Turkish Food Passion

Turkish White Cheese (Beyaz Peynir)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Sun, 20 Jan 2019 01:43:00 +0000

This recipe was prepared over a year ago and I had an issue with the program I was using for the pictures after changing computers. I never got a chance to get back to what I was using before, so I decided to publish these not so great pictures as they are instead of waiting any longer. I had a few more pictures illustrating the the process, but it may take another year for me to work on those! I think it's better to publish the recipe before I forget about all together!

White cheese is a very important staple in Turkish cuisine. No Turkish breakfast is complete without white cheese. It is eaten widely through out Turkey whether it is plain for breakfast with bread or as a filling for various types of boreks and pastries. It can also be used in different types of dishes such as Mediterranean salads, zucchini fritters and etc.

Every time I visit a Turkish store, I buy several containers of Turkish white cheese for breakfast and boreks. It can be confused with feta which is very similar but not the same. I used to think they were the same. They keep for a long time so it is convenient in that way.

Th last time my mother visited me, she made white cheese for us and I truly didn’t believe it would be similar to the store bought one. To my surprise, it was pretty close! I loved the taste and the texture. After she left, I made it several times and it turned out pretty well. Now, I rarely buy Turkish cheese anymore.

I have not used the regular store bought milk to make this yet, but I would think it should turn out the same. I use either the raw or the low pasteurized grass fed Jersey cow whole milk that I buy from my local farmer. It makes a difference in the taste for sure but store bought whole milk should be fine too.

Enjoy as stuffing for pastries, as topping on toast or just on Mediterranean salad!

Turkish White Cheese (Beyaz Peynir)

1 gallon whole milk

3 cups plain whole milk yogurt

6 cups water

2 tbsp salt

1 large cheese cloth

1 medium glass jar

In a large pot, boil milk. Monitor milk while boiling to prevent it from spilling over. Placing a large spoon or spatula inside prevents it from spilling.

As soon as it boils, pour in the yogurt and let boil for a few minutes until it starts to get a thick curd.

Turn it off and let it cool for 30 minutes to one hour.

Place the cheese cloth inside a large colander and place the colander inside a pot if you would like to save the whey (all the water from the milk/yogurt). The whey can be used for smoothies, cooking rice or other types of grain and carries good nutritional value. Otherwise, just place the colander in the sink to drain. Pour the boiled milk/yogurt inside the cheese cloth and tie the cheese cloth.

Place the cheese cloth with the curd in a colander and put heavy objects on it to press it and squeeze all the liquid out.

Leave it for about four hours until all liquid has drained out.

In the mean time, boil water. After it boils, add the salt and mix until the salt has melted.

Let it cool completely.

Open the cheese cloth and cut it in squares or rectangles.

Place the salty water in a glass jar. Put in the cheese pieces and close the jar.

Place in the refrigerator. It will be ready to eat in 2-3 days. This will keep in the refrigerator up to four weeks but is fresher if it is eaten within 2-3 weeks.

Note: Do not keep this more than 4 weeks as it will get sour and not edible. Also, do not store leftover cheese in the refrigerator without the salty water. It will go bad immediately!

Homemade Butter (Ev Yapımı Tereyağı)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Sat, 10 Jun 2017 21:21:00 +0000

For years, I have been craving homemade butter. Growing up, I remember observing my grandmother make butter with a tall, round, wooden butter maker. I call it butter maker, because I do not know the name of it. I remember her shaking it vigorously for a long time to make the butter. The butter making process stayed vaguely with me however my collection of the taste of that butter is still vividly in my mind.

I almost thought it was impossible to make homemade butter like my grandmother here in the United States. Mainly, because I wasn’t sure of the access to raw milk from grass fed cows but after a few years of thinking about it (of course I had other things to think about during those years and not just butter making J), I finally I found the source of raw milk.

After having my children, I became almost obsessed with providing them with real and fresh food. A very bad experience with the famous store that carries a wide range of organic foods, grass fed meats and pasture raised chicken had me in a constant search for an organic food provider. After wowing not to ever shop in that store again, I started searching for farmers around my area. I tried a couple farmers until I stumbled on a farmer that provides raw milk, grass fed beef, pasture raised chickens, free range chicken, duck, goose eggs, organic vegetables and a few other items. Even though the drive is about 35 minutes each way, I visit the farm almost weekly and always buy at least two gallons of raw milk. I make yogurt with one gallon and I save one gallon for my kids to drink after I boil it. When the cream comes up to the top, I add it to the milk saved for yogurt.

I make the yogurt and place it in the refrigerator. Then, each week, I skim the cream from top of the yogurt in small containers and freeze them. When I am ready to make the butter, I remove them from the refrigerator the day before to thaw. Sometimes I make a big batch of butter and freeze some of it, sometimes I make just enough for one week. The freezer always has at least 4-5 medium containers of yogurt cream!

This butter is so delicious, I cannot describe. It’s not even close to what we get from the grocery stores. Before I started my own butter, I used to cook only with olive oil and never with butter. I would only bake with butter because I had to in most cases. Now, I cook with this butter constantly. In fact when I was taking the picture with the bread, half the butter was already gone and I had made it the day before!

It’s easy but a little messy. The first few times I tried making butter, I tried several recipes I found online. I used my stand mixer to do it and oh the mess was so huge it took me longer to clean up than making the butter. First of all, the butter wasn’t successful the first few times and on top of that, my counters, walls, the stand mixer was all splashed with butter. In fact, some parts of the mixer that I didn’t know existed had butter all over it. And I had to get it all out. When I managed to make the butter in the stand mixer, I still had to deal with the clean up.

Then, I found a couple recipes using a blender, but those weren’t successful the first two times. Either I wasn’t patient enough to wait or I let it blend too long and it would melt or I was putting too much water. I went back to my stand mixer butter making and cleaning up the mess. Then one day, I decided to make a small batch with my blender and never went back to the stand mixer. I had to keep stopping it and checking it to make sure the butter pieces were forming. It literally takes two minutes to blend and much less mess.

If you don’t have any of the equipment and you have lots of patience, you could do this in a jar and lots of shaking. Also, cream of milk can be used instead of yogurt cream, but I think yogurt cream is superior in taste of the butter. Whichever way you decide to make it, it will still be delicious though! In addition, with homemade butter, you will have buttermilk to drink as is or use in baking and cooking. Now to the recipe…

For Butter Making:

4 cups plain yogurt cream (Plain yogurt made with whole milk that still has cream in it. See yogurt recipe here.)

2 cups ice water

For Washing Butter:

4 cups or more ice water

Place the yogurt cream in a blender and add two cups of ice water.

Blend on high for two minutes on a high powered blender. Some blenders may need more time. When it’s ready, small butter pieces will accumulate on the top of the blender.

Place a mesh colander in a large bowl and pour the contents of the blender. The butter pieces will stay on the colander.

Slowly, start pouring the ice water over the butter and mix it with a spatula gently so all the water goes down in the bowl.

Continue this washing process until there is no water left in the butter. The butter will clump up together and form a bowl while doing this.

Remove from colander and shape the butter as you desire.

Enjoy cooking with it or eat it on warm homemade bread.

Note: The buttermilk from this process can be drank as is or used in baking or cooking.

The Sultan’s Delight (Hünkar Beğendi)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Mon, 29 May 2017 21:07:00 +0000

Finally, a recipe to share after a year! Life gets in the way and it becomes difficult to spend time on blogging. My hünkar beğendi recipe has been waiting for almost a year to be published. Now that it’s eggplant season again, I thought it’s a good time to share it.

You may be curious about the name of this recipe. It translates to “The Sultan Liked It”. One of the stories behind this recipe is that during the early 17^th century, Sultan Murad IV loved this recipe so much that it was named “Hünkar Beğendi” which means “The Sultan Liked It”. The other story says that the wife of Napoleon III, Empress Eugénie of France visited Istanbul as a guest of Sultan Abdulaziz in 1869 and this dish was on the menu as the Sultan was trying to impress Empress Eugénie. She loved the dish so much that she asked if her chef could go to Palace kitchen and learn to prepare this dish. The Empress’ chef couldn’t replicate the recipe as he said the Palace chef threw out his books, scales and etc. and said, “an imperial chef cooks with his feelings, his eyes and his nose.” The Empress had to return to France without this recipe, but the name was after her liking the dish.

The lightness of this recipe is how it won me over. I wasn't impressed when I tried it at a restaurant the first time I had it. Even after having it again and again, I just wasn’t in love with it. It was just okay. I decided to make it anyway. The first time, it didn’t win me over. But I wanted to love it, so I worked on the recipe several times until I loved it! Even my four year olds liked the eggplant pure. It’s silky smooth and felt very light in my mouth. The summer season is upon us and it means lots of eggplants. I have been getting beautiful eggplants for the past couple of weeks from the farmer’s market here in Houston and experimenting with different recipes. I think this recipe is best with seasonal eggplants, but you can make it any time of the year if you wish. Enjoy with rice or a nice slice of bread.

For Marinating the Meat:

½ cup white vinegar or any type of vinegar

1 tsp salt

For the Stew:

1 lb diced lamb

½ cup diced onions

3 medium garlic cloves

2 large tomatoes (peeled and diced)

1 tsp dried mint

1 tbsp parsley

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 ½ tbsp butter

1 tsp red pepper flakes

½ tsp cumin

2 tsp salt

1 cup water

For the Puree:

2 large eggplants

1 ¼ cup milk

½ cup shredded kashkaval cheese (or any type of hard cheese)

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp black pepper

1 ¼ tsp salt

1 clove garlic (grated)

For the Stew:

Marinate the meat over night or for a few hours in salt and vinegar. Heat a pot or large pan without oil and cook the meat until no longer pink. When all the juices from the meat comes out, discard it. Put the meat aside.

Heat the butter in a pot. Saute the onions until transparent. Add the meat and stir until the meat is brownish on the outside. Add the garlic and tomatoes. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients including water in the meat pot and cover. When it starts boiling, turn it down to medium low heat. Cook covered for about 2 hours until the meat is tender.

For the Puree:

Cook the eggplants on open fire. To attain the smoky flavor, it needs to be cooked directly over fire such as on gas stove or in an outdoor fire. If not, broiling or baking will work too without the smoky flavor.

Let the eggplants cool and peel them.

Puree the eggplants with a potato masher and mix the lemon juice. Set aside.

Heat the butter. Add the flour and stir continuously. Add the milk and continue stirring. Add the grated garlic and the eggplant puree-lemon juice mixture. Add the rest of the ingredients for the puree and simmer for about 20 minutes.

In a large plate, place a couple spoons of the eggplant puree and make an opening in the middle. Add the lamb stew inside the opening and enjoy with rice or bread.

Ladies Thighs Meatballs (Kadınbudu Köfte)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 23:35:00 +0000

It has been way too long since I have published a recipe on my blog. Life is busy with children, work and home. Most of the food I have been cooking is catered toward little children and don’t even have the time to document it let alone to take pictures and post. But this recipe really deserves some space on my blog. My children loved it and I couldn’t keep from having another and then another.

The name of this recipe might get your attention as it is named after women’s thighs. I did some research and tried to find out where it gets its name, but was not successful. I am guessing this was the name given during the Ottoman era because it resembled women’s thighs. In any case, these meatballs are so succulent and flavorful you will not be able to stop yourself from having another one.

Serve with fries or potato pure and salad.

For the Meatballs:

2 lb ground beef

1 large onion (grated)

½ cup white rice

1½ cup water

1 egg

1 tbsp chopped parsley

2 tsp salt

¼ tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

For Frying:

1½ cup flour

3 eggs

2 cups olive oil

Wash the rice and place in a small saucepan. Add the water and cook. When the water starts to boil, turn it down to low and cook until all the water is absorbed and the rice is soft. Cool the rice by setting it aside.

In a pan, add half of the ground beef and cook in its own water until it’s no longer pink. Add the grated onions and cook for a 3-4 more minutes and remove from heat. Set aside and cool.

In a large bowl, add the raw ground beef, cooked ground beef, egg, cooked rice, parsley, salt, cumin, paprika and black pepper. Mix well with your hands until all the ingredients are integrated. Pull a golf sized piece of the meat mixture and make an oval shape and slightly press it down. Repeat this until all the meat mixture is used up. Refrigerate for at least two hours so that the meat balls become firmer.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Beat the eggs in a wide bowl. Place the flour in a wide plate or bowl. Once the oil is hot, take one meat ball, dip in the eggs and then in the flour and drop in the hot oil. Do not crowd the meat balls in the frying pan so they cook quickly. Frying a few minutes on each side is sufficient for the meat. The outside of the meatballs will take a golden color and will be crunchy while the inside will be flavorful, soft and moist.

Turkish Zucchini Fritters (Kabak Mücveri)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 21:36:00 +0000

I have made mücver throughout the summer without following a recipe and each time making differently. This version, by far has been the tastiest one. Most of the time, I do not add white cheese and I think I will never make them again without it. The cheese adds such a wonderful flavor. I was already full when I made these, but I couldn’t resist so I ate two while making them. These are also great for little children who usually would not eat zucchinis. Enjoy!

3 zucchinis

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic (optional)

½ cup chopped fresh parsley

½ cup crumbled Turkish white cheese (or feta)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried mint

1 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp cumin

2 eggs

1 cup flour

1 cup olive oil

Peel the zucchinis in stripes and grate them along with the onion. Squeeze all the juice out from the zucchinis and the onion. Add the rest of the ingredients except the olive oil. Mix well.

Heat about ¼ cup of oil and place spoonful of the zucchini mixture.

Cook several minutes on each side until both sides are golden brown.

Remove and add another ¼ cup of olive oil for the next batch. Repeat this until all the olive oil and the zucchini mixture is used up.

Serve with yogurt garlic sauce (crushed garlic mixed with yogurt) at room temperature.

Kebab Stuffed in Eggplant Pots (Saksı Kebabı)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 21:20:00 +0000

I could not resist posting another eggplant recipe before the summer season is over. By chance, I found these beautiful looking, organic eggplants and I had to buy them. There are so many Turkish recipes with eggplants, so I like to try something different each time. This recipe I have not made before, but after tasting its deliciousness, I will make it more often. It goes excellent with crusty bread or rice or both!

5 large eggplants (black beauty found in most grocery stores works perfect)

Pot of salty water

2 cups olive oil for frying

For Kebab Stuffing:

1.5 lb cubed beef

8 shishito peppers (or 2-3 long, slim green peppers)

4 medium tomatoes (peeled and diced)

1 large onion (diced)

2 large cloves garlic (chopped)

¼ cup olive oil

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp thyme

2 tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

2 cups of water

For Sauce:

2 cups water

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp salt

For Garnish:

2 sliced tomatoes (optional)

10 shishito peppers (or 2-3 long, slim green peppers)

Heat a pan and place beef cubes. Cook until they release their water and remove from heat. In a pot, heat up olive oil.

Add onions and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add peppers and diced tomatoes. Saute another 3-4 minutes. Add beef and garlic to the pot. Add two cups of water. Add salt, cumin, black pepper, thyme. Stir, cover and cook for 1 hour or until the beef is tender.

Wash and dry eggplants. Cut in half and clean inside to create a pot from each half.

Add to the salty water and let sit for 1 hour.

Wash eggplants and sprinkle the inside and the outside with salt. Dry and fry until all sides take a golden color.

Place all eggplants in a baking dish with the openings facing up. Fill each pot with stuffing.

Garnish green peppers and if desired with tomatoes.

In a bowl, whisk the water, tomato paste and salt. Pour over the eggplants. If there is any juice left from the stuffing, pour it over the eggplants also. Bake at 350º F for 1 hour or until the eggplants are completely tender. Serve hot with rice.

Eggplant with Green Lentils (Mualla/Yeşil Mercimekli Patlıcan)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Tue, 04 Aug 2015 04:32:00 +0000

Eggplant is one of my favorite summer vegetables. I don’t seem to be cooking with it as much now since my kids don’t love it. One day, I really craved eggplants so I decided to make something saucy with eggplants. This recipe is traditionally made in Hatay/Antakya (Antioch) region and it is just incredibly delicious. The pomegranate molasses gives it such a good kick. It is particularly delicious with flat bread, but I served it with rice, instead of bread.

2 large eggplants

3 large tomatoes (peeled and diced)

3-4 green peppers (cut in fourths and sliced)

1 large onion (cut in fourths and sliced)

4 cloves garlic (chopped)

1 cup green lentils

1 tbsp red pepper paste

2 tsp crushed red peppers

1 tsp dried mint

1 tsp sumac

2 tsp salt

¼ cup pomegranate molasses

½ tsp thyme

¾ cup olive oil

Peel the eggplants in stripes. Cut each eggplant in eights and slice diagonally.

Fill a large pot with cold water and add salt. Place the sliced eggplants in salty water and let sit for an hour.

Wash the lentils and place in a small pot. Add two cups of water and boil for 35-40 minutes or until the lentils absorb all the water and are soft.

In a large bowl, combine the cooked lentils, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, sumac, mint, crushed red pepper, red pepper paste, thyme and pomegranate molasses.

Drain the eggplants and set aside. In the bottom of a large pot place half the lentil mixture.

Place the eggplant slices on top of the mixture and pour the rest of the lentil mixture on the top. Drizzle with olive oil.

Cook on stove top for 15 minutes on high heat and then turn down the heat and cook for 1 hour. Enjoy with rice.

Spicy Cookies from Hatay (Hatay Kömbesi)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 21:13:00 +0000

These delicious, spicy cookies are traditionally made in the Hatay province right after Ramadan, during Şeker Bayramı which translates to “Sugar Feast”. Almost every household in Hatay region makes these cookies in very large amounts which usually involves friends, relatives and neighbors getting together to make them. They are either baked at home or at the local bakery. Trays and trays of kömbe are sent to local, wood-fired bakeries during this season and the delicious smell just swifts through the air in the neighborhoods. Some bakeries stay open all night to keep up with baking these cookies. During the “Sugar Feast”, people visit each other and these cookies are served for the guests.

In other regions of Turkey, “kömbe” is the name for a pie/börek, so it can get confusing for people who are not from the Hatay region.

When I was growing up and eating these cookies during the holidays, I didn’t care much for them as they were abundant during this season. In the past 20 years that I have been here, I probably have eaten them only several times. Mainly when my mom would sneak them in my suitcase when returning to the U.S. after a visit or send them over with someone. Certainly, I have not had them the past 5-6 years at all. Recently, I saw them at a cousin’s Facebook page during the “Sugar Feast” and remembered them. Then, I craved them! I called my mom and got her recipe for it as I never attempted to make it before. I followed my mom’s recipe, except I added milk. I have never seen my mom put any milk in them, but some recipes call for it. Some people also stuff them with dates, or walnuts. I am not fond of the stuffed version. Traditionally, these cookies have special wooden molds for them. Since I do not have these molds, I used my mini tart shells to make the molds. I also made round cookies, flat cookies and even animal shapes for my kids.

Several years ago, I had a reader named George who had been to Antakya/Hatay and had purchased these molds and asked me for a recipe where he could use these molds. I had promised that I’d post it some time, but never got to it. I am not sure if I did lose that reader as I have not been actively posting on my blog, but if you are reading George, here is the recipe!

7 cups white flour

16 oz butter

1 whole nutmeg

1 small stick cinnamon

12 cloves

7-8 small pieces of mastic

½ tsp mahleb grounded

1 ½ cup sugar

¼ cup olive oil

1 cup milk

Lots of sesame seeds

Grind the nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, mastic and mahleb. Combine them. The combination should amount to 1-2 tbsps depending on the desired strength of spices. Melt the butter. Add the sugar to the butter and mix until the sugar dissolves. Add the olive oil and milk and continue to mix. Add the spices and stir well.

Place the flour in a large bowl. Slowly add the butter, sugar, milk, olive oil and spice mixture. Mix until a dough forms.

Make walnut sized balls with the dough. Spread the sesame seeds in a flat plate.

For tartlet shell mold:

Take the ball and press one side onto the sesame plate.

Press into tartlet shell making sure the sesame part of the dough in the bottom.

Turn the tartlet shell upside down on the sesame place to coat the top of the cookie with sesame.

Place on a baking sheet.

For a flat cookie:

Take a ball and flatten with hands.

Cut with cookie cutter of your choice or a glass.

Coat both sides with sesame.

For circle shaped cookie:

Take a ball and start rolling back and forth to create a few inches long stick with the ball.

Roll the stick into the sesame plate.

Join the ends.

Place on the baking sheet.

Heat oven to 350 F° and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cookies start to take a golden color.

Enjoy with hot Turkish tea.

Rice with Carrots (Havuçlu Pirinç Pilavı)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 21:42:00 +0000

This rice dish is extremely simple. I have been purchasing colorful (orange, yellow, light purple and dark purple) carrots almost every week. Each time, I make something different with them. One week roasted, one week sliced for salads, shredded for carrot salads, sautéed and etc. I shredded some this week to add to salads and other meals and wanted to add to rice. It really turned out great. The best part is one of my boys who does not like to eat carrots, kept asking for more rice. I may try ‘cacık’ (yogurt soup) with carrots and see how that turns out.

Enjoy warm.

1 cup white rice

1 cup shredded colorful carrots (or one color)

¼ medium onion chopped finely (or a very small onion)

1 tbsp chopped parsley

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

2 cups water

Heat the olive oil in a small pot. Add the onions and carrots together and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Wash the rice with cold water. Add the rice to the pot and stir for one minute. Add the water, salt and parsley. Cover and cook on high heat until the water boils. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 30-35 minutes or until the rice is soft. Serve warm.

Turkish Style Potato Salad (Türk Usulü Patates Salatası)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 22:37:00 +0000

Here is a simple, light and delicious potato salad: Turkish style. There is no mayonnaise or eggs in it, but if you would like it a little creamy, both ingredients can be added. Instead of green onions dried red onion and instead of green garlic a garlic clove can be used. The green onions and green garlic are from my small garden so I preferred to use them. The pictures show more green onions and garlic than what the recipe calls for. The last minute, I decided not to use them all in the recipe and left them for other types of salads. For two medium potatoes, I think the amount of the greens is perfect. Enjoy!

2 medium russet potatoes

½ cup chopped green onions & green garlic (3 green onions and 1 green garlic)

2 tbsp chopped parsley

1 tsp sumac

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp salt

¼ cup olive oil

Place the whole potatoes with skin in a sauce pan and fill water to cover them. Boil for about 45 minutes or until tender. This can be checked with a fork.

Let them cool. Peel the skin.

Cube the potatoes and place in a deep bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss. Enjoy alone as a snack or a side dish.

Cigaratte Rolls (Sigara Böreği)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 22:30:00 +0000

Sigara böreği takes its name from the shape of cigarettes. Although I truly loathe cigarettes, I love cigarette rolled boreks! Addictive is the right word to describe these little rolls. In Turkey, they are usually served as appetizers, for breakfast and as an afternoon snack with a hot Turkish tea. I have tried making these numerous times using whole fat Turkish white cheese and each time the cheese would leak during frying and ruin their appearance and taste. I have tried rolling them differently, adding an egg white to keep the cheese together but it kept leaking. Then I realized I was using cheese with whole fat which was causing the leaking. Since I couldn’t find low fat Turkish white cheese, I used low fat feta and for the first time I prepared rolls that did have leaked cheese during frying. They were so good to look at I was hesitant to eat them (no, not really) J I do not normally purchase anything low fat or diet so I had to make an exception for this. They tasted incredibly good but I know that they taste even better with whole fat white cheese.

You may substitute the filling with other types of cheeses, minced meat, chicken, potatoes or even spinach. Enjoy hot right after you fry them. They will be so crispy and delicious!

2 cups crumbled low fat white cheese (or feta)

1 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1 package triangle pastry leaves (about 20 leaves)

4 cups sunflower or canola oil

Place the white cheese in a bowl and add the parsley. Mix well.

Place one triangle pastry leaf on the counter and brush the edges with water.

Add a table spoon of cheese in the wide section of the triangle pastry leaf.

Fold from both sides and start rolling.

Dip hands in water when sealing.

Repeat the same process until all the triangle leaves are used up.

Heat up the oil. Add a few of the rolls and start frying.

It should take only a few minutes. As soon as the rolls start taking a golden color remove and drain on paper towel. It is better to fry as little as possible; that way they will fry faster.

Note: If you cannot find triangle shaped pastry leaves available in Turkish or Middle Eastern stores (ucgen yufka) and able to find regular Turkish yufka, you could cut the large round piece of yufka into eight triangles. If you cannot find yufka, you may substitute regular (thinner) phyllo dough for it.

Baked Pastry with Leeks and Chard (Fırında Pırasalı ve Pazılı Börek)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 18:32:00 +0000

With winter comes, my favorite winter vegetables: chard and leeks. I started buying chard and leeks because of their nutritional value which I feed my little kids on a weekly basis. I grew up eating chard which I was not fond of but my mother only made it with a yogurt soup with grain which is eaten cold. I don’t recall eating it any other way. For böreks, my mother only used spinach and never chard. After I learned cooking many years later, I tried böreks with Swiss chard and regular chard and I was very happy with the results. This time I wanted to add leeks since I had them on hand and really it was so light and delicious!

I prepared the stuffing ahead of time and froze it as it is almost impossible for me to make everything the same day with two little kids and work. I made the dough the same day I made the böreks and the stuffing tasted as if fresh. We all enjoyed them; especially my boys. They kept wanting more and more. Even though I was in a hurry when making them and didn’t take very good pictures, I think the pictures are acceptable and will explain the steps pretty well.

Caveat: You will most likely have leftover dough. I could have adjusted the proportions for the recipe, but I did not want to do that without really trying it. You can use the left over dough for any type of stuffing you like or even a small pizza.

Now it’s time for the recipe.

For the Dough:

6 ¼ cups white flour

2 ½ cups warm water

1½ tsp yeast (optional)

2 tsp salt

1 tbsp red pepper paste (optional or red pepper can be substituted)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup olive oil for brushing boreks

½ cup flour for rolling

For the Stuffing:

2 bunches of chard (around 10 chard leaves)

2 leeks

2 garlic cloves

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tsp cumin

1 ½ tsp red pepper flakes

¼ tsp black pepper

1 ½ tsp salt

Prepare the Dough:

Let yeast sit in warm water for 25-30 minutes until it bubbles.

Using a Stand Mixer:

Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer. Add the flour, salt, red pepper paste and olive oil in the mixer bowl and run it on stir. Gradually add the yeasty water. Change the speed to 2 and let it knead the dough until it is soft. It should take less than five minutes. Cover with a damp cloth and let it sit for two hours.

Manually:

Add the flour, salt, red pepper paste, olive oil and half of the water and start kneading. Add the rest of the yeasty water gradually and continue to knead until soft dough is attained. It should take about 15-20 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth and let it sit for two hours.

Prepare the Stuffing:

Remove stems of chard from leaves.

First steam stems of chard until soft as they will take longer to cook than the leaves. Remove and steam chard leaves until wilted. Chop both stems and leaves small.

Slit leeks in half and wash thoroughly several times to remove all the dirt between the layers.

Chop finely. Heat olive oil in a pan. Sauté leeks first for 4-5 minutes.

Add chopped chard, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper flakes and black pepper. Stir for a couple minutes and remove from heat and cool.

Prepare softball size dough balls and sit aside.

Take about 2 tbsp of flour and place on the dough rolling surface. Take one of the balls and place it on top of the flour. Add another 2 tbsp of flour on top of the dough ball.

Flatten with your fingers and start rolling.

Make the pastry 9-10 inches in diameter, smaller if smaller pastries are desired.

Add 3 tbsp of the stuffing in the middle of the rolled dough and fold the outer 1 inch from the left, right and the bottom to create a triangle.

Place on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Repeat until all the dough and the stuffing are used up.

Heat up oven to 375º. Bake for 15-25 minutes or until the böreks take a golden color.

Enjoy with hot tea or with cold yogurt or yogurt drink.

Baked Eggplant Kebab (Tepside Patlıcan Kebabı)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 00:12:00 +0000

This truly delicious dish comes from the city of Gaziantep,

Turkey

which is very famous with its cuisine. After Hatay (my Province), I like Gaziantep’s food next and then Adana which is about two hours away from my hometown. I have only passed by Gaziantep and have not been there to taste all the delicious food, but when I was very young we had a family acquaints who were from Gaziantep and would come to enjoy the Mediterranean beach for the summer months. As our families spent a lot of time together during their summer vacation, I have tasted some of their food. One thing I still remember from those days was when we stopped by one day the lady was making stuffed eggplants. She insisted on us to try it before we left and we did. To this day, the taste of that stuffed eggplants is still in my mouth and have never forgotten it. It was hot, but extremely delicious and I must say I have not eaten any better stuffed eggplant than that. I have tried to recreate it in my adult life by asking my mom about the ingredients, but I have not been fully successful. Now that we’ve gone back to childhood memories, let’s get back to the eggplant kebab.

Gaziantep is known with its eggplant kebab which is normally made on a grill which tastes even better. But this one is also extremely good and probably easier cooking as you put it in the oven and forget about it. I made this twice so far; in the initial trial it is juicier than I would have liked and also I used the fat eggplants that I had in hand. In Gaziantep the long eggplants are know as “kebaplık patlıcan” meaning “eggplants specifically for kebap”. This version turned out better than the first one. The amount was perfect for two adults and two small children and we had leftovers. You can easily double the recipe for a larger amount.

1 lb ground beef

4-5 eggplants (long eggplants)

1 tomato (cut in half)

8 pearl onions

2 green peppers (any kind of long and thin peppers will work)

1 clove garlic (chopped fine)

1 small onion (grated)

1 tsp red pepper flakes

¼ tsp ground black pepper

1 ¼ tsp salt

For the Sauce:

2 tbsp tomato sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 cup cold water

For Soaking Eggplant:

5 cups cold water

2 tsp salt

Mix ground beef, garlic, grated onions, red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt well.

Pull a walnut sized piece and slightly flatten. 1 lb ground beef made 17 small patties.

Cut the eggplants 1-1.5 inches wide.

Cut as many pieces as the number of ground beef (in this case 17). Soak the eggplants in the salted cold water for about 30 minutes to get out any bitterness that may exist. In a round pan, arrange the beef and eggplants by alternating with one piece of eggplant and one piece of meat starting from the edge of the pan until all the meat and eggplants are used up. In the middle of the pan, place the tomato halves and the pearl onions.

Mix the salt, olive oil and tomato sauce with 1 cup of water. Pour it all over the pan.

Add the green peppers and cover with aluminum foil.

Bake at 400º F for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and continue to bake for another 15 minutes until the vegetables show signs of roasting. Five minutes of broiling also will work.

Enjoy with rice pilaf or just flat bread.

Note: If your pan is bigger and have a lot of room left in the middle, you may add more tomatoes, onions and green peppers inside.

Green Beans with Ground Beef (Kıymalı Yeşil Fasülye)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 15:52:00 +0000

We have been really enjoying all the seasonal vegetables this summer: zucchinis, green beans, eggplant, okra, green and red peppers and of course a lot of tomatoes. Every week at least 3-4 of these vegetables are consumed in our households depending on the availability. I like to purchase them all organic and sometimes organic is not available. In that case, I purchase what is fresh and organic. Lately, organic, fresh looking green beans are available almost every week at the market I shop, so I have been purchasing them and cooking them either just with tomatoes or with tomatoes and chicken or beef. I have posted several green bean stew recipes in the past and I wanted to add another one as this is a versatile dish. This one is with ground beef. I also like it with stew meat but for my little boys, ground beef is easier to chew so I don’t have to cut the meat really small for them.

I cooked this in a Dutch oven but any type of pot will do. If you do not wish to put it in the oven, you may cook it on stove for about 1.5 hours or until the beans are tender. Traditionally, this is cooked on the stove top.

2 lbs green beans

6-7 large ripe tomatoes (peeled and diced)

1 small red onion (chopped)

3 large cloves garlic (crushed)

2 lbs ground beef

1/2 cup olive oil

2 1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

¼ tsp ground black pepper

6 cups water

Cut the ends of each green bean and slit in the middle without cutting through the end. The beans will split in two and stay attached at the bottom. Take the split beans that are attached at the bottom and cut diagonally around 1 ½ inch long. In addition to cooking faster, when the beans are split in half, all the wonderful juices go inside them which produce a delicious flavor.

Heat olive oil on medium heat. Add the ground beef and stir until no longer pink. Add the onions and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the green beans and then the crushed garlic and stir.

Continue to sauté for another 3-4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, paprika, cumin, ground black pepper, salt and water. Stir well.

Preheat oven to 420°F. In an oven safe pot or dutch oven, bake for 2 hours. Remove from heat and enjoy with rice.

Yogurt Drink (Ayran)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 20:41:00 +0000

One of the most refreshing drinks, ayran is enjoyed throughout the summer in Turkey. It pairs very well with kebaps and bulgur dishes. You will find ayran in most Turkish restaurants in the States as it is very popular. I do not know any Turkish person who does not love it, but I think it is an acquired taste for most Americans.

The yogurt used in this recipe is home made and whole milk is used. I am not sure if it will taste the same with low fat milk, but I think it still would be very refreshing. Enjoy!

4 cups yogurt

1 cup cold water

1 tsp salt

Mix the yogurt, water and salt in a blender and blend until smooth (a couple minutes). Pour out in glasses and enjoy cold!

Zucchinis with Lentils (Mercimekli Kabak)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 20:37:00 +0000

Another favorite summer time vegetable: zucchini. Without planning, I end up buying zucchinis every week in the summer since they are in season. Almost every time, I cook them in tomato sauce either with ground beef, with lentils or just with carrots and tomatoes. They’re delicious in my opinion. Although, I used to almost hate them when I was little. When I find myself with little time to cook, I slice them and broil them and they still taste great. So this recipe is one of my favorite ones with zucchinis. A side of rice would go perfectly with this light recipe.

4 zucchinis

3 carrots (shredded)

4 tomatoes (peeled and diced)

3 cloves garlic (crushed)

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 small onion (shredded)

¾ cup brown lentils (soaked for 1 hour)

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tbsp tomato sauce

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp red pepper flakes

¼ tsp ground black pepper

1 ½ tsp salt

2 cups water

Cut each zucchini in half lengthwise. Then, cut each half in half again ending up in four pieces. Chop the quartered zucchini ending up in large dices.

Heat olive oil. Saute the onions for 3-4 minutes or until transparent. Add carrots and continue sautéing for 2-3 more minutes. Add garlic and lentils. Cook for 3 minutes while continuing to stir. Add tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes with lid covered. Add tomato sauce and water and cook for 5 more minutes. Add zucchini and stir well. Cover and cook for 45 minutes on medium to low heat. Add the parsley and stir just before removing from the stove.

Rose Pastry with Beef and Spinach (Etli ve Ispanaklı Gül Böreği)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 21:36:00 +0000

I have made these boreks with potatoes, spinach and cheese filling separately in the past. This is the first time I am trying them with meat. All versions turned out really good. Anything with phyllo dough tastes wonderful; at least that’s what I think. The shapes of these boreks are attractive which makes me wanting to eat one more and one more…The filling is very easy to make and can be prepared ahead of time. These can be served as an appetizer, main dish or a snack. I had them with hot Turkish tea and it was delicious!

1 lb ground beef (95% lean)

1 bunch spinach (approx 1 lb)

1 medium onion (chopped finely)

2 cloves garlic (chopped finely)

¾ cup parsley (chopped finely)

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp red pepper flakes or paprika

1 ½ tsp salt

¼ tsp black ground pepper

1 package (1 lb) phyllo dough

½ cup milk

½ cup olive oil

1 egg

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the ground beef and cook until the beef is no longer pink and releases its water. Pour out the water and add the olive oil. Stir. Add the onions and sauté until onions are transparent. Add the garlic, salt, red pepper flakes and the black pepper. Saute for a couple of minutes and turn off heat. Add the chopped parsley and stir again. Let it cool.

Wash the spinach several times. Remove the stems and steam for about 3 minutes. Let it cool. Chop coarsely and add to the meat mixture.

Mix the milk, olive oil and egg until everything is integrated well.

Lay one phyllo dough sheet on the working surface (long side towards you).

Brush the all the phyllo dough sheet with the milk/olive oil/egg mixture.

Lay another sheet on top of it.

Add 3 tbsp of the stuffing along the edge of the sheet (approximately 1 inch from the edge).

Roll the sheet gently and brush with the milk/olive oil/egg mixture before rolling on top of the upper edge.

Place in a greased baking tray and brush with the milk/olive oil/egg mixture again.

Start with one end and roll it circular to give it a rose like shape.

Brush the borek roll with the milk/olive oil mixture so it sticks together well.

Repeat until all the phyllo dough sheets and stuffing used up.

Bake at 350º for about 50 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and enjoy warm.

Nightingale’s Nest (Bülbül Yuvası)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Tue, 27 May 2014 21:36:00 +0000

A cousin of the baklava, this dessert is equally delicious but with a different style. The nightingale’s nests look very appealing and hard to resist. I made these about a month ago and loved them. They tasted so delicious that I decided to make them again with a few little adjustments. Instead of pistachios, you may use hazelnuts, almonds or any other nut you may favor, but for me nothing beats pistachios. I think it is the most delicious nut so it is always my number one nut to use in desserts. Also, traditionally, I believe these are made with pistachios so I do not want to change that. For some reason, I love traditional foods the way they are and do not like to make a lot of changes to them.

In making this dessert, a thinner roller pin (oklava) is used to roll these pastries in Turkey, but since I do not have one I used a thermometer’s storage sleeve. See picture.

Below is the recipe.

For the Pastry:

1 lb phyllo dough

8 oz pistachios (finely grounded)

8 oz (2 sticks) butter

A thin rolling pin or a stick

For the Syrup:

3 cups sugar

1½ cups water

1 tsp lemon juice

For Garnish:

1 oz pistachios (finely grounded)

Add the sugar and water in a pot. Stir until the sugar melts. Let it boil for 2 minutes and add the lemon juice. Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes and remove from heat. Cool syrup.

Melt the butter slowly in a pan. Remove the foam and discard. Let it cool.

Grease a baking tray with butter. Take one sheet of phyllo dough and lay it on a flat working surface with the short side towards you.

Dip a pastry brush in the butter and spread all over the phyllo sheet.

Lay another phyllo sheet on top of the buttered sheet.

Lay the rolling pin at the bottom of the phyllo dough and sprinkle the 2 tbsp pistachios on top of the phyllo dough leaving about an inch without pistachio on top section of the phyllo sheet.

Start rolling the phyllo sheet over the rolling pin leaving the 1 inch on top.

From both sides crinkle the phyllo dough while the rolling pin is still inside.

Pull the rolling pin gently and close the ends of the dough leaving the 1 inch section in the middle of the circle.

Butter the phyllo dough immediately and place on the baking tray.

Repeat until all the phyllo dough sheets are used up. Pour any remaining butter on top of the nests.

Heat the oven to 350º F. Place the tray in the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. The longer it bakes the crispier it gets. Remove from oven and pour the cooled syrup on top of each round immediately. Cover with aluminum foil and let it cool. Distribute the 1 oz pistachios inside each of the nests. Enjoy with a hot tea or coffee.

Fried Dover Sole (Dil Balığı Kızartması)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Sat, 03 May 2014 14:44:00 +0000

My 17 month old twins love this fish. Ever since they were 8 months old, they have been eating this fish. I think the reason is because the fish is so delicate, it is very soft and doesn’t require a lot of chewing. Since this fish falls apart easily I usually sauté it in a pan for them, however I would like a little more texture to the fish so I decided to fry them since it was the family dinner. They actually had several rolls and normally each eats one filet only (they are very thin filets). When the dover sole is rolled up like this it can be fried or baked. I have tried it baked and I didn’t even need to hold it together with a toothpick. Enjoy!

2 lb dover sole filets

1 tsp salt

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp sumac

Juice of 1 lemon

For Frying:

1½ cup white flour

4 cups canola oil

In a large bowl, mix the lemon juice, salt, red pepper flakes and sumac. Add the dover sole filets and mix to coat the fish with all the ingredients. Roll each dover sole filet starting from the thicker side of the filet towards the thinner end. Place a toothpick in the middle to keep the roll together. Repeat this and place in a plate that has higher edges so that all the juices from the fish will drain to the middle of the plate. The juices then can be cleaned up with paper towel. Let them rest for 10 minutes so that all the water drains out from the rolls.

Heat the oil. Coat the dover sole rolls in flour and put in the oil. Fry until golden brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Serve with lemon wedges and rice.

Etli İçli Köfte (Stuffed Bulgur Shells with Beef)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 20:31:00 +0000

İçli köfte is also known as “oruk” in Turkey and in the Hatay/Antakya (Antioch) region where I am from, it is called “kibbeh” a word that comes from Arabic. İçli köfte is very popular in the Middle East and each country may have a different version of it. Even within Turkey or within Hatay, there are many different versions. This recipe is the içli köfte that I grew up with which my mother makes. I have posted another recipe “Stuffed Bulgur Shells” in the past however the shells had boiled potatoes instead of meat.

Since this version includes meat in the shell, it can be boiled instead of fried. I did both this time as I like both boiled and fried but if I had to choose, I would choose the fried ones.

As this is a very time consuming meal, it is not made often. I think it has been several years since I have made it, although the last time I ate it was 1.5 years ago when my mother was visiting for the birth of my twins. She made it for us several times and the day before she left she made quite a bit for the freezer. Although, I rarely had time to even cook the ones in the freezer after the babies, they stayed in the freezer a few months. If using a stand mixer, the time to make this decreases dramatically. My 17 month old kids loved it so much that a couple days later, I decided to make it again. I prepared two batches of the shell and the stuffing and froze them. When I want to stuff the shells, I will just remove them from the freezer one day before and just make enough for dinner.

This particular time, I prepared the stuffing and the shell one day and stuffed them another day and cooked them the day after. Preparing ahead of time will save a lot of time. Although I am a big advocate of fresh foods and not fond of freezing at all, sometimes it is inevitable due to time constraints, especially with these types of foods.

The illustrated pictures show how the shape is given; however just for fun I did a different (easier) shape for the last four köftes. I also had a little bit shell dough left over so I shaped this into small balls and boiled them and poured some of the olive oil/red pepper paste/garlic sauce to make bulgur balls. See my previous post for “Bulgur Balls with Spinach and Garlic (Sarımsaklı ve Ispanaklı Bulgur Köftesi) ”. This shell dough also can be used for this recipe.

As mentioned in my previous “Stuffed Bulgur Shells” post, an easier version of the stuffed shells can be by making it in a pan. You would spread a thin layer of the bulgur dough on a greased pan, add the stuffing and cover the top with another layer of the shell dough, drizzle with olive oil and bake it. See a couple pictures below from a while back.

I also once shaped the shells like a scoop and fried them. Then the stuffing was scooped with the shells. See a picture below from a while back.

The other version I tried was making them in the shape of bulgur balls and fried them and added stuffing and mixed them together. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture for this but you can refer to my bulgur balls post. So as you can see you can be creative to make these.

I would like to add that the ladies who are expert in making these, like some of the older ladies in my hometown, are able to make the shells very thin. Mine were thicker than I would like but I think I am getting better at it each time I make them.

Enjoy with "Cacık" (yogurt with garlic and cucumbers) and salad or any salad greens. As you can see in the pictures above, we had them with the onions, garlic, radishes and arugula from my little garden as well as a "Shepard Salad" and "Yogurt".

For the Shell Mixture:

3 cups red bulgur or white (fine grind)

1 lb ground beef (95% lean)

1/2 cup semolina

1/2 cup flour

2 tbsp red pepper paste

2 tsp salt

2 ½ cups cold water

2 cup oil for frying (or as much as it takes)

For the Stuffing:

1 lb ground beef (95% lean)

1 medium onion (chopped finely)

2 cloves garlic (chopped finely)

¾ cup parsley (chopped finely)

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 ½ tsp salt

¼ tsp black ground pepper

For Boiled Köfte Sauce:

2 fresh stems garlic (or dried if fresh not available)

1 tbsp red pepper paste

½ cup olive oil

To Prepare the Stuffing:

To Prepare the Shell:

Using Stand Mixer:

Pulse the ground beef in a food processor several times. Set aside.

Slip the flat beater attachment to the beater shaft of the stand mixer while it is still unplugged (for safety reasons). Place the bulgur, semolina, flour, red pepper paste, salt and the beef in the stand mixer bowl.

Set the speed to stir and add water gradually. Once all the ingredients get wet, set the speed to 2. Let it mix good for 4-5 minutes and then set the speed to 4. Keep adding the water gradually as the stand mixer is running. Let it run for 10 minutes.

You may need to scrape the sides of the bowl in between. The bulgur dough should get soft enough to be workable (give a shape). Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cheese cloth.

Below is a picture of how the end result of the shell mixture should look like.

Manually:

Add all the shell mixture ingredients including the pulsed ground beef and 1 cup of water and start kneading. Gradually add the rest of the water while kneading. Keep kneading for 30 minutes (longer if necessary) until all the ingredients are mixed well and the bulgur dough is soft enough to give a shape. The reason for this length of time is because the bulgur is not soaked ahead of time. To reduce the kneading time, soak the bulgur in hot water for about 10-15 minutes. See previous recipe for Stuffed Bulgur Shells (İçli Köfte) .

When the shell mixture is ready, follow the instructions below to create the köftes. Below is a picture that shows how the process works starting from number 1 on the left side:

Take an egg sized piece and put it in your left palm (if you’re right handed; otherwise put in your right palm). Make sure your hand is dipped in water before starting to shape the shells.
Wet your right index finger and stick it into the egg sized piece and make a hole in the shell.
Make a half circular movement clockwise and counter clockwise with your index finger into the shell while it is still on your palm to create a thin shell (as thin as possible).
Fill the shell with stuffing and close gently.
Soak your hands in the water and gently pat the köfte to make sure it is smooth and any tears are patched.
The final shell should look smooth and intact.

While you are working with the shells, keep the remaining mixture covered with a damp cloth. As the mixture tends to dry out, make sure you roll each ball in your hands (make sure your hands are dipped in water) before shaping the shells.

If for some reason the bulgur dough is too soft and cannot be shaped, add some flour and that should solve the problem.

For Frying:

Heat the oil in a large pan. When the oil is hot, add the stuffed shells and fry both sides until they take a brownish color as shown in the picture below. This should take only a few minutes.

For Boiling:

Boil half of a large pot of water. Once the water boils, gently add several köftes depending on the size of the pot. Let them boil for 5 minutes. Remove gently. Drain and place in a serving platter.

Sauce for Boiled Köfte:

Chop the garlic if using fresh stems. If using dried, crush them. Mix the garlic, red pepper paste and olive oil until all ingredients are integrated.

Drizzle over the köftes. Also serve the sauce with the köftes. Drizzle the sauce over the stuffing in the köfte with a small spoon after each bite.

Fried Smelts (Gümüş Balığı Kızartması)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 21:33:00 +0000

It has been over 20 years since I have had fish this small. I remember eating small fish such as hamsi (anchovy) and izmarit (picarel) when I was small. It has been tempting to buy it when available but since I am the only one who is willing to eat it in the house, I never bought it before. This week when I was shopping I saw the fresh smelts and they looked attractive. I bought them without hesitation. They turned out really good and I satisfied my craving of fried, small fish. Smelts are common in Turkish cooking, but this is my first time cooking them. I think next time I will bake them in the oven in tomato sauce. Enjoy with rice or bulgur pilaf and salad greens.

1 lb smelts

1 tsp salt

1 tsp red pepper flakes

½ tsp cumin

¼ tsp ground black pepper

For Frying:

1 cup white flour

4 cups canola oil

Wash and drain the smelts. Place the fish in a large bowl and add the salt, red pepper flakes, cumin and the ground black pepper. Mix by hands to make sure all the fish are seasoned well.

Heat the oil. Coat the smelts with flour and fry for about 5 minutes or until the fish take a golden color. Remove from the oil and drain on a paper towel. Serve with lemon wedges.

Chicken Liver Wrap (Tavuk Ciğer Dürüm)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Sat, 22 Mar 2014 03:14:00 +0000

Nutritious and quick to prepare! Those are the first things that come to my mind when I think of chicken liver. Due to the fact that liver is rich in iron levels, I try to incorporate them in the twins diet. In the summer when my twins started eating meats, I had them try liver and they actually liked it. After a long while, I tried it again and they really enjoyed them. However, they only eat it fresh and don’t like to eat it as leftover the next day. So I had plenty of chicken liver to cook with after taking out their portion which led me to make chicken liver dürüm (Turkish wrap) which was wrapped with Turkish lavaş bread that was purchased at a Turkish market. Of course, those packaged lavaş breads are nowhere near the freshly made lavaş breads made in Turkey, but we’ve got to work with what’s available. I actually would love to try to make lavaş bread one day. If I do, I will definitely share the recipe here. Even with the packaged lavaş bread, these turned out really delicious!

For the Liver Sauté:

1 lb fresh chicken liver

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp dried thyme (ground or crushed)

¼ cup olive oil

½ tsp cumin

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

¼ tsp ground black pepper

¾ tsp salt

For the Dürüm:

2 lavash breads (or any other flat bread)

Zerzevat (see recipe under previous post Chicken Shish Kebab (Tavuk Şiş Kebab) and Zerzavat (Onion Salad with Sumac and Parsley) ---cut the ingredients in half from the previously posted recipe, i.e. half onion)

Wash and drain the chicken livers. Dry with paper towel and cut each liver into four pieces.

Heat olive oil. Add the liver. Sprinkle with salt, red pepper flakes, cumin, thyme and black pepper. Stir well so that all the spices integrate into the liver. Cook for a few minutes stirring continuously or until the liver takes a dark brown color. Remove from heat and add the parsley. Give it another stir.

Heat the lavash bread in the oven for 1 minute or until warm and soft. Divide the liver into two servings and place on the breads. Add the onion salad and roll the bread keeping the liver and the onion salad tucked inside.

Enjoy with salad and plain, cold yogurt.

Walnut Spread with Red Pepper (Biberli Ceviz)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 03:49:00 +0000

Besides the taste and the simplicity, the versatility of this dish encourages me to make it more often. As it is traditionally served as a spread on flat bread, it can also be served as a spread for sandwiches, wraps and crackers. It is a quick way of getting a healthy, filling and tasty dish. I actually had it with baked flounder and potatoes the next day which turned out really great. Biberli ceviz is made in the city of Antakya, Turkey (the region I am from) very frequently however we did not consume it much in our household. Only recently did I start making it mainly because I was in search of quick, delicious Turkish meals. This one is a keeper!

2 cups shelled walnuts

3 tbsp red pepper paste

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp cumin

2 cloves garlic

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

1 slice of wheat bread cut in small pieces (or white bread)

Dash of salt (adjust to your taste)

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and grind until a paste is attained. Serve on top of bread or crackers as an appetizer, side dish, a snack or as a spread for a sandwich.

Broiled Chicken Marinated in Pomegranate Juice (Nar Suyu ile Izgara Tavuk)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:55:00 +0000

There was a pomegranate in the fruit drawer of my refrigerator for a long time. For weeks and weeks (pomegranates can keep for months) every time I would open the drawer to grab a quick piece of fruit, it would stare at me and I would stare back at it thinking that it is time to eat it. This repeated almost every day for quite some time until finally I had an idea (certainly not a new one) that I could use its juice in my cooking as it is cumbersome to eat the pomegranate. It is more cumbersome to open it and remove all the juicy seeds! Since I finally went through all that trouble to open it and remove the seeds, I thought I would eat half of it. The other half went into the blender to create the juice.

With my little ones and my job, it is very hard to find the time to cook or enjoy a piece of fruit by myself. As a person who loves to eat good food, I miss cooking and eating well. For a few months, we tried to eat prepared food since we had no choice (either that or we went hungry), but I got tired of it quickly. Now, I try to cook maybe once or twice a week with whatever is leftover from the boys’ meal ingredients. Since my babies started solid food, I have been cooking their meals as I refuse to give them prepared foods. No matter what, I do make the time to cook for them. I just had to reorganize my priorities. I did try to feed them prepared meals only a couple of times, however I know what I cook for them is far better and healthier. Their meals include but not limited to eggs, salmon, dover sole, chicken, beef, lamb, tofu, fennel, leeks, swiss chard, carrots, beets, collard greens, red, brown or black rice, bulgur, a variety of fruits (fresh and dried), nuts and etc. I also incorporate different types of spices as I want them exposed to these spices early on so they will be open to different types of flavors. I use cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric, curry, red pepper paste (mild), ground black pepper, red pepper (mild), thyme, garlic, parsley and etc. in their meals. They like it all and I am happy to see that as they are only 15 months old.

This chicken recipe was created for them and I added a couple extra pieces. The chicken was delicious. The skin looks burned due to the red pepper paste, but the chicken itself was very moist and flavorful. With rice and salad, it was just perfect for me. My boys liked it very much too. I hope you will also enjoy it.

4 pieces of chicken legs (any part of chicken works)

½ large pomegranate (or 1 small one)

Juice of 2 lemons

1 tsp red pepper paste

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil

Blend the fresh pomegranate and strain to remove the seeds. Discard the seeds and add the lemon juice, red pepper paste, ground black pepper and 1 tbsp olive oil. Blend again. Puncture the chicken pieces from several places with a fork to allow the sauce to get inside the meat. Place the chicken in the sauce and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Remove the chicken from the sauce and place in a baking dish. Sprinkle the salt on both sides of the chicken pieces and drizzle with the rest of the olive oil.

Bring the oven to a broil and broil 5-7 minutes on each side or until the chicken is cooked.

Note: Ovens may vary, therefore there may be a need to adjust the cooking time. Also, the amount of the pomegranate doesn’t really matter that much as long as you have enough juice to cover all the chicken.

Turkish Coffee (Türk Kahvesi)

noreply@blogger.com (Mediterranean Turkish Cook) — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 00:52:00 +0000

While organizing some folders, I noticed that I had semi-prepared a post and taken a few pictures of Turkish coffee several years ago. When I saw that, I decided to spend a few minutes to post the recipe for Turkish coffee.

If you haven’t tried Turkish coffee, mostly likely you have heard of it. Turkish coffee is very popular where most Turks enjoy it daily; in the morning, afternoon and even at night. It’s part of the Turkish life style. Turkish coffee is always served to guests. Visiting friends and family always includes Turkish coffee and afterwards, the fortune telling (not with formal guests). After the coffee is finished there will be a residue in the bottom of the cup. Covering the cup with a saucer, the coffee residue is spread around the cup by shaking the cup and turning it over where the saucer is in the bottom and the mouth of the cup is right on top of it. After waiting for a short while the coffee cup is removed and the symbols inside the cup are translated to the person who drank from the cup. It is always fun to listen to these fortune telling. Some people take it seriously but most do it just for fun. I remember when I visit Turkey we would drink our Turkish coffee in the morning and then ask my mom to read our fortune. She’d say a few sentences and then she would finish and when we protest, she would say “I know your whole life, what do you want me to tell you?” In the afternoon, we drink our coffee again and we turn our cups upside down and ask mom to read our fortune and then she would say, “Honey, I read your fortune this morning, nothing changed since then”. We would have our laugh with this as we only did it for fun. Of course there are people who pay money to have their fortunes read and some who take advantage of these people. In any case, we have a saying in Turkey that says “Fala inanma, falsız da kalma”, meaning “Don’t believe in fortune telling, but don’t stay without it either”.

Personally, I have never been an avid coffee drinker, however the past six months it has been my best friend. Not the Turkish coffee, but the American coffee. I have to drink it every morning since I don’t get enough of sleep because of my beautiful boys. The American coffee is easy to make so that’s the route I go and it works. In the afternoon, if I am not too busy at work (I am fortunate enough to be working in a home office for the past couple of years) I go and make myself a nice cup of Turkish coffee. This really alerts me and helps me get through the day well accomplished. I just sometimes get lazy to make the Turkish coffee as you have to attend to it. But I just bought a container of Turkish coffee from a Turkish store and I plan to enjoy it in the afternoons when I feel like I need an extra kick to get me running.

Enjoy your coffee.

2 tsp Turkish coffee (available at Mediterranean stores)

1 tsp sugar (optional)

1 Turkish coffee cup of water (approximately 2.5 oz)

Pour the water in a cezve (Turkish coffee pot) and put on low heat. Add sugar and the Turkish coffee and stir.

Remove from heat when the foam starts to come up just before boiling. Pour a little of the coffee in the Turkish coffee cup or spoon the foam into the cup.

Either way, the foam will be in the bottom of the coffee cup. Put the rest of the coffee back on heat and remove when it starts to boil. Pour the coffee over the foam in the Turkish cup.

Enjoy alone or with chocolate.

Note: The sugar in the coffee is optional. Some people like it şekersiz (bitter), medium (with little sugar) and şekerli (sweet). I personally like it ‘medium’ and have never liked ‘bitter’ coffee. Şekerli Turkish coffee is also attractive to me. You may adjust the sugar amount to your taste.