Puff Borek

(Puf Boregi)

1 Package Puff Pastry (Tender flake 379 g)

Filling:
2 cups feta cheese, crumbled
2 egg yolks
1 cup parsley, chopped
2 tbsp dill, chopped
Salt
Pepper

On top:
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Follow the instructions on the Tenderflakes box. Each block of pastry rolls into a 12-inch (30 cm) square. Cut each piece into 4 squares, so you should have 8 pieces of dough.

Mix the filling ingredients and put them on each block of pastry, on one side diagonally. Fold the empty part over the filling (should be a triangle). Press the edges. Brush the tops with egg white. Place on a tray covered with parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 205 C (400 F). Bake until golden brown.

Serve while still hot as an appetizer, or with Tea or Ayran over breakfast.


Puff Borek with Shrimp

250 gr shrimp, cooked
1 boiled egg, chopped
1 pinch crushed red pepper
1 tsp red pepper
1 tbsp parsley, chopped

Bechamel sauce:
1 cup milk
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
Salt
Pepper

Melt the butter in a medium pot. Take it off the heat, add flour, stir. Slowly pour milk and stir constantly. Add salt and pepper. Put on the stove again. Continue to stir, when you see the bubbles on the surface, cook for 2 more minutes. Add all the other ingredients. Fill the dough equally.


Puff Borek with Chicken

250 gr chicken, cooked, chopped
1 tbsp butter
3 pearl onions, thinly sliced
3-4 small mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 tbsp cream
1 egg yolk
1 pinch crushed red pepper
Salt
Pepper

Sautee the onion with butter. Add mushrooms and cook another 3 minutes. Add all the other ingredients. Fill the dough equally.

Lamb with Romaine Lettuce

(Kuzu Kapama)

3 pieces of lamb shanks
1 bunch green romaine lettuce, separate the leaves and wash
5-6 green onions, washed, cut in chunks
2-3 fresh garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp oregano
Salt
Pepper

Place half the lettuce in a large pot and put the lamb shanks on top. Add the green onions, fresh garlic, salt and pepper. Cover with the rest of the romaine lettuce. Cover the lid halfway and simmer for 2 hours (it'll cook with juice from the lettuce and the shanks). Sprinkle oregano on top and serve with Couscous.

Couscous

(Kuskus)

1 cup couscous (Acini di Pepe in the pasta aisle)
2 1/2 cup hot chicken broth
2 tbsp butter
Salt

Saute the pasta with the butter for a few minutes in a pot. Add the hot chicken broth and salt, cover the lid halfway and boil for about 15 minutes over medium-low heat. Turn the heat off and put aside for 20 minutes. Stir with a fork and serve.

Couscous goes well with any kind of meat or chicken dish as a side.

Stuffed Zucchini

(Kabak Dolmasi)

5 small zucchinies, washed
150 ml hot water
2 tbsp crushed tomatoes, canned
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Filling:
150g medium ground beef
2 tbsp rice, washed and drained
3 green onion, chopped
50 ml water
Salt
Pepper

Garlic Yogurt Sauce:
1/2 cup yogurt, plain
2 tbsp dill, chopped
1 garlic clove, mashed
Salt

Wash the zucchini and cut off a thin slice of the bottom of each one, so that they can stand up straight. Cut off the tops (as in the picture) and carve out the insides.

Mix all the filling ingredients with a teaspoon and stuff the zucchini. Leave some room at the top. While filling the zucchini, don't push the filling in, instead tap the zucchini vertically on the counter. Place them in a small cooking pot.

Mix the hot water, crushed tomato and olive oil and pour into the pot from the side. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes at medium heat.

Place the Stuffed Zucchinis on a serving platter. Pour some of the sauce from the pot on top of them. Serve with Garlic Yogurt Sauce.

Don't throw away the zucchini tops and insides. Grate or cut them into small pieces and make Zucchini Pate :)

Red Pepper Paste

(Kirmizi Biber Salcasi)

500 gr red peppers (any kind), discard seeds and cut in half
Extra virgin olive oil
Spicy red pepper (optional)
Salt

Boil the red peppers with water for about 15-20 minutes to soften them. Leave them in a paper bag for 10 minutes so you can peel them easily. Puree them in the blender. Pour them into a pot, add salt, and simmer until all the water evaporates. Spread on a tray and leave under the sun all day. Then put in a jar, cover with some olive oil and refrigerate. You can have Red Pepper Paste with Adana Kebab, Lahmacun, etc.

You should make this in the summer. I did it a bit earlier this year. When you leave the paste under the sun, its colour will darken and it will be a bit thicker.

Lamb with Grape Leaves

(Caput Asi - Aegean Region)

250 g grape leaves, fresh or in jar
250 g lamb cubes, cooked with water
1 medium-size onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup rice, washed and drained
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp crushed tomatoes, canned

Garlic Yogurt Sauce:
1/2 cup plain Turkish yogurt
1 garlic clove smashed with salt

Cook the leaves in hot water for 2-3 minutes, drain. Cut off the stems & discard. Cut the leaves in chunks and place in a pot. Add the cooked lamb and sliced onions. Spread the rice, crushed tomatoes, butter, 1 cup of hot water, salt and pepper. Cover and cook at medium-low heat. Check the water occasionally, and if necessary, slowly add more hot water until the rice is done.

Serve the Caput Asi with a few spoons of garlic yogurt.

Lahmacun

(Lahmacun)

1 package Original Tortillas (Flat Bread, 10 pieces)

Filling:
500 gr lean ground beef or lamb
2 medium onions
1 cup parsley
1 tbsp red pepper paste
2 large tomatoes, seeds discarded
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 garlic clove
1 tsp salt

Use a mixer to chop and mix all the ingredients except the ground beef. Then knead it with the ground beef. Refrigerate for an hour, then leave it outside for 20 minutes.

Set the oven to grill (broil). Have two oven trays ready. Take some mixture with the spatula and apply on the flat bread evenly as a thin layer. Place two per oven tray and put the trays on the second rack from the top in the oven. Bake for about 3-4 minutes, making sure not to burn the edges of the pitas.

Place a paper towel at the bottom of a large pot. Fold the cooked Lahmacun in half and put them in the pot to keep them warm with the lid closed. When all are baked, serve with the Side Salad for Kebabs and Ayran while they're still warm. Season the Lahmacun with sumac or lemon juice and red pepper flakes.

Sumac comes from the berries of a wild bush which grows in the Mediterranean. The berries are dried and crushed to form purple-red powder. The flavor is sour and fruity. It's mostly used with Kebabs, preferred to lemon for sourness.

Side Salad for Kebabs

(Yeşillik)

Red or white onion, sliced and crushed with sumac and salt with your hand
Salt
Some sumac
Parsley, washed and drained
Lemon, cut in 8
Radish, washed

Place the parsley, onion, radish and lemon in a large plate. Sprinkle some sumac over the parsley. Serve with any kind of Kebab or barbecued meat, for example Iskender Kebab, Adana Kebab, Lahmacun, Turkish Hamburger, Fried Diced Liver with Red Peppers....