Tag Archives | gluten-free

Piyaz Salad with red onions, tomatoes, parsley and sumac

By Ozlem Warren on February 6, 2017 in Salads, Turkish Cooking Classes 23

Piyaz Salad with red onions, tomatoes, parsley and sumac

We had a delicious Turkish cookery class at the Divertimenti Cookery School in London on Jan. 29th with enthusiastic participants. This vibrant and easy Piyaz Salad with red onions, tomatoes and parsley, flavored with sumac was a big hit from the class. It is a traditional salad at home, especially popular alongside Turkish meatballs, Kofte, as well as Lahmacun, Turkish thin pizza with minced meat and vegetables topping. I love the tangy sumac with the red onions in this salad, gives a refreshing, zingy flavor, so delicious.

Rolling Piyaz Salad inside Lahmacun, delicious

We also made Lahmacun, thin Turkish pizza with minced/ground meat topping at our Turkish cookery class – another big hit! – We then placed some Piyaz Salad in the middle of Lahmacun and rolled to eat, as we do it traditionally at home. Such a wonderful combination. Here’s my Lahmacun recipe, if you like to make it at home.

Wonderful participants of my Jan. 29th Turkish Cookery Class at Divertimenti Cookery School, London.

I am passionate about healthy, delicious Turkish cuisine; this recipe and over 90 healthy, authentic Turkish recipes are included at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland. Signed copies are now 20 % this link and delivered worldwide including USA, if you like to get a signed copy.

Ozlem’s Turkish Table; Recipes from My Homeland – can be purchased at this link (signed copies!)

I hope you enjoy this easy, delicious, healthy Piyaz Salad, Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

5.0 from 2 reviews

Piyaz Salad with red onions, tomatoes, parsley and sumac

This vibrant and healthy Piyaz Salad gets ready in no time and it is so delicious. Red onions and tomatoes work very well with the tangy sumac; we tradionally enjoy this salad with Lahmacun, Turkish thin pizza with minced/ground meat topping, as well as Turkish meatballs. It is also a lovely salad served with cheese, olives and hummus.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Salads

Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine

Serves: 4

Ingredients

3 medium tomatoes, quartered and roughly chopped
1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 bunch of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon salt
15ml/1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
10 ml/2 teaspoon ground sumac
½ teaspoon paprika flakes – optional –
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Rub and work sumac and the salt into the onion slices with your hands really well (this will soften the onions and help spices infuse in well).
Stir in the chopped tomatoes, parsley and paprika flakes, combine well.
Wisk together the extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice and pour over the piyaz salad. Season with more salt (if needed) and freshly ground black pepper.
Serve Piyaz Salad with feta cheese, olives and/or hummus for a delicious spread. Piyaz Salad is also the ultimate accompaniment of Lahmacun and Turkish meatballs, kofte.

Poached Eggs with Garlic Yoghurt, Turkish Style – Çılbır

By Ozlem Warren on December 6, 2016 in Appetizers and Mezes, Gluten-free recipes 20

We Turks love eggs done many different ways; one of our favorite ways to enjoy egg is as being poached and served over garlic yoghurt, a special dish called Çılbır in Turkish. Çılbır is generally enjoyed as a hot mezze though I also like serving as part of a leisurely weekend Turkish breakfast, lunch or a light supper, along with a refreshing salad like Coban Salata, Shepherd’s Salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, spring onions and some pide bread or crusty bread. Make sure your eggs are fresh and ideally free-range for the best results (fresh eggs have a thicker white near the yolk that hold a round shape as it cooks).

I prepare a simple pul biber infused olive oil sauce and pour this over the poached eggs with garlic yoghurt, just before serving. The delicious heat from pul biber complements the dish beautifully. How about making your own Simit, Sesame crusted Turkish bread rings, to enjoy with Çılbır? They go very well together. Both Çılbır and Simit recipes, along with many other vegetarian Turkish dishes are included at my new cookery book, SEBZE, Vegetarian recipes from my Turkish kitchen, you can get a copy here.

I hope you enjoy this simple yet very satisfying dish, Afiyet Olsun.

Ozlem

5.0 from 4 reviews

Poached Eggs with Garlic Yoghurt, Turkish Style - Cilbir

I hope you enjoy this delicious poached eggs in garlic yoghurt, Turkish Style, called Cilbir. I like to prepare a simple red pepper flakes infused olive oil sauce and pour this over the poached eggs with garlic yoghurt, just before serving. The delicious heat from the red pepper flakes complements the dish beautifully.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Vegetarian, eggs, Turkish Style

Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1 large garlic clove, crushed and chopped finely
400g/14oz strained yoghurt, brought to room temperature
2 large free range eggs
30 ml / 2 tbsp. olive oil
30 ml / 2 tbsp. apple cider, grape or white wine vinegar
10 ml / 2 tsp. Turkish pul biber
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pide bread or crusty bread to serve
Fresh herbs to decorate

Instructions

Prepare the garlic yoghurt first – about 30 minutes before poaching the eggs – and bring to the room temperature.
In a small bowl, beat the yoghurt with garlic and seasoning. Spoon this into two serving plates, creating a round thick layer to provide a nest for the poached egg. Let the yoghurt mixture reach the room temperature.
Fill a small pan with hot water, add the vinegar (this will help sealing the egg whites) and bring to a boil. Stir the water to create a whirlpool and crack in the first egg.
As the egg spins and the white sets around the yolk, stir the water ready for the next one. Poach each egg for 2-3 minutes so that the yolk remains soft.
While the eggs are poaching, quickly pour in the olive oil in a small pan and stir in the Turkish pul biber,over medium to low heat. Stir and let the pul biber infuse to olive oil for 30 seconds, turn the heat off.
Lift the eggs out of the water with a slotted spoon and place them over a couple of sturdy paper towels, to drain the excess moisture. Then gently place them over to the garlic yoghurt spread.
Drizzle the pul biber infused olive oil over the poached eggs. Serve immediately with pide bread or crusty bread by the side.
Coban Salata, Shepherd’s Salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, spring onions would also go well with this delicious poached eggs over garlic yoghurt, Cilbir; Afiyet Olsun.

Ozlem’s Turkish Table on Brooklands Radio

I had the pleasure of having an interview with Jill Bennet on healthy Turkish cuisine at the Brooklands Radio on Sunday, 27^th November. It was wonderful to have a chance to talk and spread the word on wholesome, delicious Turkish cuisine – and had a flash back of happy memories of my amateur DJ days at Kent FM in Istanbul! – Here is the podcast link of our interview, if you like to listen to.

Fasulye Pilaki; White Beans Cooked in Olive Oil with Vegetables

By Ozlem Warren on September 17, 2015 in Appetizers and Mezes, Gluten-free recipes, Vegetables Cooked in Olive Oil 14

Fasulye Pilaki, White (Cannellini beans) cooked in olive oil with vegetables

Fasulye Pilaki is a delicious and wholesome vegetarian Turkish mezze, where vegetables and white (or cannellini) beans are cooked with onions, garlic, carrot and potato in olive oil. As in the case with our Zeytinyagli dishes, the category in Turkish cuisine where we cook vegetables in olive oil, we add a little sugar to balance the flavors. We serve pilaki cold or at room temperature, garnished with parsley and wedges of lemon; the tangy, refreshing lemon juice is really a must here and complements this beans based mezze very well.

I love the ease of preparing this dish as you can prepare ahead of time; it tastes even better the next day as the flavors mature. You can serve fasulye pilaki as a side to grilled fish, meat or vegetables. It is delightful as part of a mezze spread and for lunch too. This dish is also naturally gluten-free.

Fasulye Pilaki, White (Cannellini beans) cooked in olive oil with vegetables

The gorgeous plate that serves my Fasulye Pilaki in the photo is a gift from my very talented ceramic artist cousin, dear Nihal, who co-owns the beautiful Zen Ceramics in Istanbul with other seramic artists. Zen Ceramics combines the Anatolian Culture with contemporary designs at their hand made unique porcelain objects, suitable for daily life. I count myself lucky to have a wonderful collection of their beautiful plates so my heartfelt thanks to them!

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

4.7 from 3 reviews

Fasulye Pilaki; White Beans Cooked in Olive Oil with Vegetables

Fasulye Pilaki is a delicious and wholesome vegetarian Turkish mezze, where vegetables and white (or cannellini) beans are cooked with onions, garlic, carrot and potato in olive oil, served at room temperature or cold. You can serve fasulye pilaki as a side to grilled fish, meat or vegetables. It is delightful as part of a mezze spread and for lunch too. This dish is also naturally gluten-free.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Mezzes & Vegetarian

Cuisine: Turkish

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 can – 440 gr / 14 oz. of cooked white beans or cannellini beans, juice drained OR 275 gr/ 1½ cups/ 10 oz. dried white beans or cannellini beans*
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 medium carrot, quartered and diced in small pieces
1 medium potato, cut in small cubes
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely diced
45 ml / 3 tablespoons of olive oil for cooking
30 ml/ 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to drizzle before serving
Handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
5 ml/ 1 tsp sugar
Juice of ½ lemon
8 fl oz. / 1 cup water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

If using dried beans, soak the dried white or cannellini beans overnight or for at least 8 hours. Then drain the beans, rinse and transfer to a pot, filled with plenty of cold water.
Bring the pot to the boil, partially cover the pot and simmer for about 30 – 35 minutes. Make sure the beans become tender, but not soft or mushy, they should still have a bite to them. Drain and rinse the cooked beans under cold water and set them aside.
If you are using precooked beans in can, simply drain its juice and rinse under cold, running water and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in the pot and stir in the onions, sauté for 2 – 3 minutes, until they start to soften.
Add the garlic, carrots and potato, combine well and sauté for another 2 minutes. Pour in the water, cover and let them cook for 10 minutes in low to medium heat.
Stir in the beans, sugar, lemon juice and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Combine well.
Turn the heat to low, cover the pan.
Simmer for another 10 – 15 minutes, until the beans and vegetables are cooked (but not mushy). Check the seasoning and add a little more salt or ground black pepper if needed.
Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil over the Fasulye Pilaki and let it cool in the pan, covered.
Serve Fasulye Pilaki at room temperature or cold as part of a mezze spread or appetizer, garnished with chopped parsley and wedges of lemon by the side to squeeze over.

Notes

If you are using dried beans, first soak the dried beans in plenty of water overnight. Next day, drain the water and boil the dried beans in fresh water for about 20 minutes, covered. Drain the water and set the partially cooked white beans aside (If you are using precooked white beans, simply drain the juice and rinse the beans under cold water).