ISTANBUL | When it comes to fish, size isn't everything. Take the tiny Black Sea anchovy, known in Turkey as hamsi. It may be small, cheap and unremarkable looking, but is nevertheless known as the "little prince" of fishes. In the Black Sea area, where hamsi are caught, the finger-sized fish are a staple, used in dozens of dishes and forming an important part of the local economy. The arrival of fall means the start of hamsi season, and for many Istanbul food lovers, it's a time of celebration.
"Some people look down at hamsi, because it is a small, inexpensive fish. But it's actually a very precious fish, a very important fish," said Dilara Erbay, a chef whose eclectic Bosporus-side restaurant, Abracadabra (50/1 Arnavutkoy Caddesi; 90-212-358-6087-88; www.abracadabra-ist.com), prominently features hamsi during its fall and winter season, serving it in an unorthodox ceviche and in a dish called hamsi kusu ("anchovy bird"), hamsi filets that are pressed around a black olive and baked in a stone oven.
Pera Sisore (Oteller Sokak 6; 90-212-245-4902), a bustling Beyoglu lunch spot that specializes in the hearty food of the Black Sea, serves a very tasty version of hamsi pilaf, the holy grail of the region's cooking. The fragrant pilaf is a kind of savory fish cake, made out of small hamsi filets wrapped around a thick bed of rice that is infused with herbs, currants and pine nuts.
For many aficionados, the fish is best enjoyed at its most simple: coated in a light dusting of cornmeal or flour and pan-fried. Furreyya Galata Balikcisi (Serdar-I Ekrem Sokak 2: 90-212-252-4853), a hamsi-sized fish house near the Galata Tower run by a talented husband and wife team, specializes in that simple, classic style, bringing out the small anchovy's big taste.
