Category Archives: Recipe

Bakla Köftesi (Fava Bean Balls/Burgers)

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Fava Bean köftesi, a type of vegetarian köfte.  Since we have gone mostly vegetarian I have been trying to find alternatives and interesting food.  This seemed to fit the bill, interesting, healthy and seasonal.   

400 grams of cooked, shelled fava beans
1 onion
1 carrot
clove of garlic
Cilantro about 1/3 cup, half a bunch or so (parsley would work too)
1 egg
salt and pepper (I used chipotle pepper)

  First shell your fava beans. Then simmer the beans for five or six minutes, until tender then submerge them in cold water to make it easier to take off their outer skin.  You will need about 400 grams of the cooked shelled fava beans in total, so the original weight should be more. Dice and sauté the onion and carrot until soft, add the garlic, minced and cook until aromatic.

In a food processer add, onion, carrot, garlic, fava beans, cilantro, egg and spices.  Pulse until combined’, but not a complete puree.  Roll into small balls or flat latke type shapes.   I made two batches using different methods.  The first I baked at 350 for twenty minutes.  I sprinkled sesame seeds on top for crunch.  These held together well, and would be great for burgers.

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The second batch I “fried” in a nonstick pan with a tiny bit of olive oil.  This batch was more tender but not as sturdy.  Both were tasty.  Even Butterfinger liked them. 

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Yumurtalı Ispanak (Spinach with Eggs)

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2014-03-28 19.14.55 (2)

This is a traditional breakfast, lunch or light dinner meal.  If serving it for lunch or dinner, it is often made with ground beef as well (500 gr.)  If you want extra protein, vegetarian style, you can add cooked red lentils.  My husband likes his eggs scrambled in, in addition to lentils in this dish.  I like my eggs poached with runny yolks.  The beauty of this dish is that I can do both in the same pan.  Add lentils and mixed eggs to one side, and poach my deliciously runny eggs on the other.  I always serve it with bread or biscuits to soak up the yummy juices!!

Ingredients

2 bunches of  spinach (about 1 kilo with stems) cleaned
4 eggs ( you can poach them or scramble them)
1 small onion (finely chopped)
1 small garlic clove (minced)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp of tomato paste
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
½ tsp red pepper flakes

Heat the oil and add the onion, and allow to soften.  Chop the spinach roughly.  When the onion is softened and translucent add the minced garlic, salt, tomato paste, black and red pepper.  Add the spinach to wilt, and cover.  If you prefer your dish saucier, add a half a cup of water.  You may need to add a little more liquid if planning to poach your eggs in the spinach dish.

Hoşaf (Fruit Compote)

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This is a great winter fruit dish, using fruit that was harvested and then dried while in season.  Hoşaf is considered a drink, a dessert or a side. It can be made with a variety of fruits such as dried raisins, apricots, plums, pears, cherries, etc.  My father-in-law used to drink it in the summer when he was young, before soft drinks were popular. This drink is incredibly refreshing in the summer and a nice treat with or after dinner.   This is also traditionally served as a side with börek.

Ingredients:

4 cups of Dried fruits (mostly Apricots but it is nice to add dried plums)
8-10 cups of water
1 cup of sugar *Optional (add as much or little as you like)

 

Directions:

Rinse fruit thoroughly.
Bring 8-10 cups of water to a roiling boil.
When it is boiling add the dried fruit to the water (and sugar if using) and shut off the heat.

Let the fruit sit in the water until the water cools. Once the water has cooled, place the pot in the fridge. Let it sit a few hours, a day is better, before  eating the hoşaf. The longer the hoşaf sits the tastier it becomes.

I prefer a main component of apricots with some plums thrown in, the apricots release their sugar more than the plums do so you end up with a sweeter juice. I do not usually add sugar. 

Zeytinyağlı Pırasa/Leeks in Olive Oil

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January-March 2011 112

 

1 kilo of leeks, washed well and chopped in 1/3 inch rounds
1 big onion, finely chopped
3 carrots, chopped in rounds or half moons
1/4 cup rice
1/3 cup olive oil
Juice of one lemon
2/3 – 1 cup hot water
1 tsp. sugar
Salt
Pepper
1-2 garlic cloves (optional)

Chop onions, and sauté in oil oil for about five minutes, until translucent.  Cut off the tough outside parts of the leeks, wash thoroughly and cut into 1/4 inch slices.  Peel carrot and chop into 1/4 inch slices. Add the carrots, leeks and garlic and sauté gently for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the rest of the ingredients, stir, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, until all ingredients are tender.*   It is best served cool or at room temperature.  Squeeze a little fresh lemon juice on top, add lemon slices for a garnish. 

*Sometimes a 1/4 a cup of rice is added with the rest of the ingredients. 

Hünkar Beğendi

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This is one of my favorite Turkish dishes.  I love making it as much as I love eating it!

The recipe below can be made vegetarian or carnivore friendly.  Below is the lamb version.  However, my husband says he actually prefers the vegetarian version, with the chipotle flavor. 

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Eggplant Purée

4 pounds of roasted eggplant
juice of 1/2 lemon
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup grated aged cheddar or  parmesan
Salt
Pepper

Roast the eggplant, poke holes in the eggplant and either roast in oven over broiler or on stovetop over open flame-until eggplants are soft.  Peel and mash (or purée)  with lemon juice.  Set aside.

Melt the butter, add flour, stir roux on low heat until combined.  Add min and salt and pepper, simmer for five minutes.  Add eggplant, stir well, then add cheese.  Stir well again.

Stew (Carnivore and Vegetarian)

1 pound of boneless lamb stew chunks (Vegetarian:Instead of lamb use 1 1/2 cups of green lentils)
2 cups water
1 onion, sliced
3 green peppers, chopped
3 tomato, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 tbsp tomato paste
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper

For vegetarian stew add a little chipotle chili for more body, otherwise the stew can be weak when paired with the eggplant purée. 

Sauté onions in olive oil, then add the meat.  (For Vegetarian: add washed lentils and more water to accommodate lentils.) Cook until browned, add the peppers and sauté for several minutes.  Add tomatoes, tomato paste and hot water.  Let simmer for an hour to and hour and a half, until meat is tender.  You may need to add more water.

To Assemble:

Make a base with the eggplant purée and spoon the stew on top.  It can be served family style in a large dish (my preference) or onto each plate.  This dish is lovely as it can be made ahead of time and heated up and assembled later. 

Super Chocolate Brownies

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This weekend Bülent and I were craving some naughty food, so I pulled out all the stops!  I usually can’t eat chocolate desserts here due to cross contamination with hazelnuts.  However, if I make it myself with bitter chocolate, I am safe.  So this weekend I made some really rich, decadent, chocolatey brownies. 

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They were practically black with chocolate.

For fun I threw in some chunks of 70% Cocoa dark chocolate!

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Super Chocolate Brownies

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 tablespoons water
3/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C.  Grease your baking pan.  Combine the sugar, cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add eggs, water, butter and vanilla and stir well.  Optional: Add nuts or chocolate pieces.  Spread into pan.  Bake for  about 25 minutes, until knife or toothpick inserted in center comes out cleanish.  Let cool before slicing.  DEVOUR!

New Meze Posts

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I posted two new salads under Ev Yemeği, Mezeler.  These dishes are both variations of vegetable yogurt salads.  They are striking because of their coloring and depending on their garlic content, sometimes I serve them as a side or a condiment. 

Yoğurtlu Pancar Salatası (Beet and Yogurt Salad)

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Yoğurtlu Havuç Salatası (Carrot and Yogurt Salad)

Revised Cooking Page!

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A while back I created an Ev Yemeği/Home Cooking page, which has been sadly neglected, thought I cook all the time.  When I post recipes, I have been doing so in a haphazard way.  So over the next few weeks I will try to dedicate some time and energy to both posting more recipes and organizing the page itself.   I spend a significant amount of my time cooking, and eating, as evidenced by this blog.  So here is the beginning of this new branch of Far From the Sticks:

 Close to the Kitchen: Ev  Yemeği 

RULING TURKEY

Abundance of Figs

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Oh, figs!  My favorite summer fruit.  Fresh figs are best enjoyed when they almost look too soft to eat.  Stay away from the firm ones.  Look for the figs that are starting to split at the bottom..just barely.  Sometimes there will be a tiny glistening drop emerging from the star shaped fissure, that means it is perfectly ripe.  The issue with figs is that many ripen at the same time, and if you eat too many you will clean your system right out, whether you want to or not?  So what to do with over-ripe figs?  A little too mushy eating means great for cooking.  Jams, compotes, breads, wherever you can put fruit you can use figs.

This morning I used them in pancakes.  The pancakes themselves had  a mixture of ripe peaches and figs in them.  I roughly chopped the over-ripe figs and threw them in a saucepan with a little water and lemon juice while I was cooking the pancakes.   I used the fig compote as a syrup for the pancakes.  I have to say, for a 20 minute cooking project (only as long as it took to mix and cook the pancakes) the results were delicious.  20120822_130246

In Turkey, fruits and vegetables are rarely available while out of season.  This can be a little disappointing when you are craving a particular dish, but in reality creates a smaller carbon footprint and is better for the environment.  This means that will there is only about a four week window for figs, during that time the figs are fresh and delicious, abundant and cheap.  While I would love figs all year long, they seem just a little bit sweeter since they are so special now.

Patlican Salatası

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Now that it is summer I have been craving some light salads.  I have also been away from Turkey long enough I have been craving Turkish food.  I was talking about this dish with my friend the other day and started drooling.  I will be making this soon.   It is pretty versatile.  If you want a side salad make it a little chunkier, if you want to use it as a dip blend it a little more, like salsa

Patlican Salatası

1 large eggplant or 3 or 4 smaller ones (I like the small ones myself)
1 or 2 cloves of garlic (mashed or pressed)
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup of yogurt
A splash of olive oil*
1 tomato diced
Salt and pepper to taste

*optional

Poke holes in the eggplant(s) before you roast them.  I use the grill but you could roast them on the grill, the stovetop (over the flames) or broil them in the oven.  Whatever the method-roast the eggplant until it is soft about a half hour or so depending on the size.  After they are done, let them cool and then peel off the skin.  Dice the eggplant small ad toss in a bowl.  Dice the tomato and throw that in the bowl too.  Mash one or two cloves of garlic, to taste, remember it will be in the salad raw.  Add that to the mix as well as the juice of the lemon the yogurt and the oil if you want it.  The oil makes it taster but without it the salad is pretty light calorically, cooked eggplant has about 35 calories per cup.  I also use light yogurt.  Add about a 1/2 tsp of salt to start with and a little pepper.  Salt to taste, you may want to add more salt (I do) but I do a little at a time or to my serving on my plate as I am always afraid to over salt the whole batch.

Mix well and chill, serve cold.  It is best served after an hour or two when the flavors have time to meld.