.

And for some reason, my youngest sister thought that Turkish Delight must be fried chicken. Apparently, children just substitute what they like best for Turkish Delight if they don't know what it is.

[Teresa]

'It's my one weakness'. A little Turkish Delight of an afternoon. I wasn't put off by your title and the reward was spectacular views of that powdery rose sweetmeat. Delightful indeed.

[Christiane]

this rosy colour would be my favourite choice for an angora scarf, mouth watering and sweet, by the way I laughed a lot by the idea of fish perfume and perhaps taste of those lovelies. they look great and very authentic.

[gillie]

oh dear, husband peered over my shoulder at just the wrong moment and is now requesting home made TD (his favourite sweet by miles). I have never ever even attempted to make it myself and to be honest am not all that fond of it. Still I suppose at least it will be the one bowl I won't be fighting the children for! I don't think I will manage anything so gorgeous looking as this ... but will give it a very tentative go!

[catherine]

Glad to say my fears upon reading the title were allayed when I read the full post! I am looking forward to this recipe in the new book in particular - I haven't had much luck making TD at home either, but fortunately have a fabulous middle eastern deli close to home that sells deliciously authentic TD by the box at an extremely reasonable price. My 11 year old made gorgeous rocky road with TD, marshmallows and roasted almonds or pistachios as Christmas presents last year, and we have had to make quite a few batches since!