Appetizers and Mezes

Lamb Kebab with Peas, Carrots and Onions, Wrapped In Puff Pastry – Talas Boregi

Talas borek; lamb chunks with vegetables, wrapped in puff pastry

The spread of the Ottoman Empire into Europe resulted in influences from different cuisines. For instance, the use of puff pastry in this kebab reflects a French influence in the Ottoman and today’s Turkish cuisine.

These delicious pastry parcels are lovely served as an appetizer (the miniature versions would also make great finger food for dinner parties, like the little one made by my daughter :). You can also serve them as a main course with some steamed vegetables by the side. (I like Ghillie Basan’s way of serving the cooking liquid of as a sauce by the side too). The cucumber & yoghurt dip with mint, Cacik, would be also a great accompaniment.I hope you have a go at them sometime; they are easy to make, impressive and delicious!

Serves 4-6
Preparation time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 35 minutes

225gr/1/2lb lamb, cut into small cubes
1 onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely diced
60gr/2oz peas
10ml/2teaspoons tomato paste
15ml/1 tablespoon olive oil
5ml/1teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
4fl oz/ 1/2 cup water

345gr/12oz puff pastry, thawed
1 egg yolk, beaten

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

Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan. Add the onions and cook for 2-3 minutes, until they are softened. Add the lamb and cook for further 3-4 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the carrots, peas and tomato paste, mix well. Season with salt and pepper and add the red pepper flakes. Pour in the water and give it a good mix. Reduce the heat, cover and cook for about 20 minutes. Drain and reserve the liquid of the meat mixture to be used as a sauce later. Leave the meat mixture to cool.

If the puff pastry is frozen, please take out of the freezer 2 hours before using and bring it to the room temperature. If it is kept in the fridge, take out the puff pastry 20 minutes before using and remove its carton. Just before using, take off the outer plastic wrap and unroll the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll out the pastry into a thin sheet of a rectangle. Cut out squares, about 13cmx13cm (4x4in).

Place a little of the meat mixture in the center of each square and fold over the edges to form a packet.

Place the packets, seam-side down, in the baking tray. Brush the egg yolk over the pastries and bake them in the oven for about 35 minutes or until puffed up and golden brown.

Warm up the reserved liquid of the meat mixture and serve as a sauce by the side of the kebabs in puff pastry. You can also serve them with steamed vegetables and some Cacik (yoghurt, cucumber and mint dip) as a main course.

Talas borek; lamb and vegetables wrapped in puff pastry; easy and delicious

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Broad (Fava) Beans Salad in Two Ways; in olive oil and garlic yoghurt

By Ozlem Warren on April 26, 2011 in Appetizers and Mezes, Salads 7

Broad beans with peppers, spring onion, dill in olive oil sauce

Broad beans with poached egg and garlic yoghurt

Broad Beans (Fava Beans) with bell peppers, olive oil, dill and lemon juice – Fava Salatasi

Here are two delicious ideas to enjoy broad beans, and I am sure the taste will be at least doubled if you can get the fresh ones. Combination of dill, lemon juice and olive oil is a favorite way of flavoring broad beans at home. Hope you can get to try sometime.

Broad beans are a great source of protein and carbohydrates, as well as vitamins A, B1 and B2. In the US, they’re known as fava beans. This delicious and easy salad would be a great appetizer or light lunch served with crusty bread and perhaps with some olives.

Serves 2 Preparation time: 20 minutes

175gr/6oz tender broad beans (in water) or even better, fresh broad beans

2 spring (green) onions, finely chopped

1/4 red bell pepper, finely chopped

Juice of 1/2 lemon 10ml/2 teaspoon fresh dill, coarsely chopped

15ml/1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

5ml/1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

If using tender broad beans in water, empty the contents in a colander. Put the broad beans in a pan with fresh water and simmer gently for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the water and set the broad beans aside.

If using fresh broad beans, they should be podded, unless they are very young and tender. Put the beans in a pan, cover with boiling water, return to the boil and cook for about 10 – 15 minutes. Then drain, empty into cold water, slit each pod along its seam and run your thumb along the furry inside to push the beans out.

In a serving bowl, combine the broad beans with the rest of the ingredients except the balsamic vinegar and mix well. Make sure to season well with salt and pepper and drizzle the balsamic vinegar over.

Serve with some crusty or pita bread; green and black kalamata olives go well with this salad.

Afiyet Olsun!

Tender Broad Beans with Garlic and Yoghurt Sauce and Poached Eggs – Cilbir Yumurta ve Sarimsak Yogurtlu Fava Salatasi

This is another exciting way of enjoying broad (fava) beans, which I recently experimented. It is quite common to serve poached egg with garlic yoghurt at home and this combination has gone really well with the broad beans. This dish would make a lovely lunch with some pita bread or a delicious meze (appetizer).

Serves 2 Preparation time: 15-20 minutes

175gr/6oz tender broad beans (in water) or even better, fresh broad beans

10ml/2teaspoons fresh dill, coarsely chopped

5ml/1teaspoon red pepper flakes

10ml/2teaspoons juice of lemon

15ml/1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 free range eggs

30ml/2tablespoons white wine vinegar

For garlic yoghurt:

2 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped

90ml/6 tablespoons plain natural yoghurt

Salt and pepper to taste

Sprigs of dill and red pepper flakes to decorate

In a bowl, combine the broad beans with dill, red pepper flakes, lemon juice and olive oil. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, mix well. Divide the salad into two individual serving plates.

In a small bowl, beat the yoghurt with garlic and seasoning. Spoon this into two serving plates and spread over the broad beans mixture.

Fill a small pan with 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.

Lift the eggs out of the water with a slotted spoon and place them over the garlic yoghurt spread.

Sprinkle red pepper flakes over and a few sprigs of dill. Serve immediately with some nice bread to mop up the salad’s delicious juices.

Afiyet Olsun, Ozlem

Sautéed Aubergine (Eggplant), Courgette (Zucchini) and Peppers with Tomato Sauce-Saksuka

By Ozlem Warren on February 23, 2011 in Appetizers and Mezes 11

Saksuka is one of the most popular mezes, appetizers at home, featuring our beloved eggplant (aubergine). It is delicious and easy to make. Garlicky yoghurt accompanies this dish really well. I like to add a little Turkish hot pepper paste, biber salcasi to it; it really adds a wonderful flavor. If you like to make your own red pepper paste, here is my recipe.

Shakshuka (meaning “all mixed up”), is also a popular dish in the Middle East, made up of eggs cooked in tomato sauce, peppers, herbs and sometimes onions. For us Turks though, the name and dish Saksuka refers to this delicious, summery meze of aubergines, peppers cooked in olive oil, served with tomato based sauce. I like to add courgette (zucchini) here too – it really is summer on a plate. Vegetables are tratidionally shallow fried in olive oil for this recipe. For a lighter and equally tasty option, you can bake them in the oven too, as in the recipe.

Turkish cuisine is based on seasonal produce and we have a huge variety of vegetarian dishes, which I love. Over 70 % of the dishes at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, is vegetarian, showcasing the diversity of our dishes, healthy and easy to make ( please kindly note that this recipe is not included at my current book). Signed copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book is available at this link and delivered worldwide.

I hope you enjoy this delicious recipe, Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Serves 4
Preparation time: 25 minutes Cooking time: 20-25 minutes

1 large aubergine (eggplant)
1 courgette (zucchini)
1 red bell pepper
2-3 chili peppers (as hot as you wish), kept whole or sliced in half
Sunflower oil for shallow frying
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

For the tomato sauce:
400gr/14oz can of chopped tomatoes

10ml/2tsp. Turkish hot pepper paste, biber salcasi (optional)
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed with salt
5ml/1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
15ml/1 tablespoon olive oil
Handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Garlicky yoghurt sauce:
200ml/7fl oz thick and creamy natural plain yoghurt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 200 C/400F (if you prefer to roast the vegetables)

Using a vegetable peeler, partially peel the aubergine in stripes. Cut the aubergine in half length ways and then cut each half into thick slices. Sprinkle salt over the eggplants and leave them aside for 15 minutes. Salt will help the moisture come out of the eggplants. Dry the eggplants with kitchen towel thoroughly (otherwise the excess water will cause the hot oil to spatter everywhere).

Cut the courgette in half lengthways and then cut it width ways into thick slices. Deseed the red bell pepper and cut it into bite size pieces. You can leave the chili peppers as a whole or cut in half if they are too big.

Heat enough oil in a wide pan. Sauté the vegetables in batches until they are golden brown. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towel. Lightly season with salt and ground black pepper. Alternatively, if you prefer to roast the vegetables, you can spread the sliced vegetables on a roasting tray and coat them with olive oil (about 2-3 tbsp) and season with salt and black pepper. You can then roast the vegetables in the preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes until they start to turn golden brown.

On a separate pan, sauté the garlic for a minute or so with the olive oil. Add the canned tomatoes and the hot pepper paste (if you are using) and mix well. Stir in the red pepper flakes and the parsley. Add salt and pepper to your taste. The tomato sauce is ready.

For the yoghurt sauce, beat the yoghurt with the garlic and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pile the hot vegetables on to a serving dish and spoon the tomato sauce over the top. Serve the yoghurt sauce by the side, accompanied by chunks of fresh bread to mop up the tasty sauce.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem