Ricotta Cheese with Grape Molasses and few more breakfast...

(Lorlu Pekmez - Black Sea Region)

Mix the fresh ricotta cheese with grape molasses. Spread the mixture on the slice of freshly baked Turkish bread. It is great breakfast especially on cold winter mornings.

Murtağa (Van - East Anatolia Region)


3 tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour, all purpose
2 eggs, scrambled

Melt the butter in a small pan. Add the flour. Cook until the colour turns to a light golden shade while stirring at medium-low heat. Then pour the scrambled eggs all over it, stir without breaking it.

You can serve the Murtaga with honey or jam as a breakfast with Turkish Tea.

Black Olive-Feta Cheese-Tomato - (Zeytin-Peynir-Domates-Aegean Region)


Slice the tomato. Spread mashed garlic* with salt all over them. Place them in a serving dish. Cut the feta cheese in cubes and some Turkish black olive around them. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle some oregano and Turkish crushed red pepper all over them. Serve this delicious combination as a breakfast or as a supper treat or an appetizer:)

*If you serve the dish for breakfast, skip the garlic:)

Beef Stuffed Potato Kofte

(Icli Patates Koftesi)

Potato Kofte Ingredients:
2 medium white potatoes, boiled, peeled and grated
1 or 2 slices insides of Turkish bread, crumbled
1 egg white
1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch black pepper

Filling:
3-4 tbsp ground beef
8-10 slice of onion
Salt
Pepper
1 tbsp parsley, chopped

For frying:
1/2 cup flour
1 egg yolk + 1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup sunflower oil

First, cook the ground beef, onion, salt and pepper in a small pan. Then add the parsley, stir. Let it cool down.

Place all the pate ingredients in a bowl. Mix them with your hands. Leave in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Pour the oil into a large frying pan and heat it up. Meanwhile, take a ball of the potato mixture, make a hole and stuff a little bit filling inside, close. Give it a long shape as seen in the picture. First roll it in the flour, soak in the egg mixture, then roll it into the bread crumbs. Repeat it for the remaining potato mixture and fry all the pates until golden brown. Place them on the paper towel to soak up the extra oil.

Gaziantep Style Egg Salad

(Yumurta Piyazi - Gaziantep)

2 eggs, *boiled, cut in 4
2-3 fresh onions, chopped
1/3 cup, parsley leaves
4-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Red pepper, crushed
Salt
Pepper

Place the parsley on a salad plate. Arrange the egg slices over it. Sprinkle the fresh onions. Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle the crushed pepper all over the salad. Season with salt and black pepper. Serve immediately with toasted pide or bread slices.

*Cover the eggs (from refrigerator) with cold tap water in a small pot (If you use hot water for cold eggs, it causes cracks on the shell). Cook until the water reaches boiling point using medium-high heat. As soon as the water starts to boil, turn off the heat (I use an electric stove). If you leave the eggs in the hot water for 10 minutes, it will then be hard boiled.

-I love eggs cooked "between soft boiled and hard boiled" so I only leave the eggs in the hot water for 4 minutes. Then, soak into the cold water and peel.

Pomegranated Salmon with Kisir

(Somonlu Kisir)

1 slice salmon fillet
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp Pomegranate paste

Kisir

Heat up the butter and olive oil in the frying pan. Place the salmon on the frying pan skin side up and cook for about 7-8 minutes. Flip over, cook for another 5-6 minutes at low heat.

Place on a service plate with the Kisir, pour the pomegranate paste over the salmon and serve.

Fried Salmon and Kisir together goes very well. I wanted to give a sweet-sour flavor to salmon with pomegranate. And this flavor is also perfect for Kisir, too! So three of them became a great combination...give it a try:)

Chicken Pilaf

(Tavuklu Pilav)

Half chicken, bone in, withe skin
1 onion, peeled
Salt
Pepper
Turkish Rice Pilaf
2 tbsp almond, blanched, sliced, lightly roasted

Boil the chicken with water in a large pot (always add one peeled whole onion in it, discard after boiling). Take the chicken out of the stock (use the stock to make Turkish Rice Pilaf) and let it cool down. Discard the skin and all the bones from the chicken. Tear it apart in medium sized chunks with your fingers.

Meanwhile, cook the Turkish Rice Pilaf with the one cup of chicken stock. Add the almonds into the Pilaf, toss

Place the chicken meat into the bowl. Fill the bowl with the Turkish Pilaf. Press lightly on the top with back of the spoon. Turn the plate upside down. Lift the bowl slowly. Serve Chicken Pilaf with Ayran or Turkish Yogurt.

2 servings.

Long Green Bean Salad

(Taze Borulce Salatasi - Aegean Region)

Bunch of long beans or Chinese beans, wash, trim both ends

Dressing:
Extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice
Salt
Pepper

Bring the water to boil. Add the beans and boil for about 15 minutes, drain. Whisk all the dressing ingredients. Toss it with the beans while they are still warm.

Walnut Bread

(Cevizli Ekmek)

Dough:
7 gr or 8 g (1 packet) instant yeast
1 tsp sugar
100 + 100 ml lukewarm milk

2+1/3 cup (350 g) all purpose flour, unbleached
85 ml extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup organic honey
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
1 cup walnuts, crumbled
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tsp salt

Glaze:
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Loaf Cake Mold, oiled

Mix the yeast, sugar and 100 ml lukewarm milk in a small bowl. Stir well so the yeast dissolves. Let it rest for 15 minutes - it will become bubbly.

Place the flour in a large bowl. Add the bubbly yeast mixture, 100 ml lukewarm milk and olive oil. Put the dough on the floured counter and knead well for about 10 minutes until it becomes smooth. Cover and let it stand in a warm spot. After 1 hour the dough will double in size.

Place the rest of the filling ingredients in a large bowl with the dough. Start kneading, but don't worry; the dough will absorb them all, just keep kneading with both your hands:) When done, place the dough into the Loaf Cake Mold. With a razor or very sharp knife make 1 cm-long deep slashes on the dough for the steam to come out. Put in a warm spot for about 15 minutes. Brush egg yolk and olive oil mixture on top.

Preheat the oven to 420 F (220 C) for at least 20 minutes before you start baking. Place the mold on the middle rack. After 20 minutes turn the heat down to 400 F (200 C) and spray cold water on the dough. Bake for about 15 more minutes. Place the Walnut Bread on the wire rack so it cools off. Then slice it up and serve.

You can have this very tasty bread with your afternoon tea or coffee. I love to eat Sour Cherry Jam poured on top of the Walnut Bread:)

Swiss Chard Omelet

(Pazi Kaygana - Black Sea Region)

Bunch of red Swiss chard, washed, cut in small pieces -cut the stems off*
1 small onion, crush the onion with salt with your hand
2 fresh mint leaves, julienne cut
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
3 tbsp yellow corn meal
2 eggs, beaten
Salt
Pepper

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Cook both sides in a nonstick saute pan. Serve while still warm.

2 servings.

* Don't throw the stems, make Swiss Chard Stems Saute.

Swiss Chard Stems Saute

(Zılk Kavurma)

Bunch of red Swiss chard stems, washed and cut in 1 cm long
1 medium size onion, finely chopped
3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp red pepper paste
1 tsp red pepper paste, hot

Saute the onion with salt and olive oil for about 3-4 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cook for about 5-6 minutes until the stems are tender at a little bit under medium heat. Stir occasionally. Serve immediately with Turkish yogurt.

2 servings.

Turkish Eggplant Pasta

(Patlicanli Makarna)

2 servings of mini bow tie pasta
1 tbsp butter or extra virgin olive oil

1 medium eggplant
2 cups water with 1 tbsp salt
1/2 cup sunflower oil -for frying

Tomato Sauce:
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 heaping tbsp of diced tomato
2 heaping tbsp of crushed tomato, canned
1/2 red Bell pepper, cut in bite size
Salt

Peel the eggplant in lengthwise strips. Cut into large chunks. Soak in 2 cups of water with salt for about 20 minutes. Place sunflower oil in a medium sized skillet. Squeeze the eggplants with your hand and dry them with paper towel. When the oil heats up, fry the eggplants on both sides until golden brown. Afterwards, place on a paper towel to soak up any extra oil.

Boil the pasta with salty water following the instructions on the package, drain. Melt the butter in a pot. Toss the pasta and salt in it.

Meanwhile, combine all the tomato sauce ingredients in a small pot. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes with the lid on. Make sure it doesn't dry out. Turn the heat off, throw the eggplants in it, stir.

Place in a serving dish. Pour the cooked tomato sauce all over. Serve it with Turkish Bread on the side.

Makes 2 servings.

Chicken Chokertme

(Tavuk Çökertme)

Two medium sized chicken breast, cut in strips
1 tsp butter
1/2 cup yoğurt, room temperature
Parsley, chopped

Marinade:
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
Salt

2 medium sized white potatoes, thinly shredded julienne
1 cup sunflower oil

Garnish:
1 tbsp butter
1-2 garlic clove,mashed with salt
1 tsp red pepper paste
1 tbsp tomato paste

First, fill a medium sized plastic bowl halfway with water and add 1 tbsp salt in it. Soak the potato slices in it for about 20 minutes.

Heat up the liquid oil in a frying pan. Drain the potatoes, but don't rinse them and dry with a paper towel. When the oil heats up, fry the potatoes until golden brown. Afterwards, place on a paper towel to soak up any extra oil. Keep it warm.

Marinate the chicken strips for about 4 hours or overnight in the fridge in a container with a lid. Bring the chicken to room temperature 10 minutes before cooking. Heat up the Teflon pan. Then place the chicken strips and butter in it. Saute until the chicken is cooked at low-medium heat, turn the heat off.

Place the fried potatoes on a serving plate. Arrange the cooked chicken on them. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small pan. Add in the garlic, red pepper paste and tomato paste. As soon as it starts bubbling, pour all over the Tavuk Çökertme. Place the Yogurt Sauce on top and serve while still warm.

2 servings.