Appetizers and Mezes

Tray bake filo pastry with ground meat and onions; Kiymali Borek

Turkish tray bake pastry with ground meat and onions; Kiymali tepsi boregi

My parents are visiting from Istanbul; it’s been over three years since they were last here, it really is wonderful to have them in England. Regular visitors of this blog knows that my parents’ love of Turkish food and passion for sharing others have been a major influence on us and hence the share of delicious Turkish cuisine in my blog. You can imagine how excited I am about spending time with parents, cooking together with my mother, gathering with friends and family to share.

Spread the ground meat & onion mixture over the yufka or filo pastry sheets

My mother brought some wonderful yufka, Turkish fresh, paper thin sheets of pastry – a real luxury as I can’t get them here in England. We made this easy and delicious tray bake with ground meat and onions; kiymali tepsi boregi. Another delicious borek you can easily make at home using filo pastry sheets if yufka is not available.

This lovely recipe and over 90 authentic recipes are included at Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book. Signed hardback copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table is 30 % off via GBPublishing at this link, until end July 3rd 2020. It is delivered worldwide, including the USA. The offer has been our way of helping out food lovers with home cooking, especially during the Covid 19 lock down. Many thanks for all your kind words and sharing your delicious creations with us. Signed copies will still continue at this link.

My best wishes,

Ozlem

4.7 from 3 reviews

Tray bake filo pastry with ground meat and onions; Kiymali Borek

An easy and delicious kiymali borek, Turkish savory pastry with ground meat and onions filling. Yufka, Turkish fresh pastry sheets are used traditionally, but filo pastry sheets also work very well. You can serve as an appetizer or as a morning or afternoon snack with tea.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Boreks, Turkish Savory Pastries

Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

3 sheets of yufka Or 12 sheets of filo pastry (each sheet 48cmx25cm), thawed
2 onions, finely chopped
400 gr/ 14 oz. ground beef or lamb (or a mixture)
2 eggs
8 fl. oz. /1 cup whole or semi skimmed milk + extra 2 tbsp. milk for the top of the pastry
4 fl. oz./ ½ cup water
45ml / 3 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a wide, heavy pan and stir in the chopped onions. Sauté over medium heat for 3-4 minutes to soften them up.
Stir in the ground meat to the onion mixture and sauté for another 5 minutes over medium heat. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper
Beat 1 egg and 1 egg white (save the remaining 1 egg yolk in a small bowl for later) and mix with 1 cup of milk and ½ cup of water.
Grease a baking tray with 1 tbsp. olive oil and spread 1 sheet of yufka (with excess of yufka hanging out of tray) or 2 sheets of filo pastry on top of one another.
Spread 3 tbsp. of milk, water & egg mixture evenly over the pastry.
Lay the next sheet of yufka or 2 more sheets of filo pastry. Again, Spread 3 tbsp. of milk, water & egg mixture evenly over the pastry.
If using filo pastry, lay two more sheets. Again, Spread 3 tbsp. of milk, water & egg mixture evenly over the pastry.
Spread the ground meat and onion mixture evenly over the pastry.
Lay the last layer of yufka sheet over the filling and tuck in and fold the excess sides of yufka sheet over the filling as a layer.
If using filo pastry sheets, spread the ground meat and onion filling over the 6th sheet, after spreading the egg, milk and water mixture.
Place 2 more sheets of filo pastry over the filling and continue to spread 3 tbsp. of milk, water & egg mixture evenly over the pastry. Lay the 10th filo sheet spread 3 tbsp. of milk, water & egg mixture evenly over the pastry. Then lay the last two sheets of filo pastry.
Mix 2 tbsp. milk with the remaining egg yolk and remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil (if you have any milk & egg and water mixture left, you can add this mixture too). Spread this mixture over the last sheet of yufka or filo pastry.
Bake in the pre-heated oven (180C/350F) for 20- 25 minutes, until the top of the pastry turns to golden to light brown.
Once cooked, cover with a baking paper to keep moist and cool for 10 minutes. Slice in squares and serve warm.

Notes

If using frozen filo pastry, thaw overnight in the fridge or bring to room temperature 2 hours before using. If you’re using fresh filo pastry kept in the fridge (as in the UK), bring to room temperature 30 minutes before using. Keep the filo pastry covered with a damp cloth as you are working. This will help to avoid it getting too dry or less manageable.

Pastry rolls with pastirma, cheese and vegetables; Pacanga Boregi

By Ozlem Warren on April 14, 2014 in Appetizers and Mezes, Savory Pastries, Turkish Breakfast 16

Filo rolls with Turkish pastirma, spicy pastrami – Pacanga boregi

Delicious delicacy pastirma, dried cured beef with a coating of spices called cemen, consisting of cumin, fenugreek, garlic and hot chili flakes is also very much enjoyed in pastries, as part of a mezze spread in Turkey. Pacanga boregi, as we call in Turkish, showcases flavorful pastirma, kasar cheese (Turkish cheddar cheese) and in some versions like mine, diced peppers and tomatoes. It is one of our favorite pastries for a Turkish style weekend brunch or as a mezze spread.

Turkish dried cured beef with a spicy cemen coating, Pastirma

This wind-dried beef, pastirma has been made in Anatolia for centuries. It’s also been enjoyed throughout Middle Eastern as well as Eastern European countries and has a special part in Lebanese and Armenian cuisine. Some of the finest pastirma is being produced in Kayseri region, in Middle Anatolia, Turkey; it almost has a silky texture and just melts in the mouth, very aromatic with the spicy cemen coating; I hope you can have a chance to enjoy pastirma in Kayseri. Here is more information about pastirma, with a delicious egg recipe.

Rolling the pacanga boregi; tomatoes and peppers make a delicious filling with pastirma & cheeese

Rolling the pacanga boregi; tomatoes and peppers make a delicious filling with pastirma & cheese

Paçanga böreği is regarded as a “traditional Sephardic Jewish specialty of Istanbul, filled with pastirma, kasar and julienned green peppers that is fried in olive oil and eaten as a mezze, appetizer”. There are a few versions of pacanga boregi, pastry rolls with pastirma; I like to include some tomatoes and green bell pepper (or pointy pepper, sivri biber in Turkey) in the filling. These juicy vegetables complement the rich, spicy taste of pastirma. They are traditionally made with fresh, paper thin sheets of yufka pastry and it’s great if you can get them. I used filo pastry sheets for my pacanga borek, and they worked well and boreks disappeared very quickly! They are also fried traditionally and I chose to bake them; they turned out very well.

Pacanga Boregi; Turkish pastry rolls with pastirma, Turkish pastrami

I hope you enjoy these delicious rolls, Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Pastry rolls with pastirma, cheese and vegetables; Pacanga Boregi

I hope you enjoy these delicious rolls with Turkish pastirma, dried cured beef with spicy coating, cheese and vegetables. They are great served as mezzes, appetizers, part of a weekend brunch or a delicious snack.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Savory pastries with Turkish pastrami, dried cured beef

Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

6 sheets of filo pastry (app. 48cmx25cm, 19”x10” each) or equivalent of yufka sheets
½ green bell pepper or 1 pointy green pepper (sivri biber), finely diced
2 small tomatoes, finely diced
15 ml/1 tbsp. olive oil
8 slices of pastirma (Turkish dried cured beef), or a pastrami of your choice, roughly chopped
150 gr / 5 oz. shredded Turkish kasar (cheddar) cheese or mozzarella, for a milder taste
Salt and ground black pepper for seasoning
1 egg, beaten to brush the pastries
15ml/1 tbsp. olive oil to brush the pastries
Bowl of water to seal the pastries
Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F/ Gas Mark 4

Instructions

For best results, thaw the frozen filo pastry in the fridge overnight and bring it to the room temperature 1 hour before using. That enables the filo thaw completely. If it is sold fresh as in the UK, you only need to bring the filo sheets to the room temperature 30 minutes before using.
Heat the olive oil in a pan and stir in the diced pepper and tomatoes. Stir and cook over medium heat for 3 -5 minutes, until the peppers start to soften. Season with salt and ground black pepper to your taste (You may use a little salt or omit, as the pastirma is quite salty too). Set aside to cool.
Place the chopped pastirma or pastrami of your choice and the cheese in a wide bowl. Stir in the cooked tomatoes and peppers, combine well. Filling is ready.
Cut the filo sheets into 11cmx25cm (4”x9”) rectangular stripes and stack on top of each other. Place a damp towel over them so that they don’t dry out.
Lay two rectangular strips of filo sheets on top of one another.
Place a generous tablespoon of the filling along the short end near you (take care not to overfill as the filling may ooze out while cooking). Fold over the pastry from each side to seal in the mixture and then roll up like a fat cigar.
Seal the end of the pastry as well as any openings/ cracks with little water. Repeat this with the remaining filo sheets.
Mix the egg with the olive oil in a small bowl. Brush the boreks, pastries with this mixture and place them on a greased tray.
Bake the pastries in the preheated oven for about 25 - 30 minutes or until golden.
Serve hot as a mezze spread, weekend brunch or a tasty snack.

Gorgeous tulips in Istanbul in April

Spring is in the air, trees are in full blossom, I love this time of the year. It’s the tulip season in Istanbul, and they are such a gorgeous sight to see. Here is a favorite tulip photo to share from my culinary & cultural trip to Istanbul last April; I hope it brightens your day!

Poached anchovies or Anchovy Stew with vegetables; Hamsi Buğulama

By Ozlem Warren on April 7, 2014 in Appetizers and Mezes, Regional Signature Dishes; Mains, Sides and Desserts, Seafood 11

Poached anchovies or anchovy stew with vegetables; Hamsi Bugulama

I was delighted to get some fresh anchovy fillets, hamsi, as we call in Turkish at my local market a few weeks ago. This small, oily fish, caught from October in Turkey, is much loved and a big part of the Turkish cuisine, especially at the Black Sea coast. There are many recipes celebrating anchovy at Turkey’s Black Sea region, from fried anchovies, hamsi tava, to anchovies poached in vine leaves, from anchovy bread to hamsi pilavi, delicious rice with pine nuts and currants, encased in anchovy fillets. Anchovy, hamsi lovers apparently even make anchovy jam at the Black Sea region!

Fragrant anchovy rice with pine nuts and currants, Hamsi Pilavi

I simply love poaching this delicious, strongly flavored anchovy fillets with layers of vegetables in a little water and olive oil. This method of cooking is called “bugulama” (steamed) in Turkish cuisine; not only healthy but also delicately brings out the flavors of each component here. Tomatoes, potatoes, onions add a lovely flavor in their own juice and balance strong taste of anchovies. Slices of lemon and parsley also add a delicious, refreshing taste; all in one pot, healthy dish, packed with flavor. Any small fish or fillets of white fish, as well as sardines would also work well in this dish. You may be able to get your anchovies gutted and cleaned by your fishmonger or buy as fillets.

Poached anchovies with vegetables. Hamsi Bugulama

You can enjoy this poached anchovies with vegetables or anchovy stew as a mezze to share, or a main course.

Afiyet olsun,

Ozlem

5.0 from 1 reviews

Poached anchovies or Anchovy Stew with vegetables; Hamsi Buğulama

Poached anchovies with vegetables, Hamsi Bugulama, is a specialty from the Black Sea region of Turkey. Tomatoes, potatoes, onions add a lovely flavor in their own juice and balance the strong taste of anchovies. Slices of lemon and parsley also add a delicious,refreshing taste; all in one pot, healthy dish, packed with flavor.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: A seafood specialty with anchovies, from Turkey's Black Sea Region

Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine

Serves: 4

Ingredients

450gr/1 lb. anchovies (or sardines or a fish of your choice), scaled, gutted, head & tail removed
2 medium potatoes, cut in half and thinly sliced
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
3 spring (green) onions, finely chopped
1 lemon, thinly sliced
Handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
45 ml/ 3 tbsp. olive oil
4 fl. oz. / ½ cup water
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Turkish red pepper flakes or chili flakes to taste (optional)

Instructions

Combine the onions, spring onions, parsley and 2 tbsp. olive oil in a large bowl. Season with salt, ground black pepper and red pepper flakes (if using). Knead well with your hands to infuse the spices to the onion; this will also soften them and release their juice.
Parboil (partially cook) the potatoes in a pan of boiling water for 5 – 7 minutes then drain the water.
Stir in the parboiled potatoes to the onion mixture and combine well.
Layer the onions and potatoes on a wide, heavy pan.
Lay the anchovy fillets (or the fish of your choice) evenly on top of onions and potatoes.
Next layer the slices of tomatoes and lemon over the fish. Season with salt and ground black pepper to your taste.
Drizzle 1 tbsp. olive oil over and pour in the water to the pan.
Cover and start cooking over medium heat until it starts to bubble. Then lower the heat and cook for 15 -20 minutes (depending on the size of the fish), or until fish and vegetables are cooked.
Serve hot with some crusty bread aside if you like.