Vegetables Cooked in Olive Oil

Baked vegetables with chickpeas – Firinda Sebzeli, Nohutlu Turlu

By Ozlem Warren on September 17, 2021 in Vegan / Plant based, Vegetables Cooked in Olive Oil, Vegetarian recipes, Vegetarian recipes 4

Baked vegetables with chickpeas – Firinda Sebzeli, Nohutlu Turlu

I love the abundance of seasonal vegetables we get in Turkey. This is a wonderful vegetarian dish, celebrating the seasonal bounty at home. Turlu is traditionally cooked over stove top, as a stew, though I prefer to bake the dish in the oven here, as I love the additional dept of flavours you get with baking the vegetables. Having chickpeas in these casseroles are a typical Turkish fare; its earthy flavour goes well here and makes it a delicious and substantial all in one dish. In winter months, you can use root vegetables like beetroots, potato, as well as leeks etc. in this wholesome dish. It also tastes better next day and freezes well. Great for back to school and weekday meals.

You can serve as this turlu with crusty bread or rice pilaf. I also love to top this wholesome casserole over the smoked eggplant béchamel sauce, as a vegetarian topping for the Turkish classic, Hunkar Begendi – Sultan’s Delight.

Aubergines, lentils and peppers cooked in olive oil, Mercimekli Mualla, from my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table. Image credit: Sian Irvine Photography

Turkish cuisine offers wholesome, delicious vegetarian and vegan choices, such as this Aubergine, lentils and peppers cooked in olive oil, Mercimekli Mualla, from my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table. Signed copies are now 25 % off and delivered worldwide, including the US and Canada at this link.

5.0 from 2 reviews

Baked vegetables with chickpeas – Firinda Sebzeli, Nohutlu Turlu

This is a wonderful vegetarian dish, celebrating the seasonal bounty at home. Turlu is traditionally cooked over stove top, as a stew, though I prefer to bake the dish in the oven here, as I love the additional dept of flavours you get with baking the vegetables. Having chickpeas in these casseroles are a typical Turkish fare; its earthy flavour goes well here and makes it a delicious and substantial all in one dish. In winter months, you can use root vegetables like beetroots, potato, as well as leeks etc. in this wholesome dish. It also tastes better next day and freezes well. Great for back to school and weekday meals. You can serve as this turlu with crusty bread or rice pilaf. I also love to top this wholesome casserole over the smoked eggplant béchamel sauce, as a vegetarian topping for the Turkish classic, Hunkar Begendi – Sultan’s Delight.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Vegetarian and Vegan

Cuisine: Turkish cuisine

Serves: 6

Ingredients

4 medium aubergines/eggplants, cut in lengthways and sliced in chunks
3 medium courgettes/zucchini, trimmed and sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large or 2 medium red onions, peeled and sliced in wedges
1 green and 1 red bell pepper, deseeded and cut in chunks
4 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
400g/14oz can of chopped tomatoes
400g/14oz can of cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
15ml/1tbsp dried oregano
10ml/2tsp Turkish pul biber or red pepper flakes
10ml/2tsp ground cumin
60ml/4tbsp olive oil
15ml/1tbsp double concentrated tomato paste
285ml/10fl oz hot water
Handful of chopped flat leaf parsley to decorate
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200C/400F
Spread the eggplant/aubergine chunks on a wide tray, sprinkle salt over and leave aside for about 10 minutes. Using a paper towel, squeeze the excess water out of the aubergines/eggplants.
Toss all the vegetables with olive oil, oregano, pul biber/red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper, on a large baking tray. Please do that with your (clean) hands and make sure all the spices and olive oil coat the vegetables; this really helps to infuse all the spices and olive oil to the vegetables to enhance their flavour. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 – 40 minutes, turning them around the midway. By the end of this roasting, the vegetables will start to get charred along the edges and softened. Transfer the roasted vegetables over a large baking dish.
Combine the 285ml/10fl oz hot water with tomato paste and mix well. Stir in the can of chopped tomatoes, rinsed chickpeas, cumin; season with salt and pepper and combine well. Pungent cumin goes well with earthy chickpeas.
Pour this mixture over the roasted vegetables in the baking dish and gently combine well. Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper to your taste.
Bake in the preheated oven for another 20 – 25 minutes, until all vegetables cooked, browned at edges and the sauce thickened. Sprinkle chopped parsley over, ready to serve.
Serve with crusty bread or rice pilaf aside (sharp feta cheese is great crumbled over too, as an option). I also love this wholesome casserole over the smoked eggplant béchamel sauce, as a vegetarian topping for the Turkish classic, Hunkar Begendi – Sultan’s Delight.
Afiyet Olsun.

Vegetarian Manti, Turkish dumplings with sautéed onions, chickpeas and spices

By Ozlem Warren on February 8, 2021 in Regional Signature Dishes; Mains, Sides and Desserts, Vegetarian recipes, Vegetarian recipes 13

We absolutely adore manti; one of my favourite foods growing up in Turkey. I not only love the taste but the whole ritual of manti making; when I was a child, my mother would prepare the dough, cut into small squares and my father, sister, anyone around would help making these tiny dumplings. And with huge excitement, we would pour in the garlicky yoghurt and that delicious spices infused warm olive oil over to top of our manti and tuck in immediately, such special memories.

Making manti is a bit of a labor of love, but so very satisfying, delicious and I find it soothing. I previously made the traditional manti with ground/minced meat filling and recently, I made this vegetarian version with sautéed onions and chickpeas, a popular variation especially enjoyed in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It was a great success and my family loved it. Sautéed onions add a delicious natural sweetness and moisture to the earthy chickpeas. Warm, pungent cumin is made for chickpeas, and with a lovely heat from pul biber, they make a great vegetarian filling. I made these manti dumplings a bit bigger than my previous manti, hence easier to make and equally tasty. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Baked dried apricots with walnuts, from Ozlem’s Turkish Table, image credit: Sian Irvine Photography

Why not serve manti with this light and delicious dessert, Dried baked apricots with walnuts, from my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table? Lovely vegan and gluten-free treat, that is so easy to make too. Signed copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book is available at this link and delivered worldwide. Manti is not at my current cookery book, but I hope you enjoy over 90 authentic recipes in there.

4.7 from 3 reviews

Vegetarian Manti with sautéed onions, chickpeas and spices

Here is my vegetarian manti, Turkish dumplings, with sautéed onions and chickpeas, a popular variation especially enjoyed in Central Anatolia, Turkey. Sautéed onions add a delicious natural sweetness and moisture to the earthy chickpeas. Warm, pungent cumin is made for chickpeas, and with a lovely heat from pul biber, they make a great vegetarian filling. I made these manti dumplings a bit bigger than my previous manti, hence easier to make and equally tasty. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Vegetarian Manti

Cuisine: Turkish cuisine

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Dough ingredients:
300g/10 ½ oz. all-purpose plain flour (plus a little extra for rolling)
1 egg, beaten
115ml /4fl.oz water
30ml/2tbsp olive oil
5ml/1tsp sea salt
For the filling:
1 onion, very finely chopped
30ml/2tbsp olive oil (to sauté the onions)
400g/14oz cooked (can of) chickpeas, rinsed
Small bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
30ml/2tbsp olive oil (to knead the filling mixture)
10ml/2tsp ground cumin
5ml/1tsp pul biber or red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the garlic yoghurt:
400g/14oz thick and creamy plain yoghurt
1 -2 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
Salt to taste
For the sauce:
15ml/1 tbsp. Turkish hot pepper paste, biber salcasi or tomato paste
60ml/4 tbsp. olive oil
10 ml/2 tsp. dried spearmint, kuru nane
5 ml/1 tsp. (or more) ground sumac (optional)
5 ml/ 1 tsp. (or more) Turkish red pepper flakes, chili flakes, pul biber

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F
First make the dough. Sift the flour and salt into a wide bowl and make a well in the middle. Pour in the beaten egg and the water and using your hands, draw the flour into the liquid and mix to dough. Pour in the olive oil and knead the dough for about 5-8 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Manti dough needs to be quite hard; cover the dough with a cling film or kitchen towel and leave to rest in a cold place or in the fridge for 30 minutes.
In a separate bowl, beat the yoghurt with the garlic and season with salt to your taste. Cover and set aside to bring to room temperature.
While the dough is resting, make the filling. Finely chop the onion. Heat the 30ml/2tbsp olive oil in a heavy, wide pan and stir in the onions. Sauté for 8 minutes over medium heat, stirring often. Season with salt and ground black pepper and mix well. Stir in the chopped parsley and combine well, turn the heat off to cool.
Place the cooked and rinsed chickpeas in a large bowl. Mash them with a potato masher (I like to go hands on and mash and knead with my hands but if you find this labour intensive, you can mash in a food processor too). Stir in the cooled sautéed onions, 30ml/2 tbsp olive oil, cumin, pul biber or red pepper flakes. Season with salt and ground black pepper (this filling needs good seasoning, and its being vegetarian, you can taste the filling and adjust the seasoning to your taste). With clean hands, knead the mixture for a couple of minutes and combine well. The filling is ready.
Cut the dough into 3 balls. Working one piece of dough at a time (and cover the rest of the dough balls with a cling film in the meantime so they don’t dry out), roll the dough as thinly as you can into a sheet, on a lightly floured surface. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into small squares (roughly 4cm/1 ½ in). Spoon a teaspoon of the filling, rounded at a size of a chickpea into the middle of each square. Pinch the opposite corners to form a little a little pouch and press the seams together to seal firmly. Make sure to lightly flour your hands if handling the dough becomes sticky, so that you can seal the manti well.
Repeat with the rest of the dough and place the stuffed dumplings in a greased oven proof dish, stacking them next to one another in one layer. Bake uncovered for 8 - 10 minutes, until the manti, dumplings start to get a light golden colour. Take them out of the oven and let the manti cool. You can freeze some of this baked manti at this point, in a sealed bag for up to 3 weeks.
Pour the hot water and pinch of salt to a large pan and bring to the boil. Place the baked dumplings gently to the boiling water and simmer for about 8- 10 minutes, until they are cooked. Once cooked, drain the water and return the manti to the pan. Drizzle a little oil over them so that they don’t stick together.
While manti is cooking, prepare your sauce. Heat the oil in a wide pan and add the hot pepper paste, biber salcasi or the tomato paste. Stir in pul biber or red pepper flakes, dried mint and sumac, combine well and simmer for 1-2 minutes.
Arrange manti on a serving dish and spoon the garlic yogurt over them. Then drizzle spices infused olive oil with the tomato/red pepper paste sauce over the garlic yoghurt. You can decorate with extra red pepper flakes, dried mint and sumac and serve immediately.
Afiyet Olsun.

Ozlem’s Simit and Turkish Breakfast Online (Zoom) Cookery Class

Saturday, March 27th, 2021, 6 pm – 8 pm (GMT) – SOLD OUT

Thank you so much for your keen interest for my Simit and Turkish Breakfast zoom class – as March 20th class Sold Out so quickly, I am doing another Simit and Turkish breakfast zoom class on Saturday, March 27th.

Turkish breakfast, kahvalti, is my favourite meal and I am so very much looking forward to recreating some of my Turkish breakfast favourites at my zoom cookery class on Saturday, March 27th, 2021, 6 pm – 8 pm (GMT). This class will feature our iconic street food, Simit, Sesame encrusted bread rings – it is so much fun making simit at home, and I will show you how. This class menu also includes a delicious Olive Salad with pomegranate molasses from my hometown Antakya, Zeyting Ufeleme, Eggs with Spinach and Onion, Ispanakli Yumurta and Dried fig jam – all these will wonderfully complement our Simit and Turkish breakfast.

Date: Saturday, March 27th 2021

Time: 6pm- 8pm (GMT)

Cost: 35 GBP per person

This is a slightly longer class, as the Simit dough will need to prove and we will make in total 4 recipes for our Turkish breakfast feast.

You will get plenty of ahead of time preparation tips, ideas for substitution and with stories from my homeland. Recording of the class will also be sent to the participants for limited viewing. The class would also make a wonderful gift for a foodie.

Upon registration, you will get a confirmation email. The zoom link to join the class, recipe pack and ingredients list will be emailed a week before the class. Please note that no refund will be issued.

Do hope you can join us to make this delicious Turkish breakfast feast and take a virtual culinary journey to Turkey!

For private group classes, please email ozlem@ozlemsturkishtable.com, I look forward to cooking together.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Turkish Breakfast spread from Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book, by Sian Irvine Photography

Leek fritters with cheese and herbs; Pirasa Mucveri

By Ozlem Warren on January 21, 2021 in Gluten-free recipes, Vegetables Cooked in Olive Oil 0

We absolutely love Mucver in Turkish cuisine; vegetarian fritters with herbs and cheese. In the past I shared my Courgette/zucchini fritters, Kabak Mucveri as well as the Baked cauliflower with vegetables version, Firinda Karnabahar Mucveri recipes, as also in my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table. They are the perfect patties, great as a mezze; small bite size fritters are wonderful for entertaining too.

Make sure to chop the leeks finely and knead and soften with your hands, with salt.

This time, I experimented using leeks in the fritters. I added wholesome chickpea (gram) flour in the mixture, rather than plain flour this time. I have been enjoying the gram flour recently; it is a pulse flour made from ground chickpea, it is gluten-free, nutty, earthy tasting and packed with goodness. Great in these fritters too. Of course you can use plain flour here instead, if you wish. I also added grated carrots to these fritters, they gave a lovely natural sweetness and crunch.

These Leek fritters, Pirasa mucveri, turned out great. I also baked some in the oven as a variation (in a greased baking dish at 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 for about 35 minutes); they turned equally tasty and lighter in flavor. Enjoy them with a good squeeze of lemon and garlicy yoghurt by the side.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Leek fritters with cheese and herbs; Pirasa Mucveri and Pide Online Cookery Class!

I hope you enjoy these delicious Leek fritters, Pirasa mucveri. I added wholesome chickpea (gram) flour in the mixture, rather than plain flour. I have been enjoying the gram flour recently; it is a pulse flour made from ground chickpea, it is gluten-free, nutty, earthy tasting and packed with goodness. Great in these fritters too. Of course you can use plain flour here instead, if you wish. I also added grated carrots to these fritters, they added a lovely natural sweetness and crunch. Enjoy them with a good squeeze of lemon and garlicy yoghurt by the side.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Vegetarian

Cuisine: Turkish cuisine

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

200g/7oz (2 medium) carrots, grated
430g/15oz (3-4 medium leeks), trimmed, quartered and chopped finely
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 small bunch dill, finely chopped Handful of flat parsley, finely chopped
3 eggs, beaten
150g/5oz Turkish white cheese, beyaz peynir or feta cheese
75ml/5 tablespoons chickpea (gram) flour Or all-purpose/plain flour
5ml/1 teaspoon Turkish pul biber or chili flakes (optional)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Canola oil, groundnut oil or sunflower oil for shallow frying
Wedges of lemon to serve

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 350 F (if you wish to bake the fritters)
Place the finely chopped leeks in a large bowl. Sprinkle a good pinch of salt (1-2 tsp) over the leeks, and rub and mix with your hands. Please do this stage with your hands, rather than with a spoon, as mixing with your hands will soften the leeks.
Grate the carrots. Take a couple of sheets of sturdy paper towel, place the grated carrots in it and gently squeeze out the excess moisture.
Combine the grated carrots with the leeks in a large bowl. Transfer the gram flour (or plain flour, if you wish) to the large bowl and stir in the beaten eggs. Crumble the Turkish white cheese, beyaz peynir or feta cheese and combine in the large bowl. Add the chopped garlic, dill and parsley, season with salt and ground black pepper. Sprinkle the pul biber or red pepper flakes, if you enjoy a little heat. Combine well into a batter (take care not to add extra salt if your cheese is already salty).
In a frying pan, heat enough groundnut, sunflower or canola oil to shallow fry. Using a tablespoon, drop the batter mix into the hot oil spoonful by spoonful, leaving space between each one. Fry over a medium heat for about 2-3 minutes each side until both sides are golden brown. Remove with a straining spoon and drain on an absorbent kitchen paper towel.
Alternatively, if you would like a lighter flavor, you can bake your mucver in a preheated oven at 180C / 350F. If you choose this way, grease a baking dish with 1 tablespoon light olive oil or groundnut oil. Place spoonfuls of the batter on the baking tray, leaving about 1”/2.5cm space between each spoonful batter. Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes, until they are gold and getting crispy around the edges.
For garlic yoghurt, crush a garlic clove with salt and finely chop. Combine the plain yoghurt and garlic and beat until smooth. Add salt to taste.
Serve the fritters warm, at room temperature or cold with wedges of lemon and garlic yoghurt at the side.
Afiyet Olsun.

Let’s Make Pide! Online (Zoom) Turkish Cookery Class – SOLD OUT

Saturday, February 27th, 2021

Vegetarian Pide, from Ozlem’s Turkish Table – join us to learn how to make it; image by Sian Irvine Photography

Date: Saturday, February 27th 2021

Time: 6pm-7.30pm (GMT)

Cost: 30 GBP (40 USD) per person

Please join us at my online (zoom) cookery class, where I will be demonstrating how to make the popular Pide; our Oval flatbreads with various toppings, on Saturday, February 27th, 6pm-7.30pm (GMT). I will demonstrate Pide with minced (ground) meat with vegetables topping, Kiymali Pide, as well as Vegetarian Pide with cheese, spinach, peppers. We will also do a variation, Karadeniz style, with a cracked egg on top. I will also demonstrate how to make our delicious Ezme dip with tomatoes, peppers, onions and herbs, to go with the Pide.

A recent review on Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book:

(thank you very much, Hannah, for your kind words):

“Thank you Ozlem, such a wonderful book. I have made many of the recipes already and my family loved them all. My daughter is so happy as they are just like Babannes.”

It is the best compliment hearing folks enjoy my recipes from my homeland, and they bring happy memories, my sincere thanks to everyone left a review on Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book. Signed copies are 25 % Off via GBPublishing at this link and delivered worldwide, including the US.