Apricot is one of Turkey’s most prolific fruit. Because of their abundance, some of the yearly harvest is allowed to dry in the hot summer sun in order to be enjoyed all year round. Malatya, a city in southeast Turkey, is particularly famous for excellent dried apricots which are exported throughout the world.
Apricots are great snacks; being packed with fiber and antioxidants, very healthy too. We love to eat them fresh, dried as well as in cakes and desserts in Turkey. Afternoon tea is a great ritual at home, where ladies prepare lovely cakes and pastries for friends and family, enjoyed over a glass of cay – tea – (this ritual still keeps going strong in our home in England and very popular with my children!). This apricot cake has been inspired by the artisan bakery Popina’s lovely plum tart; it is light, tasty and great with coffee and tea!
100 gr/3.5 ounces/1/2 cup golden caster sugar 1 egg 40 ml/1 1/3 lf oz groundnut oil (or any vegetable oil) 60 ml/2 lf oz whole milk 140 gr/ 5 ounce plain flour 1 teaspoon baking powder A few drops of vanilla extract 100 gr/3.5 ounce dried apricots, halved 1 1/2 tablespoon apricot jam to glaze
Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 350 F/ Gas 4
Put the sugar and egg in a mixing bowl and mix with an electric whisk. Add the oil, milk, flour, baking powder and vanilla, mix well until thoroughly combined.
Transfer to a greased cake tin and spread evenly. Place the apricot halves cut side up, over the mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until deep golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes.
In the meantime, put the apricot jam in a small saucepan and heat gently until melted and runny. Brush the jam all over the tart with a pastry brush and leave for a few minutes before serving.
Aubergine with green lentils, aubergine onions and peppers; Mercimekli Mualla- such a delicious treat
It is high time for an eggplant (aubergine) recipe, the king of vegetables at home. Eggplant lovers at home claim we have over 200 eggplant, patlican recipes, as we love this special vegetable so much. My name in our home is actually “Patlican” too – or Patli as short-. When my husband heard the name for the first time, he liked the sound of it so much that he decided to call me Patlican! No complaints.
We have a whole section in Turkish cuisine called “Vegetables cooked in Olive Oil”, Zeytinyaglilar, where we cook vegetables in olive oil and serve them either cold or at room temperature. Once cooked, it is important for the dish to cool down in its pan and rest, allowing all the flavors to blend. Usually served with a wedge of lemon, this style of cooking is very healthy, tasty and refreshing.
Here is also my YouTube video on how to make Mercimekli Mualla:
This traditional recipe, Patlicanli Mercimekli Mualla, is from Antakya, Southern part of Turkey, where my roots are from. The amazing flavors of green lentils, olive oil, eggplant and dried mint blend so well and take me back to Antakya immediately. This is a traditional recipe and I am especially happy to be able to pass it on to food lovers and the next generation, and delighted to include at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes From My Homeland; Signed copies now 25 % off at this link, for a limited time and delivered worldwide, including the US, if you’d like to grab yours. It is a joy to trace these recipes over many phone calls to my mother, passionately exchange opinions on it and finally have a chance to share with you. I hope you enjoy this wonderful dish and pass it on.
180 gr / 1 cup green lentils
2 large or 3 medium eggplants (aubergine)
2 medium onions, thinly sliced – about 1 cup –
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 red bell pepper, cut in half and thinly sliced
400 gr / 14 oz (a can of) chopped tomatoes in juice
50 ml/ about 2 fl oz/ 1/4 cup olive oil and
45 ml / 3 tablespoons of olive oil to saute eggplants
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon dried mint (spearmint)
240 ml/ 8 lf oz / 1 cup water
Crusty bread to serve
Put lentils in a pan of boiling water, stir and cover. Simmer in low heat for 15 minutes. Drain its water and set aside.
Using a vegetable peeler, peel the eggplants in zebra stripes. Cut the eggplant in half lengthways and then cut each half into medium thick slices (about 1.5cm thick). Spread them on a wide tray, sprinkle salt over and leave aside for 15 minutes. With using paper towel, squeeze excess water out of eggplants.
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pan and sauté the eggplant slices over high heat for a minute or two. This will help eggplants to soften up and start bringing out their lovely sweet flesh – if your pan is not large enough, this may take 3-4 minutes-.
In a large bowl, combine the partially cooked lentils, onion, garlic, bell peppers, chopped tomatoes, salt, mint, olive oil and the sugar, mix well. Season with ground black pepper, check the seasoning and add more salt if needed.
In a wide heavy pan, place a layer of the eggplant slices. Spread the half of the vegetable mixture over the eggplants evenly. Place the remaining of the eggplant slices over the top and spread the remaining vegetable mixture over. Add the water, season, cover and cook in medium to low heat for about 40 minutes.
Once cooked, cover and cool the dish in the pan. Serve at room temperature with some crusty bread.
Tips and facts on Eggplant (Aubergine):
1) This wonderful vegetable (actually fruit, as it has seeds) has about 90 % water, which makes it low in fat and calories. You need to get rid of the sour juice of the eggplant before cooking. You can do that by salting the eggplant slices, and squeezing the sour juice out using a paper towel.
2) You can’t eat eggplants raw but once cooked, the flesh becomes meaty and sweet; which makes a great vegetarian option.
3) We Turks love eggplants; we grill it, broil it, bake in the oven, smoke it and even make lovely jams out of it! As nation’s favorite vegetable, it is believed we have over 200 recipes featuring the beloved eggplant, patlican.
4) When shopping for eggplants, look for bright dark purple color and a healthy green stem. It should feel heavy for its size. Try to get a small to medium size eggplants as they tend to have less seeds.
