Delicious Pasta with Caramelized Onions, Bell Peppers and Chilli Flakes

Posted by Ozlem on May 14, 2012 in Pasta - Makarna | 15 comments

Tags: bell pepper, chilli flakes, lemon, lemon juice, olive oil, onions, red pepper flakes, wisley gardens

Some days are simple pasta days in our house. It is ready in no time, and you can still pack in a lot of flavor using only a few fresh ingredients. I have been recently making this pasta dish a lot; it is delicious, ready in less than 30 minutes and you feel good about eating and serving fresh, healthy food. (For instance, there are so many health benefits of onions, from helping to prevent common cold to heart disease.)  The sweetness of the onions and the bell pepper balance the tangy lemon juice and the little heat from the chilli flakes...

Pasta with eggplant (aubergine), garlic and tomato sauce – Patlicanli Makarna

Posted by Ozlem on Nov 28, 2011 in Pasta - Makarna, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Our family, especially the children love pasta and I like to try different sauces to make it exciting, delicious and that I can prepare ahead of time. Patlican (eggplant or aubergine) is an ingredient we use a lot in Turkish cooking, and its meaty, sweet flesh adds a wonderful flavor to the pasta. Eggplant has a lot of water content and the trick is to get all that moisture out before cooking, as shown in the recipe, so that they won’t go soggy. You can prepare this sauce ahead of time and freeze any leftover sauce. It is a wonderful,...

Penne with Olives, Garlic, Tomatoes and Dill – Domatesli, Zeytinli Penne Makarna

Posted by Ozlem on May 17, 2011 in Pasta - Makarna, Uncategorized | 4 comments

As much as we love cooking, there is a challenge for all of us to produce healthy, delicious, and easy to prepare supper at the end of the day. This is even more challenging at weekdays, as we juggle the school run, work, daily chores. At times like these, I try to make the most of what I have in my fridge and kitchen and come out with something, hopefully a delicious bite to eat. At one of days like this, I opened my fridge and found some good olives (and we do eat a lot of olives), cherry tomatoes on the vine, garlic and dill. My family...

Pasta with mushrooms, garlic and parsley – Mantarli Makarna

Posted by Ozlem on Jan 2, 2011 in Pasta - Makarna, Uncategorized | 0 comments

This is one of our favorite pasta recipes and appears on our table often. It is a Jamie Oliver recipe with a little twist, as I use Turkish red pepper flakes – any red pepper or paprika flakes would do – instead of fresh chilies. The children love mushroom too, so I add the red pepper flakes to the pasta after I serve them. The marriage of mushrooms, garlic, parsley and lemon is divine, really brings out the flavor of the mushrooms. A lovely, refreshing recipe to start the New Year I like using different kinds of mushrooms...