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Tag Archives | red pepper flakes

Eggs with peas and tomatoes, flavored with cumin and chili flakes

Eggs with peas, tomatoes, garlic and spring onion, flavored with cumin and red pepper flakes.

Eggs with peas, tomatoes, garlic and spring onions, flavored with cumin and red pepper flakes.

Some days call for an easy, simple supper. This tasty egg dish with peas, spring onions, garlic and tomatoes is not only easy but also wholesome and gluten-free. Fresh peas work wonderfully if you can get them, though frozen peas are a great alternative too. Their natural sweetness and texture go so well with the eggs, along with garlic, tomatoes and spring (green) onions.

We Turks love eggs; for instance, Menemen, Turkish style scrambled eggs with peppers and tomatoes is a national favorite. Eggs done different ways take the centerpiece during our leisurely weekend Turkish breakfast, my favorite meal of the day. We also turn to eggs for an easy, light supper like this one with peas. Flavored with the pungent cumin and spicy red pepper flakes (if you wish), this meal gets ready in no time and so satisfying. You can serve Cacik dip with yoghurt and cucumbers or the lovely lamb’s lettuce/purslane salad with garlic yoghurt aside. Make sure to have some flat breads or a nice crusty loaf aside to mop up the delicious juices.

Eggs with peas, flavored with cumin and red pepper flakes, a delicious, easy supper, also gluten-free

Eggs with peas, flavored with cumin and red pepper flakes, a delicious, easy supper, also gluten-free

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

5.0 from 2 reviews
Eggs with peas and tomatoes, flavored with cumin and chili flakes
 
Some days call for easy but still delicious suppers. This tasty egg dish with peas, spring onions, garlic and tomatoes is not only simple but also wholesome and gluten-free. Flavored with cumin and red pepper flakes, all you need is some crusty or flat bread to tuck in to this light and delicious meal.
Author:
Recipe type: Turkish style eggs with peas and spices - Easy Suppers
Cuisine: Turkish
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 250 gr/ 9 oz. fresh or frozen peas
  • 3 spring (green) onions, finely chopped
  • 1-2 small garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 medium tomato, finely chopped
  • 4 medium free range eggs
  • 45 ml / 3 tbsp. olive oil
  • 5 ml / 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 5 ml / 1 tsp. red pepper flakes or chili flakes
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • Flat breads or crusty bread to serve
Instructions
  1. If using fresh peas, place them in a small saucepan and cover with hot water. Boil gently for 2- 3 minutes. If using frozen peas, gently boil for 3-4 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to retain their color and firmness.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a wide pan. Stir in the spring (green) onions, garlic and tomatoes. Cook for 2 minutes over medium heat.
  3. Add the cooked peas to the pan and combine all the vegetables well.
  4. Crack the eggs over the vegetable mixture, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Also sprinkle ground cumin and red pepper flakes or chili flakes over the eggs.
  5. Cook the eggs for about 4-5 minutes (or a little longer if you prefer) over low to medium heat, until the eggs are just done. I like mine when the egg white is set and the yolk is a little on the runny side.
  6. Serve hot with flat breads or a nice crusty loaf aside to mop up the delicious juices.
 

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Potato, red onion, pepper and olive bake with cumin and chili flakes

Baked potatoes, peppers, red onion and olives with cumin and red pepper flakes

Baked potatoes, peppers, red onion and olives with cumin and  red pepper flakes

Merhaba to you all; this week, I would like to share this favorite easy, delicious all in one vegetarian course – Spiced potatoes, onions, pepper and olives baked in olive oil. Touch of warm, pungent cumin and spicy Turkish red pepper flakes add a lot of flavor to the vegetables here, especially to the humble potato, transforming their taste to a new level. The sweetness of peppers and red onions also give a lovely contrast to juicy, salty olives and complement one another really well. As always, it is all about using a few good, seasonal ingredients and you have a delicious, wholesome dish in hand in less than 1 hour.

Combine the spices and the seasoning with the vegetables and olives, giving them a good mix, before baking

Combine the spices and the seasoning with the vegetables and olives, giving them a good mix, before baking

You can serve this comforting, gluten-free course as a side to grills or as part of a mezze spread. It can be also be a delicious, light main course on its own with the Cacik dip of cucumber, yoghurt with dried mint and some crusty bread aside. You can also bake this dish ahead of time and give it a gentle reheat in the oven just before serving. Try to get good quality olives; Turkish, Italian, Spanish or Greek Kalamata olives all work well and really make a difference.

Turkish cuisine is healthy, delicious and packed full of easy, wholesome vegetarian options like this recipe. I am passionate about my homeland’s scrumptious Turkish cuisine; over 90 authentic Turkish recipes are included at my Gourmand award winner cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland. Signed copies are available at this link and delivered worldwide.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

5.0 from 1 reviews
Potato, red onion, pepper and olive bake with cumin and chili flakes
 
Hope you enjoy this delicious all in one vegetarian course - Spiced potatoes, onions, pepper and olives baked in olive oil. Touch of warm, pungent cumin and spicy red pepper flakes add a lot of flavor to the vegetables here, especially to the humble potato, transforming their taste to a new level. You can serve this lovely, gluten-free course as a side to grills or as part of a mezze spread.
Author:
Recipe type: Vegetables baked in olive oil with spices
Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1kg / 2.2 lb. medium potatoes, quartered
  • 2 medium red onions, cut in half and thinly sliced
  • 2 red bell pepper (or pointy pepper), deseeded, quartered and thinly sliced
  • 12- 14 good quality black olives, pitted and halved
  • 15 ml/ 3 tsp. ground cumin
  • 10 ml / 2 tsp. Turkish red pepper flakes or chili flakes (you can use more for a spicier taste)
  • 30 ml / 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 200 C/ 400 F
  2. Put the quartered potatoes in a large enough pan with plenty of cold water.
  3. Parboil or partially cook the potatoes for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
  4. Heat the olive oil in a pan and stir in the sliced red onions and peppers. Sautee for 5 minutes, until they start to soften up, turn the heat off.
  5. Grease the baking tray with a good drizzle (about 2 tbsp.) of olive oil. Combine the parboiled potatoes, sautéed red onions, peppers and the pitted black olives in the tray. Include any remaining olive oil in the pan of the sautéed red onions and peppers to the baking tray.
  6. Stir in the ground cumin and red pepper flakes over the vegetables. Season with salt and ground black pepper.
  7. Using your hands, combine the spices and the seasoning with the vegetables and olives, giving them a good mix.
  8. Bake for 35 minutes at 200 C/ 400 F and serve hot.

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Manti, Turkish dumplings with ground meat, onion and spices

These delicious tiny treasures, Manti or Mantu, dumplings with spiced ground meat and onion, is one of the all time favorite  dishes in Turkey. In especially Anatolia, family members gather to prepare the dough and fill the tiny dough squares with the filling together; it is a bit of a labor of love, so it is great to get together for making it, and so worth the effort. The marriage of the melt-in-the-mouth dumplings with garlic yoghurt sauce and spice infused olive oil is simply irresistible. Tangy Sumac, red pepper flakes and dried mint infused in olive oil all add another layer of deliciousness and work greatly with garlic yoghurt as the sauce for manti.

Manti; delicious dumplings with gound meat filling, served with garlic yoghurt ans spices infused olive oil

Manti; delicious dumplings with ground meat filling, served with garlic yoghurt and spices infused olive oil

The word manti derives from mantu,  meaning dumplings. It is a shared culinary heritage that the nomadic Turkish tribes brought with them when they travelled from Central Asia towards Anatolia, today’s Turkey, during the 13th century.  According to Holly Chase, Turkic and Mongol horsemen on the move were supposed to have carried frozen or dried manti, which could be quickly boiled over a camp”; what a brilliant idea. These delicious dumplings are popular in most Turkic cuisines, as well as in Armenian, Caucasian, Central Asian, Afgan and Chinese Islamic cuisines.

These days you can get pre-made Manti in most supermarkets in Turkey and specialty & online stores abroad.

These days you can get pre-made Manti in most supermarkets in Turkey and specialty & online stores abroad.

These days you can easily find these delicious dumplings, manti in every supermarket in Turkey and Turkish specialty stores as well as Middle Eastern stores abroad, but there’s nothing quite like the homemade manti. In our family we make a double batch, bake the dumplings (which gives manti a nice bite) and freeze some of it for a delicious surprise later on, I highly recommend doing it. Traditionally, the filling consists of ground meat, onion and spices, though in Eastern Anatolia the crushed chickpeas with cumin and red pepper flakes are used as filling too and it is delicious vegetarian option.

Delicious, tiny treasures, Manti; Turkish dumplings with spiced ground meat filling.

Delicious, tiny treasures, Manti; Turkish dumplings with spiced ground meat filling.

I hope this scrumptious manti maybe a gift of good food, packed with history for your family and friends to share.

Fascinating Pergamum, Bergama - Turkey

Fascinating Pergamum, Bergama – Turkey

I am passionate about my homeland’s delicious, healthy Turkish cuisine; over 90 authentic Turkish recipes are included (savoury pastries, hot and cold mezes, vegetables cooked in olive oil, desserts, casseroles and more – please kindly note that manti is not included at my current book) at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland; Signed hardback copies are 20 % off  here, and delivered worldwide, including the US  and Canada with lower rates here – e-book option available too. Afiyet Olsun.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Serves 4 people

Dough ingredients:

300gr/ 2 cups/ 10 ½ oz. all-purpose plain flour (plus a little extra for rolling)
1 egg, beaten
4 fl. oz. / ¼ cup water

30ml/2 tbsp. olive oil
5ml/1 tsp sea salt

For the filling:

225gr/8oz ground beef or lean ground lamb
1 onion, grated or very finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the garlic yoghurt:

500gr/2 ¼ cups thick and creamy plain yoghurt

1 -2 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped

Salt to taste

For the sauce:

15ml/1 tbsp. Turkish hot pepper paste, biber salcasi (give link) or tomato paste

60ml/4 tbsp. olive oil

10 ml/2 tsp. dried spearmint, kuru nane

5 ml/1 tsp. (or more) ground sumac (optional)

5 ml/ 1 tsp. (or more) Turkish red pepper flakes, chili flakes, pul biber

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F

First make the dough. Sift the flour and salt into a wide bowl and make a well in the middle. Pour in the beaten egg and the water and using your hands, draw the flour into the liquid and mix to a dough. Pour in the olive oil and knead the dough for about 5-8 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Manti dough needs to be quite hard; cover the dough with a cling film or kitchen towel and leave to rest in a cold place or in the fridge for 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting, make the filling. Grate or finely chop the onion and combine with the ground meat. Season with salt and ground black pepper and mix well.

In a separate bowl, beat the yoghurt with the garlic and season with salt to your taste.

Spoon a little of the filling, rounded at a size of half a chickpea, into the middle of each square.

Spoon a little of the filling, rounded at a size of half a chickpea, into the middle of each square.

Cut the dough into 3 pieces. Working one piece of dough at a time (and cover the rest of the dough pieces with a damp towel in the meantime so they don’t dry out), roll the dough as thinly as you can into a sheet, on a lightly floured surface. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into small squares (roughly 2.5cm/1in). Spoon a little of the filling, rounded at a size of half a chickpea, into the middle of each square.

 

Pinch the opposite corners to form a little a little pouch and press the seams together to seal firmly.

Bake uncovered for 10 minutes, until the manti, dumplings start to get light golden.

Bake uncovered for 10 minutes, until the manti, dumplings start to get light golden.

Repeat with the rest of the dough and place the stuffed dumplings in a greased oven proof dish, stacking them next to one another. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes, until the manti, dumplings start to get light golden. Take them out of the oven and let the manti cool. You can freeze some of this baked manti in a sealed bag for up to 3 weeks.

Pour the hot water and pinch of salt to a large pan and bring to the boil. Place the baked dumplings gently to the boiling water and simmer for about 8- 10 minutes, until they are cooked. Once cooked, drain the water and return the manti to the pan. Drizzle a little oil over them so that they don’t stick together.

While manti is cooking, prepare your sauce. Heat the oil in a wide pan and add the hot pepper paste, biber salcasi or the tomato paste. Stir in the red pepper flakes, dried mint and sumac, combine well and simmer for 1-2 minutes.

Manti; delicious Turkish dumplings with spiced ground meat, served with garlic yoghurt and spices infused olive oil.

Manti; delicious Turkish dumplings with spiced ground meat, served with garlic yoghurt and spices infused olive oil.

Arrange manti on a warm serving dish and spoon the garlic yogurt over them. Then drizzle spices infused olive oil and tomato/red pepper paste sauce over the garlic yoghurt. You can decorate with extra red pepper flakes, dried mint and sumac and serve immediately.

Afiyet olsun; May you be happy and healthy with this delicious food you eat;

Ozlem

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