Turkish Scrambled Eggs

(Menemen)

4 eggs
1 cubanelle pepper, chopped bite size
4-5 medium sized tomatoes, peeled, cut in bite size
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Salt
Pepper

Place the olive oil and cubanelle peppers in a large pan. Cook for about 2 minutes on medium-high heat. Then add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook for another 7-8 minutes over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Whisk the eggs in a bowl, and pour into the pan. Then add the feta cheese. Keep stirring periodically until the eggs are done. Make sure you don't overcook, otherwise it will be dry. Serve with bread.

Beef Stew with Onions

(Soganli Yahni)

250 gr beef or lamb, cubed
1 pkg (~300 gr) pearl onions, peeled
A few slices of orange peel
2 tbsp butter
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp tomato, crushed
Salt
Pepper

Cook the lamb first in a medium sized pot with 1 1/2 cups of water on medium-low heat. Check to make sure the lamb is done through. Then add in the rest of the ingredients along with another 1 1/2 cups of water. Cook for about 35 minutes on medium-low heat.

Semolina Dessert

(Irmik Helvasi)

Main:
1 cup semolina flour
125 ml unsalted butter
2 tbsp pine nuts

Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup milk

Cook the main ingredients on medium-low heat until golden brown in a large pot, constantly stirring. In another pot, mix the syrup ingredients until boiled. Pour the syrup very slowly into the pot with the semolina while stirring with a long wooden spoon. The mixture will be bubbly and will spit so be careful. Stir until the mixture leaves sides of the pot (it will become doughy), this shouldn't take more than a couple minutes.

Then place away from heat with the lid on, wait for 5 minutes and put in a bowl, leveled. When cooled, put it on a flat plate upside down. Serve in slices. You can put some chocolate sauce on top, if you like.

Potato Moussaka

(Patates Musakka)

6 medium-sized white potatoes, peeled and sliced 3/4 inches thick
150g medium or regular ground beef, cooked
1 small onion, sliced
1-2 garlic cloves, sliced
3 tbsp crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp red pepper paste
1 cubanelle pepper, chopped
1 tbsp butter
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cups water
1/2 tsp crushed pepper/red pepper flaks (optional)
Salt
Pepper

Garnish:
1/4 cup parsley, chopped

This is a very easy recipe. Place the potatoes in a large, deep skillet. Then add all the ingredients in the above order on top. Cook for about 20 minutes at medium-low heat. Wait for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with some oregano and chopped parsley and serve.

Halfmoons with Feta Cheese

(Poğaça)

Main:
10 tbsp (155 ml)(1 stick + 2 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
70 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 cups all purpose flour
1 egg
2 tbsp plain Turkish yogurt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Filling:
3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Glaze:
1 egg yolk

Pre-heat the oven to 375 F (190 C).

Put all the main ingredients in a deep plastic bowl. Mix well using your hand. Take a small piece of dough (about the size of a plum), make a little hole in it (picture) and then place 1 tsp of the filling inside (picture). Close it up, giving it a half-moon shape.

Place the pieces on a baking tray. Then brush each pogaca with egg yolk for glazing. Bake for about 30 minutes. This recipe will make about 22 pieces.

Have with tea in the morning or afternoon. Pogaca will taste better if you prepare the dough the day before you bake it and leave in the fridge overnight.

Manti

1 pkg (approx 400 g) wanton wraps, 3.5 x 3.5 inch squares

Filling:
150 g medium or regular ground beef
1 small onion, ground
Salt
Pepper

Garnish:
Yogurt with minced garlic and salt
2 tbsp butter
Powdered red pepper, spicy or non-spicy to taste

Cut the wraps diagonally, ie. two triangles per wrap. Take approximately half a teaspoon of filling in the shape of a ball and put in the center of each triangle. Have a cup of water nearby, and use your little finger to dampen the sides of each triangle (so the dough will stick) and close them up. Here are some pictures to help you with the preparation: Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3, Pic 4.

Put all the uncooked manti into the big size Ziploc or in a container with the lid. Keep it in the freezer at least for a day. Then keep it in room temperature for an hour before cooking.

Boil some water with a tablespoon of salt in a large pot. Put all the manti in and stir occasionally. Cook for exactly 5 minutes and then drain. Put in plates. Fry the butter in a small pan with the red pepper. First put some garlic yogurt on top of the manti, then add the fried butter.

Makes 2 servings. This goes very well with Ayran. You can also try keeping the manti in the freezer for a couple hours before you cook it. I find that it tastes better that way.

*If you like to make the dough from the scratch, you can use Gozleme dough to make yufka. But I give you another recipe to make Yufka and Cig Borek:)
2 cups milk
750 gr all purpose flour
Salt
Mix and knead them all.

Borek

Main:
454 gr (1 lb) Phyllo Pastry
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup water
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
3L (13x9x2") Pyrex casserole dish

For this recipe, choose one of the following fillings:

Spinach Filling (pictured above):
1 pkg (300 gr) frozen chopped spinach, thaw and squeeze it with your hands to get rid of excess water.
1/3 cup crumbled feta
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Black pepper

Beef Filling:
250 gr medium ground beef
1 onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 small cubanelle pepper, chopped
Salt
Black pepper

For Spinach Filling: Put the salt, pepper, olive oil and onion in a pan. Cook on medium heat for two minutes. Add the spinach and continue cooking for about 1-2 minutes. Put aside and add the feta cheese, stir.

For Beef Filling: Put the salt, black pepper, ground beef and onion in a pan. Cook on medium heat until the beef is done. Add the tomatoes and the pepper. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Put aside.

Now we can move on to the main ingredients. In a bowl, mix the eggs, olive oil and milk with a whisk. This liquid mix will go between every two layers of the pastry, and will complement your choice of filling. The spinach or beef filling will go in the middle only.

Grease the casserole dish. Place two sheets of the pastry in the bottom and over the sides of the dish. Spread 2-3 tablespoons of the liquid mix on top (picture). Take another two sheets of pastry, fold in half, and stack in the dish. (picture). Then, spread all of your main filling onto the stack (picture). Resume layering the pastry and the liquid mix until the pastry is finished. Then, fold the sides of the bottom layer over. Make sure you pour the remaining mix on top to prevent burning in the oven (picture).

Leave the casserole dish in the fridge for 2-3 hours, this way it will be more crispy and tasty. Pre-heat the oven to 175 C (350 F). Bake until golden brown (picture).

This recipe goes well with cherries by the side or Ayran. You can have it as a main dish (4 servings) or with afternoon tea as a snack.

*Ottoman Kitchen