Turkish flat breads with ground lamb and vegetarian filling – Etli ve Sebzeli Pide

Posted by on Sep 1, 2010 in Savory Pastries, Uncategorized | 0 comments

I couldn’t resist making Turkish flat breads with ground meat and vegetarian fillings, after enjoying them so much at Kalkan. I also discovered a brilliant new cookery book, “Cooking New Istanbul Style” by Refika (www.refikaninmutfagi.com). Refika wonderfully experiments new recipes using Turkish ingredients, a really delightful book, where she makes wonderful versions of pides too. You can also experiment with different vegetables and toppings on your flat bread. Dried cured meats like Turkish pastrami, juicy mushrooms, all...

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Cheese and Potato Pastry – Peynirli, Patatesli Borek

Posted by on Jun 23, 2010 in Savory Pastries, Uncategorized | 0 comments

It is thought that the Ottoman Palace kitchens devised these tasty treats in order to tempt the precious little princes. The cigar shaped version with cheese and herb mixture is very popular at home. I had some left over cooked potato and added to the cheese and parsley mixture, the result was delicious – they disappeared very quickly, very popular with children as well as adults. Worth giving a go! As with most savory Turkish filled pastries, this borek freeze very well once cooked too. Serves 4 – 6Preparation time: 20 minutes ...

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Ozlem’in Patlicanli Boregi – Ozlem’s Smoked Eggplant and Vegetable Pastry

Posted by on Jun 23, 2010 in Savory Pastries, Uncategorized | 0 comments

I discovered a brilliant website, www.foodsofturkey.com, introducing Turkish cuisine as well as exploring Turkish stores and restaurants around the world, worth checking out. They are running a “borek competition”, and I submitted my new smoked eggplant borek recipe, as well as my cheese and potato borek recipe (to be followed); let’s see what happpens! Here is the smoked eggplant recipe: Eggplant, aubergine is the king of vegetables (actually fruit, as it has seeds) at home; we must have over 200 recipes featuring our...

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Turkish Rose Ravioli – Gul Manti

Posted by on May 26, 2010 in Savory Pastries, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Manti was a central dish in the 15th century Ottoman cuisine. A very popular dish, it was cooked in imperial kitchens and was eaten by Sultan Mehmet II almost daily. This version of manti, traditionally made with “yufka”, the fresh pastry sheets, is a popular one at home. These manti are named for their appearance, as it looks like the shape of rose. They may seem a little awkward to make but look so attractive that the extra effort is worthwhile. If you replace the meat with a vegetable of your choice, (for instance, mushrooms or...

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Lahmacun; Turkish Pizza with Ground Lamb and Piyaz; Onion,Tomato and Parsley Salad

Posted by on Apr 19, 2010 in Savory Pastries, Uncategorized | 0 comments

This thin, crispy Turkish pizza,Lahmacun is a very popular lunch time snack, sold in street stalls as well as in restaurants at home. We Turks also love to have it as a take away food; a wonderful, healthy alternative to fast food, the children love them too. Lemon is liberally squeezed over and then it is rolled up with sliced tomatoes, onion and parsley salad, piyaz. Flour Tortillas work very well as a mini lahmacun base if you can’t get around making your own dough. Serves 4 – 6Preparation time – 45 minutes (add 1 hour...

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Spinach and Cheese Pie – Ispanakli, Peynirli Borek

Posted by on Apr 2, 2010 in Savory Pastries, Uncategorized | 2 comments

Merhaba (means Hello in Turkish); I hope this lovely borek recipe inspires you to go back to kitchen and make it for friends and family – or why not just treat yourself?:)- This wonderful pie has to be one of the most deliciously pleasing and easy borek around. I use the fillo pastry sheets for this recipe and it works well. If frozen, you need to defrost them overnight in the fridge and leave at room temperature about 2 hours before using. I combine the feta cheese with mozzarella in this recipe to make it moister.At home, boreks,...

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