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Author Archive | Ozlem Warren

Runner (green) beans cooked in olive oil; Zeytinyagli Taze Fasulye

Green beans or runner beans cooked in olive oil with vegetables; Zeytinyagli Taze Fasulye

Green beans or runner beans cooked in olive oil with vegetables; Zeytinyagli Taze Fasulye

I was delighted to spot some lovely runner beans in my local market the other day; they are packed with flavor and freshness and we like to cook them in olive oil with onions and tomatoes.

This is such an easy, delicious and healthy vegetarian course that you can serve as a starter or an accompaniment to grilled meat. Green beans cooked this way are a great national favorite. Enjoyed by the urban and rural families alike, there are varying theories of how to achieve the best result. Traditionally, zeytinyagli dishes (vegetables cooked in olive oil) are prepared in advance and served at room temperature, as a meze or vegetable course. French, runner and dwarf beans are all suitable to be prepared this way. Once cooked, you can store in the fridge for a good 2-3 days.

 

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 30 % Off at this link for a limited period and delivered worldwide including USA and Canada; we do hope it helps with healthy, delicious home cooking, especially at this lockdown period.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Serves 4 – 6
Preparation time – 15 minutes Cooking time – 40 minutes

500 gr / 1.1 lb runner (green) beans, trimmed and cut into 3 pieces
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
45 ml /3 tablespoon olive oil
400 gr / 14 oz canned diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoon sugar
Salt and black pepper to taste
lemon wedges to serve

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil for a couple of minutes. Add the beans and canned tomatoes and cook for another 1 or 2 minutes. Pour over the water, add the sugar, season with salt and pepper. Bring the liquid to the boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 35 minutes. Check the seasoning and add more salt if needed. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool in the pan. İn Turkish cooking, it is important for the the vegetables cooked in oil to cool and rest in the pan it is cooked for the flavors to blend well.

Transfer to a serving dish and serve with wedges of lemon to squeeze over.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

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Turkish Rose Ravioli – Gul Manti or Sosyete Mantisi

 

Gul Manti – Turkish Rose shaped ravioli, very delicious with garlic yoghurt.





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 eggplants would work well), it would also make a very impressive vegetarian main course.

Rose ravioli is a great dish for entertaining and I like to serve it with a leafy salad or steamed vegetables. It is the asparagus season at the moment and they go very well with the rose ravioli.

Ozlem’s Turkish Table Cookery Book – on its way!

Savoury pastries and boreks are an important part of Turkish cuisine and I have a special chapter for savoury pastry at my Turkish cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland, available to order (with worldwide delivery) at this link.

Serves 3- 4 (makes 12 rose raviolis)
Preparation time – 45 minutes Cooking time – 25 – 30 minutes

260 gr / 9 oz filo pastry sheets, thawed
225 gr / 8 oz ground (minced) lean lamb
1 onion, very finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
260 gr / 9 oz tomatoes, finely diced
1 bunch or 1/2 cup Italian flat leaf parsley, freshly chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly grounded black pepper

3 fl oz / 1/3 cup meat stock

For garlic yoghurt:
260 gr / 9 oz natural plain yoghurt (Greek yoghurt works well)
2 garlic cloves, crushed with salt

For red pepper infused sauce:
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Dried mint to sprinkle over to finish the rose ravioli

Preheat oven to 350 F / 180 C

For best results, thaw the frozen filo pastry in the fridge overnight and bring it to the room temperature 2 hours before using. That enables the filo thaw completely. If it is sold fresh as in the UK, you only need to bring the filo to the room temperature 30 minutes before using.

Sauté the onions with some olive oil for a couple of minutes, until soft. Add the ground meat and the garlic, cook for 3-4 minutes, until most of the liquid is evaporated. Stir in the tomatoes and gently cook for another couple of minutes. Season with salt and pepper, add the parsley and mix well. Set aside to cool.

On a dry surface, place 2 filo pastry sheets on top of one another and cut in half horizontally to form two rectangles. Place 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture in the middle and roll like a cigar. Then, starting from one end, roll the cigar shape into a rose shape sealing the end with a little water. Make sure you seal all the openings/cracks with a little water. Repeat this with all rectangles.

Brush the gul manti with a little olive oil and place them on a greased tray. Bake in the oven for about 20 – 25 minutes or until golden.

Take the gul manti out of the oven once they are golden brown. Then place a dessert spoonful of stock on each hot manti and put in the oven for another 5 minutes to soak up the stock. The finished rose mantis should be nice and crispy outside and moist inside.

For the garlic yoghurt; whisk together the yoghurt and the crushed garlic until smooth and creamy. Put this mixture in a heat resistant glass bowl and put this in a pan of hot water for a couple of minutes to luke warm the garlic yoghurt.

For the red pepper infused sauce; melt the butter (or gently heat the olive oil) in a small pan. Add the red pepper flakes and mix well.

Place the hot rose ravioli (gul manti) on a serving dish. Pour the garlic yoghurt over it first then dribble the peppery sauce over the garlic yoghurt. Finish the dish by sprinkling dried mint over it and serve immediately.

Note:1) Fillo pastry dries out very quickly and becomes unworkable. To prevent this, keep the pastry sheets under a damp dish towel, and only take out one at a time. Also, cover the manti you prepared with damp towel until cooking. Any left over pastry can be rolled up, sealed in a freezer bag and kept in the freezer.

2) You can freeze the baked gul mantis. They can be successfully reheated on a greased tray (at 350 F / 180 C for about 15 minutes or so)

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Bulgur Wheat Pilaf with Vegetables – Sebzeli Bulgur Pilavi

Bulgur wheat pilaf with onions, tomatoes and peppers

Bulgur wheat pilaf with onions, tomatoes and peppers

My cousin asked me recently what to feed his 15 month old baby. Our children have been eating mainly what we have been eating (with the condition of compromising from the seasoning and adding more salt and spices on our own plate), we have been lucky. And that’s what I have suggested to him. Turkish food provides a healthy and balanced diet to the children too and this bulgur pilaf with vegetables would be a healthy and delicious option to give to them – my children enjoy it greatly!

Often confused with cracked wheat, bulgur wheat is a grain made from cooked whole wheat berries, which have had the bran removed, and is then dried in the sun and crushed. As it has already been cooked, it requires little cooking to reconstitute itself. It is available coarsely and finely ground. For pilaf, the coarser type is used, to create a nutty and delicious dish, which is a meal in itself and served with yoghurt. Bulgur has been a major staple in many rural areas in Turkey; during the Ottoman Period, the rice was a very precious commodity that only the rich could afford. This made the bulgur a very popular option and healthy one too. It is reach in fiber and provides good source of protein.

Serves 6
Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: about 20-25 minutes

350 gr/ 12 oz/ 2 cups of coarse organic bulgur wheat, rinsed and drained
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
15 ml / 1 tablespoon olive oil
30 ml / 2 tablespoons butter
400 gr /14 oz can of chopped tomatoes
600 ml / 1 pint / 2 1/2 cup hot vegetable or chicken stock or water
1 teaspoon salt – please adjust to your taste –
freshly ground black pepper
chopped parsley for garnish – optional-

Rinse the bulgur under cold running water, drain and set a side.

Sauté the chopped onions in olive oil and butter until soft. Add the green bell pepper and chopped tomatoes, cook for another minute. Add the stock (or water) and bring to boil.

Add the bulgur, salt and ground pepper and stir once. Cover and cook over a low heat until the bulgur has absorbed all the stock and stem holes are visible on the surface. It is important not to stir the pilaf during this time. Remove the pan from the heat. Cover the pan with a cloth or absorbent kitchen paper and the lid over the top. The bulgur will continue cooking in the steam and the cloth will absorb any excess moisture. Leave to stand covered, for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Delicious and wholesome bulgur wheat with onions, tomatoes and peppers

Delicious and wholesome bulgur wheat with onions, tomatoes and peppers

Fluff up the pilaf with a fork and serve hot, garnished with a sprinkling of chopped parsley if you would like.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

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