Turkish Pastrami and Sujuk with Eggs

(Pastirmali-Sucuklu Yumurta)

A few slices of Turkish Pastrami, break into 2-3 pieces with your hands
A few slices of sujuk
1 tbsp butter
1-2 eggs

Melt the butter and place the sujuk slices on the skillet. Cook for about a minute over low heat. Then turn each slice over quickly with a fork. Add the pastrami in it and crack the eggs. When the egg white is cooked turn the heat off!

Serve Turkish Pastrami and Sujuk with Eggs with freshly baked Turkish bread and Turkish Tea for breakfast or lunch or brunch on weekends:)

* You can store Sujuk in the freezer. Remove the skin, slice them up and place them in Ziploc bags. Keep in the freezer. You don't need to defrost when you want to cook them.

Grilled Eggplant with Feta Cheese

(Peynirli Patlican - Istanbul)

Medium eggplant
Feta cheese, crumbled
Paprika
Extra virgin olive oil

Peel the eggplant skin in strips lengthwise. Slice about 1 inch thick. Soak in water with a tablespoon of salt for about 15-20 minutes. Then dry with paper towels.

Lightly grill or fry both sides in a pan without oil. Arrange them on an oven tray. Place the crumbled cheese on them. Sprinkle a little bit of paprika.

Preheat the oven to 450 F (230 C) and keep until the tops take a light golden colour. Immediately serve as a warm appetizer.

Ayvalik Style Artichokes in Olive Oil

(Ayvalik Uusulu Zeytinyagli Enginar - Aegean Region)

Artichoke, cut in medium size both heart and bottom, cleaned
1 cup water + half of lemon juice
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil

Dill, chopped

Leave the cleaned artichokes in the water & lemon juice mixture to prevent discoloration.

In a medium pot, place the artichokes and the water with lemon juice in it. The water should cover the artichokes. So adjust the amount of water. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt. Cover and cook the artichokes until they are tender on medium-low heat.

Let it cool down first. Then transfer to a service plate. Drizzle more olive oil and sprinkle some dill all over it. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Zucchini with Creamy Yogurt and ...

(Suzme Yogurtlu Kabak ve)

1 small zucchini, washed, thinly sliced
2 or 3 tbsp Pomegranate paste or Grenadine syrup
1/2 tsp salt

Extra virgin olive oil

In a bowl, place zucchini slices, pomegranate paste and salt, toss. Keep it in the refrigerator for about 5 hours.

Place the zucchinis on a service plate. Drizzle the olive oil all over them, serve with Creamy (Strained) Yogurt by the side.

Sun-Dried Tomatoes with Cheese
(Peynirli Kurutulmus Domates)

Sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in hot water for half an hour and drained and sliced.
Extra virgin olive oil
Tulum cheese* or feta cheese or goat or ricotta cheese, crumbled

Place the dried tomatoes on a service plate. Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle the cheese all over them. Then serve.

*It is a Turkish cheese made from sheep's or mixed milk, harder and saltier than white cheese.

Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

(Lorlu Kabak Çiçeği Kızartması - Ege Bölgesi)

10 Zucchini Flowers

Filling:
3-4 cups fresh ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp dry mint or 1-2 fresh mint leaves, cut in julienne
1 green onion, only white part
1 tsp lemon zest
1 pinch red pepper
Salt
Pepper

3 tbsp all purpose flour
1 large egg, whisked with 1 tbsp water
Sunflower oil to fry

Gently soak all the flowers into the cold water. Remove and dry on paper towel.

Mix all the filling ingredients in a small bowl. Gently open flower, remove the pistil by snipping it off. Do not to tear the petals open and place 1 teaspoon filling. Then, gently twist and close the flowers.

Pour the sunflower oil in a frying pan and heat it up. Place the flour on a plate. Beat the egg with water in a bowl. First dip each one in the flour, then dip in the egg. Fry them until they're a light golden colour.

Afterwards, place on a paper towel to absorb any extra oil. Serve Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini Flowers as an appetizer while still warm.

10 Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini Flowers.

Turnip Soup

(Şalgam Çorbası - Central Anatolia Region)

1 small turnip, peeled, grated (Sprinkle 1 tbsp salt all over and squeeze the turnip with your hand, then rinse. This way the turnip won't be bitter)
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2-3 tbsp ground beef, medium
2 cups hot water
4 tbsp bulgur (or rice), small grain, rinsed
Salt
Pepper

Garnish:
Mint
Cayenne pepper

Saute the onion and ground beef. When the ground beef is cooked, add the hot water, bulgur, turnip, salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are tender at medium-low heat.

Divide into the soup bowls. Sprinkle some mint and cayenne pepper all over and serve while still hot.

2 servings.

Benefits of Turnip:
Turnips are a "starch" vegetable, but provide only one third the amount of calories as an equal amount of potatoes.
The Turnip holds a great number of nutritional benefits.
Turnips have low calories and no fat. Turnips are also good for controlling high blood pressure.

Pickled Green Bean Stir-Fry

(Turşu Kavurma - Black Sea Region)

Pickled Flat Green Beans (See, How to Make Pickled Flat Green Beans)
Onion, sliced
Extra virgin olive oil

Lightly caramelize the onion with olive oil. Add the pickled green beans along a few strips of pickled red peppers and one or two pickled garlic cloves. Continue to saute 2-3 minutes more and serve.

I would suggest that you serve it with the Corn Bread by the side:)

Chop Shish with Ali Nazik

(Çöp Şişli Ali Nazik - Gazianatep - Southeast Anatolia Region)

6 skewers of Chop Shish (See, How to Make Chop Shish)
2-3 cubanelle peppers, roasted, peeled
2-3 tomatoes, cut in half, roasted, peeled

Ali Nazik:
1 large eggplant, roasted
1 cubanelle pepper, roasted, peeled, finely chopped
2 tbsp creamy yogurt (See-How to Make Creamy (Strained) Yogurt)
Salt
Pepper

Sauce:
2 tbsp butter

Mix the roasted eggplant, cubanelle pepper, strained yogurt, salt and pepper all together. Place in an oven proof dish and keep it warm in the oven for about 2-3 minutes. Arrange the Chop Shish on top of Ali Nazik. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. As soon as it starts bubbling, pour all over the kebab.

Serve with roasted peppers and tomatoes along with Ayran and Pide by the side.

Roasting the Eggplant:
Before putting the eggplant in the oven, make holes in it with a fork so that it will soften and cook better. Place it on an oven tray and roast for about 35 minutes on broil. Then peel it and soak it in 2 cups of water with juice of 1⁄2 lemon to prevent from turning dark. Leave it in the water for about 5 minutes. After draining, cut into small pieces. Alternatively, you can barbecue it until softened.

Roasting Cubanelle Peppers:
Cut off the tops of the peppers. Discard the seeds. Cut each pepper in half. Set the oven to broil (grill), and heat it up. Place the peppers on an oven tray (inner side facing down) and place in the oven. Roast them for about 15 minutes and peel off the skin.

Alternatively, you can barbecue the peppers until softened. Just place the peppers with the outer side facing down on the barbecue.

2 servings.

Tomato Cheese Wraps

(Yaz Dürümü)

Lavash Bread or Original Tortillas, small size

Filling:
Feta cheese, crumbled
Tomato, sliced
Cubanelle pepper, sliced
Parsley, chopped
Turkish black olive, pitted
Extra virgin olive oil
Red pepper, crushed
Salt
Pepper

Heat up the medium sized Teflon pan just under medium heat. Place the Lavash bread on a teflon pan. Mix all the filling ingredients and place half of Lavash Bread (picture), fold. Lightly toast the both sides and serve with Ayran:)

Cherry-Arugula Salad with Almonds

(Kirazli Roka Salatasi - Istanbul)

One bunch of Arugula, washed and drained
Handful cherries, pitted, sliced
Few slices of red or white onion
Tulum cheese* or feta cheese or goat or ricotta cheese, crumbled
4-5 almonds, blanched, slivered, lightly toasted

Dressing:
Extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice
Salt

Discard the Arugula stems, break off the leaves into smaller pieces with your hand. Season with salt and lemon juice. Place on a serving dish. Arrange the rest of the ingredients over the top. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil all over the salad. Serve immediately.

*It is a Turkish cheese made from sheep's or mixed milk, harder and saltier than white cheese.

Meatballs with Artichokes in Egg Sauce

(Enginarli Sulu Kofte)

Kofte ingredients:
400 gr regular ground beef
1/4 cup short grain rice, rinsed
Salt
Pepper
~
1/3 cup flour
~
6 medium sized artichokes, cleaned, cut in medium size both hearth and bottom
1 cup water + half of lemon juice
~
1 small onion, grated
4-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp butter
Salt
Pepper
1 cup chicken broth

Egg Sauce:
2 egg yolks
Dill, chopped

Place the flour on a large plate. Knead all the kofte ingredients in a bowl. Break off some pieces and give a medium ball shape with your palms. Place them in the flour.

Meanwhile clean the artichokes. Leave in the water & lemon juice mixture to prevent discoloration.

Saute the grated onion, salt and pepper with olive oil for about 2-3 minutes in a medium pot. Add the chicken broth. Then add the artichokes and the water with lemon juice in it. Cook the artichokes for about 7-8 minutes at medium heat. Then gently add the floured meatballs in it, stir. Cook until the rice is softened at low heat. Turn the heat off.

Place the egg yolks in a small bowl. Take a ladle of juice from the pot and blend well with the yolks. Slowly pour this mixture into the pot while stirring. Let stand for about 2 minutes.

Before serving sprinkle chopped fresh dill on top.

3-4 servings.

Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Cheese on Bread Slices

(Kirmizi Biber ve Beyaz Peynirli Ekmek Dilimleri)

Fresh loaf of Turkish Bread, sliced
Red Bell pepper,roasted
Feta cheese, sliced
Red or white onion, sliced

Garnish:
Extra virgin olive oil
Oregano
Crushed red pepper

Layer the sliced feta cheese, roasted red pepper strips and sliced onions on bread slices. Drizzle some olive oil, season with oregano and crushed red pepper. Serve as breakfast or as an * with Turkish black olives and cucumber by the side.

*If you like to serve as an appetizer, use French Baton bread:)

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 outside facing down on the barbecue.

Fennel with Eggs

(Yumurtali Rezene)

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced vertically - rinsed the fronds
1 small onion, sliced
4-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp red pepper paste
2 tbsp water
4-5 red pepper hot rings
Salt
Pepper
2 eggs

Saute the fennel and onion with olive oil, stirring occasionally. Add the hot pepper rings, the pepper paste and water, stir. Crack the eggs over the fennel. Cover and turn the heat down to low. Cook until the white part of the eggs is fully cooked.

Sprinkle some fronds over the tops, then serve the Fennel with Eggs while still hot with freshly baked Turkish Bread.