Ozlem's Turkish Table | Page 102 | Turkish CuisineOzlem's Turkish Table

Demerara Lemon Cake

By Ozlem Warren on January 16, 2011 in Cakes and Desserts, Uncategorised 2

I very much enjoy Nigel Slater’s recipes – wholesome and delicious, aiming to use the best possible produce at their peak and not doing much to it. And he has a thing for cakes like I do too. This Demerara Lemon Cake recipe is from his brilliant cookery book The Kitchen Diaries. I am a huge fan of lemon and the caramelized lemons over this cake won my heart at the first sight. The original recipe serves the cake as a dessert with a lemony syrup spiked to the top of it with a skewer, after it’s cooked. In my version, I took away the syrup addition and adopted it in a way to enjoy it as a lovely, moist cake. Indeed almond cakes keep moist for several days, so this cake is a perfect treat to bake at the weekend (or any week day!) and enjoy through the week.

Something really satisfying about baking on Sunday; delicious smells from the oven fills the air and for me, it somehow relaxes the day, brings serenity – a little slice of it with tea or coffee and you think all the jobs can be done, no rush..

Serves 8
Preparation time: 25 minutes Cooking time: 45-50 minutes

200gr/7oz unsalted butter
220gr/8oz demerara sugar
90gr/3 1/4oz plain flour
90gr/3 1/4oz ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Zest and juice of a large lemon
4 large eggs

For the topping:
1 lemon, thinly sliced
30ml/2 tablespoons demerara sugar
60ml/4 tablespoons water

Preheat oven at 160 C / 325 F

Line a loaf of baking tin with baking parchment paper and grease the paper with a little olive oil.

To make the topping, slice the lemon thinly and put it in a small saucepan with the sugar and water. Bring to the boil, and then watch closely for five minutes or so, until the water has almost evaporated and the lemon slices are sticky. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a food mixer till they are light and fluffy. You can expect it to take a little longer than it would with caster sugar. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl weigh the flour and almonds and mix them with the baking powder. Add the lemon zest and the lemon juice and mix well.

Break the eggs and beat lightly with a fork, then add them to the creamed butter and sugar a little at a time. Then gently fold in the flour, almonds, the baking powder and lemon to the mixture with a large metal spoon (a wooden spoon would knock the air out).

Scoop the cake mixture into the lined tin, and then lay the reserved lemon slices on top, overlapping them down the centre of the cake. Bake for about 45-50 minutes, till risen and golden. Insert a metal skewer to see if it is ready. If it comes clean, then the cake is done; if it has mixture sticking to it, it needs a few minutes longer. Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool.

You can enjoy the cake with some fresh fruit (raspberries, sliced mangos or ripe/poached apricots would go well) and perhaps a spoonful of double/heavy cream by the side.

Afiyet Olsun!

Cabbage Leaves Stuffed with Ground Meat and Rice – Lahana Sarmasi

By Ozlem Warren on January 12, 2011 in Appetizers and Mezes, Casseroles and Stews 10

Stuffed cabbage leaves, lahana sarmasi, delicious with dollop of yoghurt aside

Stuffed cabbage leaves are popular in winter time at Turkish homes. This wonderful, healthy and comforting dish is one of my childhood favorites; always brings lots of pleasant memories. I remember us all sitting around the kitchen table preparing the cabbage leaves ready to be stuffed, eagerly waiting for them to be cooked. Once it is cooked, we children all used to camp around the pot, offering (and sometimes helping ourselves) to “quality check” if the stuffed leaves cooked well. We loved eating these treats dipping into plain yoghurt, happy days 🙂

I hope you have a go at making these fantastic dolmas; it is really not as hard as you would imagine and will certainly impress your guests. The sharpness of lemon brings extra zing and goes very well with cabbage.

Serves 4
Preparation time : 35 minutes Cooking time : 35-40 minutes

1 medium white cabbage – brings out about 25 leaves
250gr/9oz/generous 1 cup lean ground (minced) lamb or beef
115gr/4oz/1/2 cup long grain rice, rinsed and drained
1 medium onion, finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic (optional)
1 bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
15ml/1tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (optional)
2 teaspoon dried mint
60ml/4 tablespoons olive oil
8fl oz/1 cup hot water
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and ground pepper to taste

1 small bowl of natural (plain) yoghurt
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Cut the cabbage in half vertically and cut out the hearts. Plunge into a pot of salted boiling water and cook for about 5-8 minutes. The leaves should be tender but not over cooked. Rinse under cold running water and carefully remove the outer leaves. Cut away the hard central vein, resulting in about 25 pieces of cabbage leaves, about the size of your hand.

For the filling; put the ground meat in a bowl and stir in the onions, parsley, dried mint, red pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons olive oil and the tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper and knead, until they all combined well. Add the rice and mix well with a spoon, taking care not to break the rice grains.

Take one of the cabbage leaves on a flat surface and spoon a walnut size of the filling at the base of each leaf. Fold the edges over the filling and roll up to form a chunky finger sized dolma. Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.

Pour the remaining olive oil in a deep, wide pan. Arrange the dolmas in the pan seam side down and side by side. If you like, scatter the garlic cloves amongst the dolmas – once they are cooked the cloves will be moist and juicy, and will add a wonderful flavor. Mix the lemon juice, hot water and a pinch of salt, then pour over the dolmas. The liquid should come at least halfway up the top layer, so you may need to add extra liquid. Place a heavy plate over the leaves to stop them from unraveling, followed by a lid or foil.

Cook over low heat for about 35-40 minutes, until the dolmas are tender. Remove from the heat and let the dolmas rest for about 10 minutes. That will help the dolmas to come out without breaking and make the flavor even better.

Serve hot, with yoghurt by the side and lemon wedges to squeeze over.

Note: You can also use grapevine leaves for dolma, yaprak sarmasi with either using the vegetarian aromatic rice stuffing or meat and rice stuffing.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Patties with Potato, Bulgur, Onion and Parsley – Patatesli, Bulgurlu Kofte

By Ozlem Warren on January 7, 2011 in Appetizers and Mezes, Ozlem’s Turkish Table Cookery Book 19

Bulgur and potato patties, bulgurlu, patatesli kofte; delicious to dip into sauces

These patties are healthy, moist, easy to make and delicious; you just can’t stop eating them. They look similar to the bulgur and lentil patties I made previously(recipe in the blog, under appetizers and mezes), they have a different texture though, softer and more moist.You can serve them as a starter meze on a bed of lettuce leaves to wrap, or with bowl of olive oil and pomegranate molasses (or some sharp balsamic vinegar) by the side to dip in. In Southern Turkey, it is common to dip these patties to the sauce of stew and casseroles. I recently served them by the side of the aubergine, shallots and meat stew and they went down very well, disappeared very quickly 🙂

You can prepare them a day in advance, the flavors get even better the next day. Turkish hot pepper paste, biber salcasi, add a wonderful flavor to the patties; you can make your own hot pepper paste here , if you like. Add more red pepper flakes if you like it more spicy. Traditionally, fine bulgur is used in these patties; if you can’t find fine bulgur, you can use coarse bulgur, which is widely available in supermarkets; in that case, double the hot water amount and cook the course bulgur first in hot water as per the package.

Signed copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table book, available to order at this link

We use seasonal produce, bulgur, whole grains, legumes and pulses a lot in Turkish cuisine, and flavour with natural condiments such as olive oil, pomegranate molasses, southern Turkish way. This recipe and many more wholesome, authentic recipes included in my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland; signed copies available at this link, delivered worldwide including US and Canada.

Serves 8 -10
Preparation time : 15-20 minutes Cooking time : 25 minutes

175gr/6oz/1 cup fine bulgur, rinsed and drained
4 medium potatoes, skinned and quartered
45-60ml/3-4 tablespoon olive oil
3 spring onions, finely chopped
Handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon red pepper paste (optional)
1 – 2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoon/10ml ground cumin
120ml/ 4fl oz hot water
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Bowl of cold water to wet your hands

Extra virgin olive oil and pomegranate molasses (or sharp balsamic vinegar) to serve

In a large bowl, combine the bulgur, red pepper paste, biber salcasi (or red pepper flakes) and spring onion, mix well with using your hands. This will help the paste or the spice to really blend in with the bulgur and the spring onions. Add the hot water on the mixture and give a good stir. Leave it aside for about 15 minutes and stir once in a while so that all the water would be absorbed.

Boil the potatoes in salted water until cooked, drain the water. Mash the potatoes in a separate bowl with cumin. Add the olive oil, salt and ground pepper and knead the potatoes with your hands really well, until they are smooth and elastic. Stir in the potatoes with the bulgur mixture, and add the parsley, mix well with your hands. Check the seasoning and add more salt if needed. Have the bowl of water ready by your side. Wet your hands with the water and take a walnut size from the mixture and shape like patties using your hands. Place them side by side on a serving dish.

Put some extra virgin olive oil and pomegranate molasses (or sharp balsamic vinegar) on a small bowl and serve the patties with them for dipping. The patties are also wonderful served on a bed of lettuce leaves.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem