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Dalyan Köfte – Meatloaf with boiled eggs, peas and carrots

We Turks love köfte, our meatballs and we have so many variations. This Dalyan Köfte is a showstopper, and surprisingly easy to make.  I remember my mother making it at special occasions when I was a child. It is in the shape of a substantial meatloaf with boiled eggs in it, garnished with peas and carrots in tomato sauce. It makes a lovely meal with mashed potatoes aside; some folks enjoy it with plain pilaf too. It is delicious and impressive to serve; I hope you enjoy making Dalyan Köfte at home.


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Dalyan Köfte – Meatloaf with boiled eggs, peas and carrots
 
We Turks love köfte, our meatballs and we have so many variations. This Dalyan Köfte is a showstopper, and surprisingly easy to make. I remember my mother making it at special occasions when I was a child. It is in the shape of a substantial meatloaf with boiled eggs in it, garnished with peas and carrots in tomato sauce. It makes a lovely meal with mashed potatoes aside; some folks enjoy it with plain pilaf too. It is delicious and impressive to serve; I hope you enjoy making Dalyan Köfte at home.
Author:
Recipe type: Meatloaf - Kofte
Cuisine: Turkish cuisine
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 5 medium eggs, hard boiled and peeled
  • For the köfte/meatloaf mixture:
  • 1kg/2lb 3oz minced/ground beef (5-10% fat)
  • 2 medium onions, grated
  • 2 medium eggs (save 1 egg white to glaze the meatloaf later)
  • 60g/2oz bread crumbs (use gluten-free bread to make the dish gluten-free)
  • 1tsp pul biber (use less if you prefer)
  • 1tsp ground cumin
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • For the rest:
  • 2 medium carrots, trimmed and cut into pea size pieces
  • 255g/9oz fresh or frozen peas
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2tbsp double concentrated tomato paste
  • 2tbsp olive oil
  • 255ml/9fl oz water
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • Chunks of bread, rice or mashed potatoes to serve
Instructions
  1. Place the diced carrots in a small pot, pour in plenty hot water, partially cover and simmer for 10 minutes, until carrots are partially cooked and still have a bite to them Drain and set aside.
  2. Place all köfte ingredients into a large mixing bowl (saving 1 egg white in a small bowl for later). Season with salt and ground black pepper and knead well with your hands for about 2-3 minutes, until all mixed well. Turn into a large köfte loaf, cover with a cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
  3. Preheat fan oven to 180C/350F. Place baking paper on a large tray and have a small bowl of water with a drizzle of olive oil aside to help shape the meatloaf.
  4. Take the meatloaf mixture from the fridge and place on the baking paper over the tray. Wet your fingers over the water and olive oil mixture and gently press and expand the meatloaf into a 35cmx28cm rectangular shape with about 1cm height. Place the peeled boiled eggs on a line horizontally across the center of the rectangular meatloaf sheet. Spread 3 tbsp carrots and 3 tbsp peas at both sides of the eggs, leaving 3cm at both ends of the line with no filling.
  5. Gently roll the meatloaf sheet over the filling, with the help of the baking paper (peeling off the baking paper as you roll), making a tight roll. Close and tuck both ends of the meatloaf, sealing the filling in. Brush the top and sides of the meatloaf liberally with the spared egg white – this will help keep the meatloaf intact and give a lovely glaze. Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, until lightly browned at top and the meat is cooked.
  6. Just before the meatloaf is cooked, pour in the olive oil into a wide pan and stir in the garlic and tomato paste. Cook over medium to high heat for 2 minutes, stirring often. Then add the remaining carrots and peas to the pan, combine well. Pour in the water, season with salt and ground black pepper and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer for about 4-5 minutes, until peas and carrots cooked but not mushy.
  7. Take the cooked meatloaf out of the oven, rest for 5 - 8 minutes (this will make the slicing easier. Then cut into thick slices, garnish with the hot cooked peas and carrots in tomato sauce over and aside of Dalyan Köfte. Serve immediately with chunks of bread, rice or mashed potatoes aside.
 

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Earthquake fundraiser for Turkey – 100 % Sales of Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookbook donation to Charity

 

Dear All,

As you are aware, Southeast Turkey and Syria has been very severely effected by the recent earthquake on February 6th – over 40,000 lives have been lost and still counting, an unimaginable pain. It hit home too, as my hometown Antakya – Hatay is hugely destroyed, so very heartbreaking. My immediate family in Istanbul is thankfully fine but we unfortunately lost some extended family and friends in Antakya, my heart aches and sincere condolences goes to all.

We are doing whatever we can to help the region to save and build lives. Thank you so much for your overwhelming response to our fundraiser, where, 100% of sales of the Signed copies of  my cookery book  Ozlem’s Turkish Table  bought via GB Publishing have been donated to the UK-based charity Turkey Mozaik Foundation, (Charities Commission Registration number: 1174968) the charity which transfers Earthquake emergency relief  funds directly to Turkey. My sincere thanks to GB Publishing to enable me to do this fundraising. In a short period of time, we raised 8,946 GBP for the charity;  thank you very much for your overwhelming response and support, cok tesekkur ederiz.

My cookery book has been a love letter to southern Turkish cuisine especially and to my roots, and I hope to keep this heritage alive and give hope. Thank you very much for all your support and my sincere condolences for everyone’s loss.

Ozlem

 

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Lockdown Cooking Ideas from Ozlem’s Turkish Table (Signed copies now 30 % Off)

Merhaba dear all,

Semolina sponge cake in syrup; Revani

I hope this note finds you all well. We have been doing lots of home cooking and baking with the children and preparing food for the homeless and folks in self isolation, during the lockdown. There is a great comfort in home cooking, especially wholesome Turkish cooking – not only takes your mind off things, but a great activity to do with kids at home in between home schooling. If you are on social media, I do live videos at my Ozlem’s Turkish Table instagram and facebook pages too. Here is my Revani, Semolina sponge cake recipe we baked with my daughter, as well my Revani you tube video here.

Flexibility is the key especially at challenging times like this, so by all means experiment with the ingredients you have and substitute when needed; I try to give options at my recipes and at my you tube videos, like at my Baked Meatballs and vegetables casserole video here (courgettes, runner beans, peas all would work here as an option)

Signed hardback copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book, now 30 % OFF

I got this lovely note from Claire, she says “My Christmas present from my brother and Turkish sister-in-law was your fabulous cook book. It turns out that my local corner shop is stocked full of Turkish food, so I’ve been having a great time trying out your recipes! There’s generally something in the book for anything in my veg box (other than parsnips!), and it’s all turned out delicious. Now that I’ve got the pastry, I might brave trying kunefe this weekend, if I can get the right cheese. Thank you for keeping me so well-fed in lockdown”Thank you dear Claire and all folks who kindly sent notes on how much they have been enjoying the recipes, especially during the lockdown period. I am very happy to hear recipes enjoyed and bring some joy and comfort.

 

Signed copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table now 30 % OFF via my publisher GBPublishing at this link and it is delivered promptly worldwide, including US and Canada. We hope this would help with delicous wholesome Turkish home cooking during lockdown. It can also be a lovely gift to a foodie, with Mother’s Day approaching.

Lockdown Cooking and Happy Ramadan – Ramadan Mubarak – wholesome, easy meal ideas

Spicy bulgur and lentil soup, Ezo Gelin Corbasi

Happy Ramadan, Ramadan Mubarak, Hayirli Ramazanlar to all observing. Turkish food offers plenty healthy, convenient choices at this special time in Muslim calendar. Our iftar meals would traditionally start with a wholesome soup, such as this Spicy bulgur and lentil soup, Ezo Gelin Corbasi – one of our favourites; make a big batch as it freezes very well.

Vegetarian Pide, from Ozlem’s Turkish Table

Many of my readers have been doing a lot of baking especially during the lockdown and this Vegetarian Pide, Turkish oval flat breads with cheese and vegetables, have been very popular – easier than you think! Here’s my recipe link; you can use any veg you have at home that needs using. You can bake the pide ahead of time and give a gentle reheat before you eat. Once it is cooked, it freezes well too, as a whole or in slices, wrapped in foil.

Turkish bean salad with sumac onions, olive and eggs – Fasulye Piyazi

We have been eating a lot of cupboard staples such as tinned chickpeas and beans; they are a great source of protein, healthy and convenient. You can flavour beans beautifully as in this Turkish bean salad with sumac onions, olive and eggs – tangy sumac adds a lot of flavour to the onions. It makes a wonderful lunch or can be a part of Ramadan iftar meals with grills aside too; you can substitute beans with chickpeas in this salad too. Here’s also my You Tube video link for this delicious Turkish bean salad.

Baked aubergine kebab with chicken – Patlicanli Kebap

Baked eggplant kebab with chicken, onions, peppers; Patlicanli Tepsi Kebabi

How about this yoghurt and spices marinated Baked aubegine kebab with chicken, Patlicanli Kebap? An impressive dish to serve, easy to make too. Aubergines here are double baked, which intensify its flavour; you can marinate the chicken ahead of time – leftovers freeze very well too.

Green (runner) beans cooked in olive oil – Taze Fasulye

Turkish cuisine is based on seasonal produce and we love vegetables. This green beans cooked in olive oil with onions, garlic, tomatoes, Taze Fasulye, is a national favourite. Also gluten-free and vegan, it is best to prepare ahead of time and let the flavours develop, it tastes even better the next day. French beans, dwarf beans would all be good for substutition – a delicious, healthy choice for Ramadan too.

Istanbul; we will meet again..

Glorious Hagia Sophia, Istanbul – hope to see you again soon

I have meant to fly to Istanbul end April, to see my mother, family and also run my Turkish cookery classes and  events in Fethiye and Kalkan. With the current pandemic, it was not meant to be. I am hopeful that we will meet again and see our loved ones soon, fingers crossed. Until then, we will keep on bringing a bit of home with our food and reconnect with family, friends and share our food virtually. We baked this Turkish bread rings with sesame seeds, Simit, our popular street food with the children the other day. It certainly brought a huge dose of home and smiles; here is my recipe link, I do hope you enjoy it too.

Stay well, keep cooking, afiyet olsun,

Ozlem

 

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