Appetizers and Mezes

Baby Artichokes Poached in Olive Oil with Peas, Carrots and Almonds – Zeytinyagli Enginar

By Ozlem Warren on June 11, 2012 in Appetizers and Mezes, Vegetables Cooked in Olive Oil 24

Vegetable Market in Istanbul – Sali Pazari, Istanbul

Turkish cuisine is very much based on using fresh, seasonal ingredients. A daily trip to Pazar, fresh fruit and vegetable market is a ritual, most Turks do daily at home. Rather than having a recipe in mind, we go to the Market, Pazar, to see which vegetables are seasonal and freshly available in the market and then decide what we will be cooking accordingly.

I had one of these moments when we went to the Turkish Market in Cheam last week. It so wonderful to see great displays of different kinds of peppers (red pointy ones, slim long and spicy green peppers, small spicy peppers and small, less meaty green bell peppers which are great for stuffing), slim aubergines, vine tomatoes and.. baby artichokes.

Baby artichokes at Cheam Market; they are a real treat. Until ready to use, fresh artichokes should be treated like flowers and put in a jug of water.

I rarely can get baby artichokes at my local market, so seeing it was a real treat and the menu for that day is decided; poached baby artichokes in olive oil. We Turks love to poach especially the big, meaty globe artichokes in olive oil with vegetables, dressed with lemon juice and dill. This style of cooking in Turkish cuisine is called “vegetables cooked in olive oil”, and we enjoy them at room temperature or cold. Dressed with olive oil and lemon juice,they are not only very healthy but a joy to eat during summer time and can be kept in fridge 2-3 days.

I adapted this recipe from one of my favourite cookery author Ghillie Basan’s Complete Book of Turkish Cooking Book. Ghillie added blanched almonds to hers, a brilliant idea for added texture and flavour, worked really well in mine too. This dish would be a wonderful starter, a light lunch or a side dish and you will be creating a healthy, delicious dish using a few fresh ingredients – I hope you can give it a go sometime.

Artichokes in olive oil, Em tennis, almond bulgur, lokum first p 015

Baby artichokes poached in olive oil with peas, carrots and almonds

Serves 4

Preparation time: 25 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes

4 large globe artichokes or 10-12 baby artichokes

1 small cooked carrot,diced

90gr/3oz fresh peas (or frozen if you can’t get fresh peas)

75gr/3oz blanched or flaked almonds

Juice of 1 lemon

30ml/2 tablespoons olive oil

5m/teaspoon granulated sugar

15ml/1 tablespoon fresh dill,chopped

Salt to taste

Wedges of lemon to serve

Cut off the stalks and pull off all the leaves of the artichokes

First let’s prepare the artichokes. Cut off the stalks and pull off all the leaves. Dig out the hairy choke from the middle with a spoon (you don’t need to do this stage with baby artichokes). Then cut away any hard bits with a sharp knife and trim into a neat cup shape. Rub the cups – called bottoms – with a mixture of lemon juice and a little salt to prevent them from coloring (tip: until ready to use, fresh artichokes should be treated like flowers and put in a jug of water).

Rub the artichoke cups with a mixture of lemon juice and a little salt to prevent them from colouring.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan and stir in the artichokes in lemon sauce and the diced carrots. Pour 100ml/4fl oz/1/2cup water over the vegetables, combine well. Cover the pan and poach the vegetables gently for about 25 minutes. Then add the fresh or frozen peas, sugar and almonds, combine well. Cover again and continue to cook gently for another 5 minutes, until the artichokes are tender.

Toss in the dill, season with salt and turn off the heat. Leave to cool the artichokes in the pan.

Serve this delicious course at room temperature with wedges of lemon by the side.

Baby artichokes poached in olive oil; a refreshing, delicious and healthy course

You can enjoy this refreshing vegetable course as a starter or by the side of grilled meat, fish or pasta.

Afiyet Olsun!

Friendly lady at the bakery, filling us with delicious breads and pastries

And a few more photos to share from the Cheam Market; the bakery is always a big hit with fresh flat breads, sesame seeded pastries, ekmek, Turkish loaf of bread and many more.

Simit, sesame coated bread rings are a big part of Turkish breakfast

Simit is the quintessential Turkish food; these sesame-encrusted bread rings are the most popular snack at home, and they are easy to make too, here is the recipe, if you’d like to have a go.

Wishing you all a good week ahead, filled with delicious food to share!

Ozlem

Petersons Fund for Children Charity Fundraiser & Some Delicious Nibbles to Share

By Ozlem Warren on May 7, 2012 in A Slice of England, Appetizers and Mezes, Salads 14

I was delighted to be a part of a good cause last week; Petersons Fund for Children Charity Fundraiser in Surrey, England.

Peterson’s Fund for Children’ is a registered local charity that supports children who struggle with cerebral palsy and other similar mental / physical disabilities. It has been in existence for nearly 4 years and through extensive fundraising efforts has provided therapy and equipment otherwise unavailable at the NHS in England. The aim of the charity is to help as many local children in need as possible in the hopes of improving their quality of life and offering them opportunities in order to maximize their individual growth and potential.

Twice a year, Charlene Peterson hosts this fundraiser and kindly opens her house to vendors to raise money for the charity. Wonderful vendors from different lines of businesses have joined forces together last week to help raise funds for the charity, and it was a big pleasure to be a part of this wonderful event. Here are some wonderful vendors from the fundraiser:

Ilgen’s Peshtemal towels can be used as beach towel or sarong or other outdoor use.

Here are Ilgen’s wonderful Turkish Peshtemal towels and natural soaps from the fundraiser event. Her light, super absorbent 100% cotton peshtemal towels (or mixture of luxurious blends including bamboo and silk) are simply wonderful and practical. llgen’s website Cotton & Olive will be up and running within a month, for further enquires please email ipaydas@btinternet.com.

Anila’s delicious home made curry sauces

I was delighted to meet Anila’s and taste her award winning curry sauces and samosas!!

Maro’s wonderful herb infused olive oil

Maro’s Kitchen was another wonderful vendor, with her herb infused extra virgin olive oil from Crete, so delicious. She also carries individually made spice mills; for further enquires, please email maroskitchen@gmail.com.

Home made baklavas for a sweet treat

I had some delicious home made baklavas, walnut, red pepper paste and olive oil dip over crackers at my table. I served the dip with rocket salad over the top; very easy to prepare and great for entertaining. The spice bowls are hand painted from Turkey, they have been a big hit. My heartfelt thanks goes to my parents and my sister for providing them 🙂

Walnut and red pepper paste dip on crackers and spice bowls from Turkey

Olives with Red Peppers, Spring onion and Parsley

I would like to leave you with this easy to prepare but very tasty, refreshing mezze, appetizer. It’s ready within minutes and goes very well over crackers or toasted bread. I also like to mix it with cooked pasta, bulgur or couscous for a healthy and delicious meal. Pomegranate molasses, a southern Turkish dressing, adds a wonderful, sharp and tangy taste to it. If you can’t get pomegranate molasses, you can replace with a good quality balsamic vinegar.

Seasonal, fresh ingredients make refreshing, healthy, delicious meals

Serves 4

Preparation time:10 minutes

175gr/6oz Turkish, Greek, Italian or Spanish olives, pitted

1 small red pointy or bell pepper, quartered and sliced coarsely

1-2 spring (green) onions, finely chopped

Handful of flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

10ml/1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

5ml/1 tsp pomegranate molasses or balsamic vinegar

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Simply mix the chopped vegetables and olives in a bowl. Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil and the pomegranate molasses (or balsamic vinegar) over them, combine well. Season with salt and ground black pepper.

Olives salad with red peppers, spring onions and pomegranate molasses; summer on a plate

Serve the mezze over crackers or mix with cooked pasta, bulgur wheat or couscous for a delicious and light meal.

Afiyet Olsun!

Grilled Fish on Sourdough Bread with Sumac Salad – Balik Ekmek

By Ozlem Warren on April 30, 2012 in Appetizers and Mezes, Salads, Seafood 20

One of the most popular street foods at home is grilled (or lightly fried) fish, served between slices of our traditional white loaf. Fishermen grill the fish at their boats and prepare this sandwich right there for you; with a breeze from the Bosphorus and view of boats passing by, that first bite is just heavenly.

Fishing with a view; fishermen by the edge of the Bosphorus and Sea of Marmara, overlooking the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul

Turkey is bounded by the sea on three sides – the Mediterranean,Aegeanand the Blacksea. With the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and Dardanelles at northwest, Turkey has over 7,000km (4,350 miles) of coastline. The plentiful fishing waters provide daily catches of bluefish, red and grey mullet, swordfish, sea bass, tuna, bonito, turbot, plaice, mackerel, sardines, anchovies and many more. In most of the coastal regions, fish is bought very fresh, straight off the boats at the daily fish market, still swimming around in the buckets or beautifully arranged on ice.

Well, my inspiration for this easy and delicious grilled fish served over crunchy sourdough bread with capers & herb mayonnaise came from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage TV series; I love their fresh, no fuss intake on food and making the most of seasonal ingredients. I tweaked their recipe with my sumac dressed red onion, tomato and parsley salad. The citrusy, tangy sumac really goes well with the grilled fish.

Baked fish with herb mayonnaise and sumac salad over sourdough bread

I hope you have a go at this easy, delicious fish sandwich (Balik Ekmek, as we say it in Turkish) with the refreshing sumac salad. Haddock fillets, mackerel, sea bass, cod or sardines would especially work well here. If you’re not a big fan of bread, boiled potatoes by the side is excellent too.

This delicious fish recipe along with over 90 scrumptious and healthy Turkish recipes are included at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland – Signed copies are available to order at this link for a limited period, if you’d like a copy for yourself or gift to a foodie.

Grilled Fish on Sourdough Bread with Herb Mayonnaise, served with Sumac, red Onion and Tomato salad; “Balik Ekmek ” with a twist

Serves 4

Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time:15-20 minutes (please check the suggested cooking time for the fish of your choice)

4 fillets of white fish of your choice (mackerel, haddock fillets work well)

10ml/1bsp olive oil

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Slices of sourdough bread to serve

Slices of gem lettuce, washed, to serve

For mayonnaise with capers & parsley:

20-30ml/2-3 tbsp of good quality mayonnaise (you can use light version if you like)

20ml/2tbsp baby capers, rinsed

A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

For Red Onion, Tomato and Parsley Salad with Sumac:

1/2 red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

3 medium tomatoes, finely chopped

A handful of flat leaf (Italian) parsley, finely chopped

30 ml/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

5 ml/1 tsp ground sumac

Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

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

Grease the baking tray with a little olive oil (or line aluminium kitchen foil on a baking tray then grease, for the ease of cleaning). Place the fillets of the fish, drizzle a little olive oil over them. Coat the fish with the seasoning and bake or grill for the required amount (please refer to the cooking instructions for the fish of your choice).

Capers and parsley work well with mayonnaise

While the fish is cooking, make the herb mayonnaise with capers. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, chopped parsley and the rinsed baby capers. Drizzle with a little olive oil; your herb mayonnaise is ready.

Tangy sumac flavors red onions, tomatoes and parsley beautifully and the salad is excellent with the grilled fish.

Tangy sumac flavors red onions, tomatoes and parsley beautifully; this salad is excellent with the grilled meat and fish.

For the sumac salad; work the salt and sumac into the onion slices with your hands really well in a bowl. This will soften the onions, make them more palatable and let the sumac really penetrate to the onions. Add the chopped tomatoes, parsley, juice of lemon and extra virgin olive oil into the bowl and combine well. Season with ground black pepper; your salad is ready to go.

Piyaz; lovely, refreshing salad with red onions, tomatoes, parsley with sumac and olive oil dressing

Once the fish is baked, slice the sourdough bread (you can toast the bread if you like too.) Spread a thin layer of the herb mayonnaise over the bread and place a cooked fish fillet over it. Then place a spoonful of the sumac salad over the bread. You can add the gem lettuce and another slice of bread over the top. Or you can simply enjoy as an open fish sandwich with one slice of bread. The sumac salad is also lovely served on the gem lettuce slice.