Tag Archives | Bodrum

Delights and Street food from Turkey and how to make them at home

By Ozlem Warren on August 14, 2015 in Fascinating Istanbul, Fascinating Turkey, Turkish Street Food 14

Wholesome, delicious Turkish breakfast, my favorite meal of the day

Merhaba and greetings from Turkey; it has been wonderful to be back home, catching up with family, friends and enjoying this fascinating land. I wanted to share with you some photos from our trip with a special highlight on Turkish street food and breakfast we have been enjoying. I hope it inspires and you can give it a go at this delici0us, wholesome recipes. I embraced Turkish breakfast as soon as we arrived Istanbul. Eggs done different ways, Simit, sesame encrusted bread rings, flavorful olives, Turkish white cheese, specialty white cheese with herbs, Van’s Otlu Peynir, ripe juicy sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and savory pastry are all a part of our wonderful Turkish breakfast. This plate is from the wonderful Van Kahvalti Evi in Cihangir, Istanbul. The herbed cheese, Otlu Peynir is a special favorite. Here’s some ideas for you to recreate your own Turkish breakfast.

Cobbled streets of Cukurcuma antique market in Cihangir, Istanbul

A gorgeous antique door at Cukurcuma market, how I wished to take it back home

I love Cihangir area in Istanbul and thanks to dear Senior Dogs Abroad, I made a visit to the Cukurcuma antique and flea market to wander amongst beautiful old, antique furnishings; plates, cutlery being a special focus, I fell in love with this wonderful, ancient door, how I wished to take it back home.

A heavenly tray of Baklava in Istanbul

This heavenly tray of baklava was the next thing attracted my attention. The real thing is much lighter and flaky than its versions abroad, hope you can enjoy baklava in Turkey. You can also make baklava at home; here’s my home made baklava with walnuts recipe, hope you enjoy it.

Full moon in Istanbul, by the Bosphorus

Delicious mezzes and company by the Bosphorus, Istanbul

We were lucky to enjoy a beautiful full moon by the Bosphorus. We celebrated dear Mehmet’s, my brother-in-law’s birthday over delicious Turkish mezzes.

Wonderful to be back to Bodrum

Freshly picked vegetables at the farmers market in Bodrum, Turkey

Cokelek Salata; crumbled white cheese or feta salad, flavored with cumin, red pepper flakes and olive oil

Turkish tea, cay – taste even more delicious by the sea side in Bodrum

And now back to Bodrum; my parents have a time share home here that we and children long to come back. Life evolves around simple pleasures; an early morning swim, followed by a leisurely, long Turkish breakfast. Dad and the children pick up the fresh produce – tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers from Gulsum Baci’s garden and we make a lovely Cokelek Salata; crumbled feta salad with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, flavored with cumin and red pepper flakes. I am also in charge of making the Menemen; Turkish style scrambled eggs with tomato, onion, peppers and cheese. Sitting at the terrace, we all tuck in with flavorful, olives, more cheese and glasses of cay, Turkish tea to wash it all with the family – my idea of heaven, my favorite meal of the day.

Pogaca; Turkish savory pastries with cheese and parsley

Pogaca; Turkish savory pastry with cheese and herbs

Simit; Sesame encrusted bread rings

Simit; sesame encrusted bread rings

Mid day snack would be either this delicious, national favorite pogaca; savory pastry with cheese and herbs or Turkish sesame encrusted bread rings, Simit; children and we all love them and they dissappear quickly. Simit and pogaca are both widely available at bakeries, street stalls and pastanes, patisseries in Turkey.

Midye Dolma; Stuffed mussels with aromatic rice

Midye dolma; stuffed mussels with aromatic rice, pine nuts and currants

And then comes Midye Dolma; these delicious stuffed mussels with aromatic rice, pine nuts and currants are a delightful street food in Turkey. You can find them in street stalls or at vendors selling by the beach side. Ali Usta, our regular midye dolma vendor turns up every afternoon near our beach at Turgut Reis, Bodrum with delicious midye dolmas. All you need is a squeeze of lemon over them, delicious! I did make stuffed mussels at home, they turned out really well. Cleaning the mussels can be a bit of a labor of love but well worth all the effort, here is my Stuffed mussels with aromatic rice, Midye Dolma recipe, if you’d like to give it a go.

Pide; Turkish oval flat breads with toppings

Peynirli Pide; Turkish oval flat breads with cheese, spinach and vegetables

Turkish oval flat breads with various toppings, Pide, is another favorite street food in Turkey. Our favorite is Pide with cheese and vegetables as well as the Flat breads with ground meat and vegetable topping; Kiymali Pide. A favorite snack and street food both at the sea side and in the towns and cities.

Lahmacun; Turkish style thin pizza with ground meat and vegetables topping

Lahmacun, Turkish style thin pizza with ground meat and vegetables topping

Lahmacun, thin, small Turkish style pizza with ground meat, onions, tomato and parsley topping is also a hugely popular Turkish snack, street food. You can enjoy them at street vendors, kebab houses or lahmacun houses that would only sell this delicious treat. We would wrap lahmacun with slices of tomato, onions and parsley with a healthy squeeze of lemon juice over. Here’s my Lahmacun recipe if you’d like to make this delicious treat.

Gozleme; Anatolian flat breads with fillings

We Turks love these stuffed flat breads, gozleme. Turks were originated from Central Asia, where they drifted towards Anatolia gradually and made their home. They have been making these stuffed flat breads since then. Gozleme is a much loved Turkish street food and a special part of the delicious Turkish breakfast. These popular snacks are cooked quickly on a hot griddle and can be filled with various fillings. Some of my favorite fillings are mashed potatoes, cheese and parsley; spinach and cheese, and ground meat and onions. Here’s my Gozleme with spinach and cheese recipe, hope you enjoy it, afiyet olsun.

Turkish Coffee; Turk Kahvesi – More than a drink

Delightful Turkish Coffee, Turk Kahvesi

Have you ever tried the deliciously frothy Turkish coffee? It is one of the most popular traditional drinks at home in Turkey and I love the whole ritual, the experience of it. As it is so widely available it is a part of Turkish street food for me. In Turkish, we have a saying “Bir fincan kahvenin kirk yil hatiri vardir” which means “The memory of a good cup of Turkish coffee lasts 40 years”. Turkish coffee is a drink of friendship; you are offered this traditional, aromatic drink wherever you go in Turkey; when visiting friends and family, in the shops, while waiting in the bank, in hairdressers.. We take time to pause and enjoy this special drink with a friend or family or sometimes simply reflect with every precious sip. A glass of water and Turkish Delights, Lokum by the side complete the Turkish coffee ritual. I shared this special cup with my mother while in Bodrum, it was very memorable. Here’s how to make Turkish coffee properly and its rituals, hope you enjoy yours.

Bodrum Castle, Turkey

I hope this post inspires you to create delicious, wholesome Turkish treats and visit this fascinating land sometime.

My best wishes from Turkey, Selamlar, Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Slowing down in Bodrum, chasing the waves and local treats

By Ozlem Warren on August 13, 2014 in Appetizers and Mezes, Fascinating Turkey 23

Greetings from Bodrum – Bodrum’dan merhaba; we have been at Turgutreis in Bodrum for a few days. It feels so good to slow down and chase the waves.. Here are what we’ve been up to and some local treats. Most of them can be easily made at home, hope they inspire or bring a smile.

Beautiful pots and flowers of Turgutreis, Bodrum

We are staying at my parents’ time share home in Turgutreis; Bodrum in general is a very popular holiday destination, though it is good to see Turgutreis still retains the village feel at places. My dad gets his daily egg and freshly picked tomatoes, peppers and aubergine at the nearby farm, from Fatma Teyze. And what a delightful commute walking at the beach for 15 minutes to get the fresh eggs..

Sevgi Baci’s delicious gozlemes, Turgutreis – Bodrum

We can’t get enough of Sevgi Baci’s made to order Gozlemes, Anatolian flat breads with fillings; this time it is cheese and potato.

Kabak cicegi dolmasi; stuffed zucchini, courgette flowers with aromatic rice and onion

Have you ever tried stuffed courgette/zucchini flowers? It is a delicacy especially in the Aegean region in Turkey; courgette flowers are stuffed with aromatic rice with herbs and onions, cooked and served with a slice of lemon, so fragrant and delicious.

Stuffed grapevine leaves with aromatic rice; Zeytinyagli Sarma

Stuffed vine leaves with aromatic rice and onions filling, Zeytinyagli Sarma is another delicious mezzes we have been having; served with a slice of lemon, it’s such a delicious, refreshing treat. Here’s my recipe if you’d like to have a go.

Children queuing for stuffed mussels, Midye Dolma in Turgutreis, Bodrum

Since the weather is warm, Zeytinyaglis, that is vegetables cooked in olive oil as well as sea food are to go food items. I loved seeing stuffed mussels with aromatic rice, served at the beach in Turgutreis. Also delighted to see the kids (including my children) queuing for them!:) Mussels here are stuffed in their shell with cooked rice & grated onion with spices; red pepper flakes and a hit of cinnamon. All you need is a squeeze of lemon and the whole plateful disappears within minutes.

Midye dolma; Stuffed Mussels

Karpuz, peynir, ekmek; coolwatermelon, Turkish white cheese (try Ezine peyniri, if you can) and freshly baked bread.. This is a traditional and a very refreshing lunch or snack at home, especially in hot days and we have been enjoying our fair share. A delicious, refreshing and healthy lunch alternative.

Cool water melon, feta cheese and freshly baked bread – Karpuz, peynir, ekmek make a delicious, refreshing lunch

How about eggs cooked with ripe tomatoes, green peppers, onions? Scrambled or left as a whole, they make such a delicious start for the day for Turkish breakfast. Here is my recipe for the scrambled egg with vegetables, Menemen.

Eggs with tomatoes, peppers and onion

Our local eatery in Avta – Turgutreis is wonderful. Kevser Teyze and Ismail Usta prepares freshly cooked casseroles, tencere yemekleri daily, using the local produce. We look forward to their food everyday!

Kevser teyze’s freshly prepared casseroles

Karniyarik, Stuffed eggplants with ground meat and vegetables, dolma, stuffed peppers, kuru fasulye, Turkish bean stew with onions, tomatoes, peppers (also with meat if you like), okra with onions, peppers, tomatoes (also with meat as an option) all freshly made. It is so good to see these local eateries around and well worth hunting for them.

Delicious okra cooked with onions, peppers, tomatoes, with or without meat

Delicious okra cooked with onions, peppers, tomatoes, chickpeas with or without meat

We also made it to the beautiful Gumusluk. There is a wonderful art scene in Gumusluk, loved all the handmade art, crafts, pottery and tiles.

Hand made tiles and crafts in Gumusluk

Gumusluk Unlu Mamulleri has been an amazing discovery; this wonderful bakery makes delicious boreks, pastries, simit and boreks; we got all these from them and enjoyed with cay by the harbor. Their rolled spinach pie, ispanakli borek was especially delightful.

Ispanakli kol boregi, Gumusluk Unlu Mamulleri

Sunset is beautiful at Gumusluk and the walk to the Tavsan Adasi, we will be back.

Sunset at Gumusluk and the walk to the Tavsan Adasi

These delicious lokmas; little dough balls soaked in syrup, are another specialty here; they have a light batter and you feel like you can eat the whole bowl!

Delicious lokma dessert of the Aegean

How about the zucchini fritters with feta and dill, mucver? It is in abundance at the moment, and these delicious fritters are a real treat with a dollop of yoghurt aside.

Zucchini fritters with feta, onions and dill; Mucver

One of the real treats of our Bodrum stay has been to have a chance to meet up with Alan and J of the wonderful blog Archers of Okcular. A keen nature lover, Alan’s blog inspires me a lot, as well as the wonderful projects they do, such as their Okcular Book Project. The sale of Alan’s brilliant Okcular Guide Book provides funds for the environmental and community projects in their Okcular village near Dalyan, as well as to the Okcular Primary School. It has been so wonderful to meet Alan and J in person; we chatted, ate, drank teas and coffees with my parents, who proved that language is no barrier! Happy days and thanks to them for coming over to see us.

A very memorable meet up with Alan and J of Archers of Okcular

Here is another delicious local treat we enjoyed, Sandal Sefasi, from Bodrum. This reminded me of the stuffed eggplants with ground meat, onions and tomatoes, Karniyarik – with a twist. This time halved eggplants are stuffed with cubed chunks of meat in onion and tomato sauce, topped with cheddar cheese, a slice of tomato and pepper, delicious!

Sansal Sefasi; stuffed eggplants with cubes of meat in tomato and onion sauce, topped with cheddar cheese

Time to sign off to tend the children, eager to jump into the sea.

Gumusluk, Bodrum; with beautiful, crystal clear sea

Until next time, Bodrum’dan Selamlar,

Ozlem

Samphire (Sea Beans, Deniz Borulcesi) with Salmon, tomatoes and Olives

By Ozlem Warren on June 10, 2013 in Appetizers and Mezes, Fascinating Turkey, Seafood 26

Succulent Samphire is in season at the moment, and it pairs with fish, boiled egg, broad beans beautifully

Succulent Samphire, deniz borulcesi or sea beans, as it is called in the US, is in season at the moment, and it pairs with fish, boiled egg, broad beans beautifully

Have you ever tried Samphire, or as we call in Turkey, deniz borulcesi? Samphire is in season at the moment and I was delighted to find this delicious sea vegetable at my local market, what a treat. Marsh Samphire, deniz borulcesi, is a succulent plant of the salicornia species, not a seaweed and it is a popular mezze ingredient in the Aegean & Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Samphire is also a fashionable sea vegetable in the UK at the moment; it has a short season (July to August) so make the most of it if you can. A reader kindly also informed me that samphire is called sea bean in the West Coast, US – and that makes perfect sense-. It pairs any grilled fish beautifully and samphire’s crisp texture and naturally salty, succulent taste is the taste of summer at the Aegean for me. Just one bite and I feel the sea breeze, the turquoise Aegean calling for me straight away..

Samphire’s crisp texture and naturally salty, delicious taste is the taste of summer at the Aegean for me.

Once described as the poor man’s asparagus, the mash samphire is not only delicious but very nutritious too. It is rich in vitamins A, B2, B15, C,D, amino acids and more. Some supermarkets, like Waitrose in England also carry samphire next to the fish counter, so worth checking out. Samphire is also delicious especially with egg, broad beans, for a vegetarian option.

Samphire paired deliciously with baked salmon, cherry tomatoes, anchovies and olives.

I prepared the samphire, deniz borulcesi, in a simple dressing of extra virgin olive oil, garlic and lemon juice, like it is prepared in Turkey for a mezze spread; this dressing complemented the samphire beautifully next to our baked salmon with cherry tomatoes, olives and anchovies. Avoid using salt, as there is plenty natural salt here through anchovies and the samphire or sea beans. A very easy and delicious recipe, l hope you enjoy it too.

I am passionate about my homeland’s delicious, healthy Turkish cuisine, packed with seasonal produce and wholesome ingredients and recipes like this one. My cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, includes over 90 authentic Turkish recipes, with stunning photography and my personal stories, if you’d like to get a signed copy, you can order at this link, it is delivered worldwide, promptly.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Serves 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes

4 salmon fillets

16-18 cherry tomatoes, halved

30ml/2 tablespoons olives, pitted and halved

3 small fillets of anchovies in olive oil (from the tin); drained

30ml/2 tablespoons olive oil

Ground black pepper to taste

Wedges of lemon to serve

For samphire (or sea beans or deniz borulcesi) & the dressing:

350g/12 oz. fresh samphire (deniz börülcesi)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1-2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped

30ml/ 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4

Spread the cherry tomatoes, olives and the anchovy fillets over and around the salmon fillets.

Grease the baking tray with the olive oil and place the salmon fillets on it. Spread the cherry tomatoes, olives and the anchovy fillets over and around the salmon fillets. Season with ground black pepper. Place the tray in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes (please refer to cooking instructions at the packaging as cooking time may vary with the size or type of the fish), until the fish is cooked and the tomatoes starting to turn crisp at the edges.

Samphire with olive oil, garlic and lemon juice

While the salmon is in the oven, prepare the samphire. Trim to remove the tough woody parts of the lower stalks and give it a light wash to remove any grit. Steam the samphire over a pan of boiling water for a few minutes. Cool the samphire in iced water and set aside in a serving bowl.