Bilal’in BuĞlama
No matter where you are on the Black Sea, there’s buğlama, and there are as many buğlama as there are Black Sea cooks. A buğlama (the Turkish word means “to steam” or “to poach”) can be cooked on top of the stove or in the oven, and it can be brothy, dryish, or something in between. It usually includes tomatoes. It can be austere—little more than fish poached in water with garlic and parsley—or extravagant, made with copious amounts of the region’s exquisite butter. Some buğlama are quick and easy; others require lots of chopping and a long time to cook.
This recipe for an easy “dry” buğlama, steamed in parchment paper in a skillet, is from an amateur fisherman named Bilal, whom I met in Sinop. Bilal makes his buğlama with anchovies, which I am almost never able to buy fresh, so I use skin-on salmon, mackerel, or bluefish fillets. Sardines work too.
If you slice the lemons thin enough, their peel will cook through and you can eat them with the fish. This dish wants good bread for mopping up the sauce, and a fresh green salad.
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Makes 2 generous servings
1. Cut a 2-foot length of parchment paper and center it in a 10-inch skillet that has a lid.
2. Put the fish, onion, garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl, drizzle over 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and gently toss. Transfer to the lined skillet.
3. Arrange the lemon slices in a single layer over the fish. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and the wine or water over. Fold the paper over to cover the fish and crimp its edges together to seal, then cover the pan. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes; do not uncover the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook, covered, for another 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how well cooked you like your fish. Remove the pan from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes.
4. Remove the lid, carefully open the paper, and serve directly from the skillet, so that diners can use bread to mop up the juices.