Stuffed Cucumber with Feta Cheese

(Peynirli Salatalık Dolması)

1 English Cucumber or 2 small sized cucumbers

Filling:
1/2 cup feta cheese, mashed with fork
1/4 red Bell pepper or Long red sweet red pepper, roasted, peeled, chopped
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Garnish:
7-8 slices red onion
Turkish black olive
Crushed red pepper
1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt

Cut off the top of the cucumber and carve out the inside. Mix all the filling ingredients and stuff the cucumber with a teaspoon. Sliced it up (as in the picture). Arrange them in a service plate. Keep it in the refrigerator for half an hour. Sprinkle salt and crushed pepper, drizzle the olive oil all over them. Garnish with olives and red onion slices.

Sauteed Mixed Vegetable with Walnuts

(Cevizli Karisik Sebze)

Onion, cut in chunks
Red Bell pepper, cut in bite size
Green pepper, cut in bite size
Mushrooms, cleaned, cut in 4
Zucchini, cut in half moon
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt

Walnuts, crumbled, lightly toasted

Saute the vegetables with olive oil in a large pan. Do not over cook! Season with salt. Sprinkle the lightly toasted walnuts. Serve as a side dis with beef or chicken.

Sauteed Mixed Vegetable with Walnuts and Egg


Fried the egg with butter in a pan. Place it top of the Sauteed Mixed Vegetable with Walnuts. Serve the dish with Pilaf with Tomato as a light lunch:)

Bulgur Pilaf with Shelled Fava Beans

(Ic Baklali Bulgur Pilavi - Hatay)

3/4 cup Turkish bulgur, large grain, washed and drained
1/3 cup fresh fava beans, shelled*
2 tbsp butter or 4 tbsp olive oil
1 medium sized onion, sliced
1 tbsp red pepper paste
1 cup warm water
Salt
Pepper

Garlic Yogurt Sauce:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1-2 garlic cloves, mashed with salt

Saute the onion with olive oil for about 2-3 minutes. Add the fava beans, red pepper paste, warm water, bulgur, salt and pepper into the pot, stir. Cover, turn the heat down to low heat. Cook until all the water evaporates. Let the Bulgur Pilaf stand for about 5 minutes.

Serve the Bulgur Pilaf with Shelled Fava Beans with Garlic Yogurt Sauce by the side.

2-3 servings.

* Peel the beans out of the big pods. Then peel the outer shells using a small knife.

Stuffed Pishi

(Içli Pişi)

1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup yogurt, plain
1 tsp baking powder or baking soda
1 tsp salt
~2 3/4 cup flour, all purpose

Filling:
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1/2 cup sun flower oil for frying

Stir the eggs, milk, and yogurt with a spoon. Gradually add the flour, baking powder and salt mixture add the liquid mixture, knead. Dough should be soft but shouldn't sticks to your hand. Set aside for about 30 minutes.

Give the dough a long shape, cut in 12-13 pieces with a knife. Pieces should be like an egg size. You can use roller to flat them or you can use your hands like did. Then put 1 tbsp of the filling inside. Close it up (picture).

When the oil heats up, fry the doughs on both sides until golden brown. Afterwards, place on a paper towel to soak up any extra oil.

Serve the Stuffed Pishi with the black olive, tomato, green pepper and Turkish Tea or Ayran.

Leavened Pishi
Pizza dough
Sun flower oil to fry

Cut the dough into egg sized pieces. Flat in 1 cm thick with the roller or your hand. Fry the both sides until golden color. Serve the Leavened Pishi with honey, grape molasses, black olive or cheese with Turkish Tea or Ayran.

Purslane-Yogurt Dip

(Pirpirim Cacığı - Malatya)

250 gr Purslane, washed and drained or 100 gr Rosettes
1-2 clove of garlics, mashed with salt
1 cup plain yogurt
4-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Mix the garlic and yogurt in a medium sized bowl until it is blended very well. Add the Purslane or Rosettes, toss. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the top.

* Purslane is one of my favorite vegetables and not well known in Canada. The plant has thick, small, round shaped moist leaves. The stems are especially juicy and delicious. It grows like a weed everywhere. I used to have them in my backyard, but they were smaller than they should be. Unfortunately I moved to a condo a couple years ago so I am not able to pick them up from my backyard anymore:( Recently my friend told me that she found something that looks like Purslane at a Loblaws in Toronto. It was very easy to find it on the shelf with the name of Rosettes:) They smell like roses when you chew it:D

Chicken Baked On a Clay Tile

(Kiremitte Tavuk)

1/4 chicken, bone in, with skin
Oregano
Salt
Pepper
1 onion, sliced
1-2 clove garlic, sliced
1/2 red Bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 cubanalle pepper, thinly sliced
Salt
If you bake white part of the chicken, place 1 tsp butter over the vegetables

Rub the chicken with oregano, salt and pepper. Fry the skin side for about 4 minutes in a Teflon pan.

Stack the mixture of onion, garlic, red Bell, cubanalle peppers and salt in the middle of the earthenware plate. Place the lightly fried chicken at the top with skin side up.

Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C). Place the dish on a middle rack of the oven and cook for about 40 minutes. If you want to be sure it is cooked, you can make a small cut in the chicken at the thickest point to see if the juices run clear. If you bake too long the chicken becomes too dry.

Melon, Watermelon and Feta Cheese

(Kavun, Karpuz ve Peynir)

Melon-cheese duo, indispensable hot summer night appetizer.....don't forget to put some roasted chickpeas next to them:)

Watermelon and Feta Cheese


Ice-cold watermelon slices, feta cheese and fresh bread out of the oven; my mother's and mine indispensable breakfast on hot summer mornings ... it still is:)

Grilled Mackerel

(Uskumru Izgara)

Mackerel fish, discard guts, wash with cold water and drain
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt

Season the inside and outside of the fish with salt. Rube the fish with olive oil with your hand.

Preheat the barbecue or oven (grill). Place the fish on the rack and grill for about 6-7 minutes each side.

Serve with lemon wedges, radish, Arugula Salad or Green Salad.

*The taste is better if it is eaten by hand:)
**Frozen Mackerel fish can be found here (Toronto) in each season.

Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

(Zeytinyağlı Kabak Çiçeği Dolması - Aegean Region)

10-11 Zucchini Flowers
1/4 cup water

Filling:
1/2 cup rice, washed and drained
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 tbsp currants
1 tbsp pine nuts
1/2 tbsp mint
1/2 tbsp dill, chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 tbsp sugar
Salt
3/4 cup water

Saute the onions with the oil for about 10 minutes in a medium-sized pot. Then add the rice, sugar and salt, stir and cover the lid. Cook on very low heat until the rice looks see through. Then add rest of the filling ingredients with 3/4 cup a cup water. Stir occasionally on low heat. Cook until all the water evaporates and put aside.

Fill the cold water in a bowl. Soak the flowers into the cold water. Remove and place them on the towel.

Gently fill the flowers with the filling using a teaspoon. Don't harm the pedals. In a medium sized pot, put small plate upside down. Line up all the flowers on the plate side by side. Pour 3/4 cup water from the side of the pot. Cover and cook until most of the water evaporates on medium-low heat.

Let it cool down first. Then, place it in a serving dish. Serve the Stuffed Zucchini Flowers at room temperature or chilled with lemon wedges.

Fava Beans with Lamb

(Etli Bakla - Adana)

500 gr Fava Beans, washed, trim both ends and shave along the sides with a knife. Cut them in a 2 cm long.
150-200 gr. Lamb, cut in cube
1 medium size onion, chopped
4-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 spoon full red pepper paste
1 + 1 1/2 cup hot water
Salt

Garlic Yoğurt Sauce:
1/2 cup Turkish yoğurt
1 garlic clove, mashed with 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp dill, chopped

Cook the lamb cubes with its own juice. After all the water evaporates, add the onion butter and olive oil, saute for a few minutes. Add 1 cup of hot water, cook over medium-low heat until all the water evaporates and the lamb pieces are soften.

Then add red pepper paste and fava beans saute over low heat until the beans colour turns to yellowish. Stir occasionally. Then add 1 1/2 cup hot water and salt. Cover the lid halfway and cook for about 25-30 minutes at low medium heat. If necessary add more hot water.

Serve Fava Beans with Lamb with Garlic Yoğurt Sauce on top.

2-3 servings.

Abu Ganush

(Abu Gannuş - Antakya)

1 large eggplant, roasted, peeled, drained
1 large tomato, cut in half, roasted, peeled, diced
1/2 Bell red pepper, roasted, peeled, cut in julienne
1 cubanelle pepper, discard the seeds, roasted, cut in julienne
1 medium size onion, cut in half and roasted, sliced
1-2 garlic cloves, roasted, peeled

Dressing:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice or pomegranate paste

Salt
Pepper

Mash the eggplant with fork. Then stir in the remaining ingredients. Whisk the dressing ingredients, pour all over it.

Roasted Eggplant:
Before putting in the oven, make holes on the eggplant with a fork so that it will soften and cook better. Then place on an oven tray and roast for about 35 minutes on broil. Then peel it, remove any hard seeds and place in 2 cups of water with 1/2 lemon juice to prevent dark colour. Leave it in for about 5 minutes. After draining, cut into small pieces with a knife. Alternatively, you can barbecue it until softened.

Roasted Red Pepper:
Cut off the tops of the red peppers. Discard the seeds. Cut each pepper in half. Set the oven to broil (grill), and heat it up. Place the red peppers on an oven tray (inside facing down) and place in the oven. Roast them for about 15 minutes. Leave them in a paper or plastic bag for about 10 minutes to peel off the skin easily. Alternatively, you can barbecue it until softened. Just place the red peppers out side facing down on the barbecue.

Pistachio Kebab

(Fistikli Kebap - Gaziantep)

150 gr medium ground lamb or mutton
2 tbsp Turkish Antep pistachio, cut in 3-4
Pinch of cumin
Pinch of paprika
Salt
Pepper
~
Vegetables:
Tomato
Cubanelle pepper

Turkish Pide

Knead all the kofte ingredients for 3-4 minutes. Place it on the skewer starting from the tip of the skewer. Squeeze and flatten it on the skewer going back slowly, so that it is thin and flat.

Preheat the barbecue or oven (grill). Place the skewer and the tomatoes and Cubanelle peppers on the rack. Make sure to turn the skewers so that all sides of the meat cook equally.

Place the Pide on the plate arrange the Pistachio Kebab, roasted tomato, cubanelle pepper and Onion Salad on top.

You may also serve Pistachio Kebap with Bulgur Pilaf and plain Turkish Yogurt by the side.

Onion Salad:
Red or white onion, sliced
1/2 tsp salt
Parsley, washed and drained
Lemon, cut in 8 pieces
Some sumac

Some Turkish red pepper, crushed

Sprinkle 1 tbsp salt and rub the onion slices with your hand. Rinse and drain. Toss the parsley and onion, place in plate. Sprinkle some sumac all over them.

1 serving Pistachio Kebab.

Turkish Lemonade

(Limonata)

Zest of 3 lemons
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cup boiling water
Juice of 3 lemons

Place the lemon zest and sugar in a glass bowl. Pour the boiling water over them, stir. Put it aside to become tepid. Leave it in the refrigerator until it is cold enough. Add the lemon juice. Place a strainer with a paper towel or fine muslin or filter.

Serve the Turkish Lemonade while it is still cold on hot summer days:)

*When you purchase a lemon, choose the thin-skin ones. To make the lemon more juicy, press and roll over on the counter with your palm before cutting.