Rick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul Episode Rating Graph

Rick Stein's culinary odyssey has brought him from historic Venice to the legendary city of Istanbul, where he arrives in time for the bluefish season and catches a few himself while fishing on the Bosphorus. He also cooks lavish kofte kebabs with pistachios and the much-loved Black Sea dish kapuska.

Rick ends his Greek chapter in Malvasia, the home of resurrected 'malmsy', once medieval Europe's most sought-after wine, and indulges in the British's favorite seafood, mullet and squid. Then he enters his voyage's Asian leg on Anatolia's Western coast. He enjoys the original Turkish wines and cuisine, main heir to Byzantine vegetables and spices, praising the opulence of breakfast, variety of cheese and sultan's delight, the favorite Ottoman lamb dish.

From Albania, Rick enters northern Greece in the region Epirus, long the literary heartland, with lakes rich in fish, the culinary focus. Following in the footsteps of romantic author and independence war ally lord Byron, Rick visits the seat of the cruel pasha which even the Ottoman sultans had to execute, the inaccessible monastery that inspired Rick's favorite poem and Byron's place of death, Mesalonghi port, named by a Venetian. Everywhere the cuisine is simply and based on a few local ingredients plus some spices.

Rick leaves sophisticated Venice to continue his journey in formerly Venetian parts of the Byzantine empire, first to Ravenna, its major Italian monumental legacy, starring San Vitale basilica. The more basic cuisine includes risotto. Next he visits Croatia, notably Split, once the Roman emperor Diocletian's retirement seat, and the Island which claims to be the birth place of Marco Polo, himself allegedly the importer of pasta to Italy. Croatian cuisine focuses on simple dishes starring a few local ingredients, from seafood and meat to wine.