Kitchen Discovery: PASTA with CARAMELIZED ONIONS

It is time to share some kitchen discoveries again!
Here comes an easy pasta recipe which I actually took from a film called 'Chef' . By the way I definitely recommend this film which is totally amusing BUT BE CAREFUL: YOU WILL GET CRAZY HUNGRY while you watch the film as you constantly see crazy delicious looking dishes!
And this recipe I am gonna share is a dish I saw in one of the scenes , where the man cooked a yummy pasta dish: Actually the only thing I saw was that he caramelized onions! And then he added these on the pasta and added some fresh parsley on top. That was it! But this totally took my mind , cause I adore CARAMELIZED ONIONS. And I just said to myself : Caramelized onions with pasta?? Why haven't I never thought of it?! I should try to do this as soon as possible!
So yesterday I gave it a try and as I did not have any recipe I just followed what I saw in the film and added a little bit my own creativity.
So here is the Pasta Dish I created by getting inspired from the scene:
PASTA WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND FRESH PARSLEY

Actually all you need to do is to slice TWO LARGE ONIONS and start to cook them on high heat with some OLIVE OIL. After a few minutes , as they become soft , (just before they start to get burned) take the pan and put it on the lowest heat and let the onions get slowly cooked on low heat. This should take at least 20-25 minutes. The more the onions rest on low heat , the more delicious they get: They get perfectly caramelized!
BUT at this point I prefered to add some seasonings: I put some pepper, salt, just a little bit sugar, garlic powder and finally two tablespoons of BALSAMIC VINEGAR which gives a perfect taste to the onions. And then I put the onions on low heat.
While your onions get caramelized all you have to do is to chop the fresh parsley and cook the pasta, drain, set aside. Besides, save a half cup of the water in which you cooked the pasta.
When both the pasta and onions seem ready just combine them, BUT DO NOT FORGET TO ADD SOME BUTTER AND PARMESAN CHEESE. (If you want you can also add some cream and turn it into a cream-sauce but I just wanted that the onions become the star of the dish- so did not add extra cream) Finally add a little bit of the the pasta water ( I did this so that the pasta does not taste too dry) and the fresh parsley. Stir the pasta for a last time until everthing gets combined well.
BON APPETIT!

Trattoria ENZO: I found the best Pizza in town - but the children almost killed me !

FINALLY !
I FOUND IT !
I found the best pizza in Istanbul ! It is classic, it is yummy , it is gorgeous , it is Italian !

Trattoria Enzo !
I was constantly looking at the photos of this place on Instragram and their pizza looked so yummy that I even started to see them in my dreams.... So at that point I realised that I have to go to this place as soon as possible !
And that day came last week. I am so happy to tell you that the Pizza tasted even more delicious than I thought ! A wonderful crust and an amazing sauce. The crust is so thin and crispy in the middle but then it suddenly surprises you with its fluffy corners!
The crust and the sauce: Aren't they the most important and the hardest criterias when it comes to a GREAT PIZZA? The toppings matter for sure, but to find tasty toppings is not as hard as managing the crust and the sauce. I suppose that is why I am not even a little bit surprised when ı see this huge creativity on the menus of many pizza restaurants in Istanbul when it comes to the combination of the topics ! Each restaurant has minimum thirty different pizzas on their menus ! When the basic of the pizza is disappointing, why not hiding it?
But THIS PLACE does not need any creative pizza combination to satisfy the customers because the pizza itself is so delicious! As a result they only have maybe 6 or 7 different options. Besides they dont throw the toppings like crazy on the pizza like every other pizzeria in town - you can still see the crust rather than a 'chunk of toppings in a disc form'.

So when it comes to taste I give a 10 to this place! By the way we went to this place carrying our dreams of the pizza, however we left it not only with the memory of the surprisingly good taste of the pizza but also the pasta ! Oh and these fresh warm breadsticks they serve with some olive oil ... They should not be forgotten either !

BUT UNFORTUNATELY when it comes to the place , I wont be giving a ten ! Here are some reasons:
Let's be honest: The decoration is wonderful with all details: especially with the classic italian table cloths they managed to create this typical italian trattoria athmosphere. HOWEVER it is completely IMPOSSIBLE to feel like you are in a cozzy italian restaurant: The first reason is the rush of the waiters which I totally could not understand! The second reason is the BIG MISTAKE the restaurant has made by opening this place in a SHOPPING MALL! Unfortunately, these families that obviously shopped like crazy for hours choose to have a break not in the food court but in this restaurant. It seems like they try to give around a message:  'Oh, we are so rich and intellectual that we do not eat at that simple food court of the shopping mall like the other losers! '
I really don't understand these people... They go inside carrying hundreds of shopping bags, order almost all the dishes written on the menu BUT do not even know how to sit proparly on a table and eat. Why all this drama?? Why is it such a BIG DEAL when they taste some pizza or pasta which the people in Italy eat almost every day for lunch??? Furhetmore, while the parents act so 'high', their children act the opposite way: Like they are put in an amusement park ! Playing around, throwing balls, in a RESTAURANT ! For these reasons I felt uncomfortable in this place.
But however I should admit that I still cannot forget this amazing taste of my pizza ! So, although these families drove me crazy, I am again expecting to go there again and get another pizza !!!

Where is it?

In a shopping mall called ' AKASYA ' at the asian side of İstanbul. Check the google maps! 

 

Çeçen Sok. Akasya Acıbadem
Acıbadem/İstanbul

Trattoria ENZO : Pizzanın tadı damagımda - ama cocukların da gürültüsü kulagımda !

Instragramdaki fotograflarına baka baka agzımın sulandıgı ve en sonunda gidip o son zamanlarda rüyalarımı süsleyen enfes pizzayı tatmayı basardıgım mekandır kendisi. Lezzeti en az görüntüsü kadar muazzam! önce pizzanın enfes domates sosuna ve incecik hamuruna hayran kalıyorsun,daha sonra kenarlarına dogru geldikce hamurunun o nefis kabarıklıgı ile pizza seni tekrar sasırtıyor! Pizzada esas meselede bu işte! Hamur ve sosta iddaası olmayanlar doldursun tabi üstüne malzemeyi! Bu sehirde denedigim cogu pizzacının zengin malzeme kombinasyonlarındaki yaratıcılıklarına sasırmamak lazım, pizzanın temelinde iş yok ki! Trattoria Enzonun ise binbir ceşit malzemeyle ikna etmeye ihtiyacı yok: menude ya altı ya yedi cesit, her biri iki üc malzemeli kısa ve net pizza secenekleri var. Benim de en cok begendigim tarafı bu oldu. Üstelik malzeme de öyle pizzanın kendisi görünmeyecek gibi boca edilmemiş: mantarlar pizzamın ortasında nazikce serpilmiş ve pizzanın kendi güzelligi böylece ön planda kalmayı basarabilmişti! Anlayacagınız tad konusunda yıldızlı on benden bu mekana. Yıldızı da önden gelen taptaze grissini,ekmek ve zeytinyagı üclemesinden geliyor. Ha bir de dana incikli taze makarnası! Pizzanın hayaliyle gittik, birde makarnanın ugrattıgı şok ile cıktık. Yanlız mekanın kendisi on numara diyemicem ne yazık ki.gerekcelere gelirsek...

Dekorasyon tüm ayrıntılarıyla düsünülmüs, kırmızı beyazlı örtüleriyle tipik bir italyan restoranı ambiyansı yaratılmaya calısılmıs, iyi hoş ama kendini italyanın o tatlı mütevazi trattorialarından birinde gibi hissetmenin mümkünatı yok! Gerek garsonların acayip bir telaşı, gerek icerideki bangır bangır müzik... en acı gercek ise alısveris merkezi icinde olması "hatası" nedeniyle delice alısverislerine ara vermiş olan sevgili ailelerin ugrak mekanı haline gelmis olması. Ah o aileler,  "food court bizi kesmez, italyan restoranında yeriz biz" mesajı verircesene etrafa süper havalı bakışlar atan, sonra o masayı kıtlıktan cıkmışcasına her türlü italyan spesiyalleri ile sadece donatmıs olmak icin donatan ve üstelik o güzelim yemekleri de masaya carpık bir sekilde oturarak sallapati yiyen aileler... Bu kasıntılık neden? İtalyanların her öglen tatillerinde bir kadeh sarap esliginde yedikleri makarnayı siz yiyince  niye lüks? Anneler babalar kasılırkene cocuklar ise tam tersi, lunaparka gelmiş misali ! Restoranın icinde ben diyim size körebe, siz diyin bana saklambac .. Ne oyun ararsan var! Kısacası pizzanın tadı damagımda kaldı, ama gönül bir de isterdi ki o leziz yemegin tadına şöyle sakin sakin hakkıyla varabilmek...