Appetizers and Mezes

Cabbage Leaves Stuffed with Ground Meat and Rice – Lahana Sarmasi

Stuffed cabbage leaves, lahana sarmasi, delicious with dollop of yoghurt aside

Stuffed cabbage leaves are popular in winter time at Turkish homes. This wonderful, healthy and comforting dish is one of my childhood favorites; always brings lots of pleasant memories. I remember us all sitting around the kitchen table preparing the cabbage leaves ready to be stuffed, eagerly waiting for them to be cooked. Once it is cooked, we children all used to camp around the pot, offering (and sometimes helping ourselves) to “quality check” if the stuffed leaves cooked well. We loved eating these treats dipping into plain yoghurt, happy days 🙂

I hope you have a go at making these fantastic dolmas; it is really not as hard as you would imagine and will certainly impress your guests. The sharpness of lemon brings extra zing and goes very well with cabbage.

Serves 4
Preparation time : 35 minutes Cooking time : 35-40 minutes

1 medium white cabbage – brings out about 25 leaves
250gr/9oz/generous 1 cup lean ground (minced) lamb or beef
115gr/4oz/1/2 cup long grain rice, rinsed and drained
1 medium onion, finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic (optional)
1 bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
15ml/1tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (optional)
2 teaspoon dried mint
60ml/4 tablespoons olive oil
8fl oz/1 cup hot water
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and ground pepper to taste

1 small bowl of natural (plain) yoghurt
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Cut the cabbage in half vertically and cut out the hearts. Plunge into a pot of salted boiling water and cook for about 5-8 minutes. The leaves should be tender but not over cooked. Rinse under cold running water and carefully remove the outer leaves. Cut away the hard central vein, resulting in about 25 pieces of cabbage leaves, about the size of your hand.

For the filling; put the ground meat in a bowl and stir in the onions, parsley, dried mint, red pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons olive oil and the tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper and knead, until they all combined well. Add the rice and mix well with a spoon, taking care not to break the rice grains.

Take one of the cabbage leaves on a flat surface and spoon a walnut size of the filling at the base of each leaf. Fold the edges over the filling and roll up to form a chunky finger sized dolma. Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.

Pour the remaining olive oil in a deep, wide pan. Arrange the dolmas in the pan seam side down and side by side. If you like, scatter the garlic cloves amongst the dolmas – once they are cooked the cloves will be moist and juicy, and will add a wonderful flavor. Mix the lemon juice, hot water and a pinch of salt, then pour over the dolmas. The liquid should come at least halfway up the top layer, so you may need to add extra liquid. Place a heavy plate over the leaves to stop them from unraveling, followed by a lid or foil.

Cook over low heat for about 35-40 minutes, until the dolmas are tender. Remove from the heat and let the dolmas rest for about 10 minutes. That will help the dolmas to come out without breaking and make the flavor even better.

Serve hot, with yoghurt by the side and lemon wedges to squeeze over.

Note: You can also use grapevine leaves for dolma, yaprak sarmasi with either using the vegetarian aromatic rice stuffing or meat and rice stuffing.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Patties with Potato, Bulgur, Onion and Parsley – Patatesli, Bulgurlu Kofte

By Ozlem Warren on January 7, 2011 in Appetizers and Mezes, Ozlem’s Turkish Table Cookery Book 19

Bulgur and potato patties, bulgurlu, patatesli kofte; delicious to dip into sauces

These patties are healthy, moist, easy to make and delicious; you just can’t stop eating them. They look similar to the bulgur and lentil patties I made previously(recipe in the blog, under appetizers and mezes), they have a different texture though, softer and more moist.You can serve them as a starter meze on a bed of lettuce leaves to wrap, or with bowl of olive oil and pomegranate molasses (or some sharp balsamic vinegar) by the side to dip in. In Southern Turkey, it is common to dip these patties to the sauce of stew and casseroles. I recently served them by the side of the aubergine, shallots and meat stew and they went down very well, disappeared very quickly 🙂

You can prepare them a day in advance, the flavors get even better the next day. Turkish hot pepper paste, biber salcasi, add a wonderful flavor to the patties; you can make your own hot pepper paste here , if you like. Add more red pepper flakes if you like it more spicy. Traditionally, fine bulgur is used in these patties; if you can’t find fine bulgur, you can use coarse bulgur, which is widely available in supermarkets; in that case, double the hot water amount and cook the course bulgur first in hot water as per the package.

Signed copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table book, available to order at this link

We use seasonal produce, bulgur, whole grains, legumes and pulses a lot in Turkish cuisine, and flavour with natural condiments such as olive oil, pomegranate molasses, southern Turkish way. This recipe and many more wholesome, authentic recipes included in my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland; signed copies available at this link, delivered worldwide including US and Canada.

Serves 8 -10
Preparation time : 15-20 minutes Cooking time : 25 minutes

175gr/6oz/1 cup fine bulgur, rinsed and drained
4 medium potatoes, skinned and quartered
45-60ml/3-4 tablespoon olive oil
3 spring onions, finely chopped
Handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon red pepper paste (optional)
1 – 2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoon/10ml ground cumin
120ml/ 4fl oz hot water
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Bowl of cold water to wet your hands

Extra virgin olive oil and pomegranate molasses (or sharp balsamic vinegar) to serve

In a large bowl, combine the bulgur, red pepper paste, biber salcasi (or red pepper flakes) and spring onion, mix well with using your hands. This will help the paste or the spice to really blend in with the bulgur and the spring onions. Add the hot water on the mixture and give a good stir. Leave it aside for about 15 minutes and stir once in a while so that all the water would be absorbed.

Boil the potatoes in salted water until cooked, drain the water. Mash the potatoes in a separate bowl with cumin. Add the olive oil, salt and ground pepper and knead the potatoes with your hands really well, until they are smooth and elastic. Stir in the potatoes with the bulgur mixture, and add the parsley, mix well with your hands. Check the seasoning and add more salt if needed. Have the bowl of water ready by your side. Wet your hands with the water and take a walnut size from the mixture and shape like patties using your hands. Place them side by side on a serving dish.

Put some extra virgin olive oil and pomegranate molasses (or sharp balsamic vinegar) on a small bowl and serve the patties with them for dipping. The patties are also wonderful served on a bed of lettuce leaves.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Pastirmali Humus – Warm Hummus with Sausages (or Pastrami)

By Ozlem Warren on December 27, 2010 in Appetizers and Mezes, Uncategorised 3

Have you ever tried hummus warm? In Turkey, especially in the South, hummus is served warm with sautéed Turkish sucuk (sausage) or pastirma (pastrami, dried cured beef coated with spices) or with sautéed pine nuts over the top. I strongly suggest you to try hummus this way, as I feel you may be pleasantly surprised, and maybe converted to eat hummus warm as many of my friends have done.

Please adjust the recipe according to your taste, as some like it garlicky, some with more tahini and others may prefer it more lemony. This warm hummus would make a wonderful appetizer to share with friends and family. Pita bread is the perfect accompaniment.

Serves 4-6
Preparation time – 15 minutes (add 1 hour if used dried chickpeas and soaking overnight)

225gr/8oz dried chickpeas, soaked in water overnight or for at least 6 hours or equivalent amount of precooked chickpeas in can
5ml /1 teaspoon salt – please adjust according to your taste-
60ml/4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
30ml/2 tablespoons water
2 garlic cloves, crushed – optional-
Juice of 1-2 lemons – please adjust according to your taste-
45ml/3 tablespoon tahini (sesame paste)
5ml/1 teaspoon ground cumin

To serve:
30ml/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
110gr/4oz Turkish sausage (sucuk), sliced or Bastirma, chopped in 1″ strips (or your choice of any Pastrami or sausage)
Slices of pita bread to serve

If using dried chickpeas, drain the chickpeas and transfer them to a pan with plenty of cold water. Bring to boil and boil for a few minutes. Then lower the heat and partially cover the pan, Simmer the chickpeas for 1 hour, until they are soft and easy to mash.

If precooked chickpeas are used, drain the juice and give them a little wash in a colander. Put the precooked (or cooked) chickpeas in a food processor and blitz them together with the extra virgin olive oil, water, lemon juice, garlic and tahini. If it appears thick and difficult to blend, add a little more olive oil or water. Season with salt and mix in the cumin and paprika (if desired). Process until you achieve a soft, smooth paste. Refrigerate until required.

If you would like to have the hummus warm as in the Turkish way, just before serving, heat this mixture in a pan for a couple of minutes. In a separate pan, sauté the pastrami or sausage of your choice with some olive oil. Put the warm hummus in a plate with the sautéed meat over the top, scattering some ground cumin and paprika flakes over. Serve with pita bread.

Afiyet Olsun!