Salads

My new cookery book-İSTANBUL; Delicious Recipes from the Heart of the City!

By Ozlem Warren on February 11, 2026 in Cakes and Desserts, Fascinating Istanbul, ISTANBUL cookery book, Pasta – Makarna, Pilafs and Rice, Regional Signature Dishes; Mains, Sides and Desserts, Roasts and Kebaps, Salads, Savory Pastries, Seafood, Soups, Travels, Turkish Breakfast, Turkish cookery book, Turkish Street Food 0

ISTANBUL cookery book – Pre-order HERE!

My heart bursts with excitement and pride to share that I wrote a new cookery book, İstanbul; Delicious Recipes from the Heart of the City, to be published in May 2026 worldwide by Quadrille – I cannot wait for you to see this very special book, to take you to a magical culinary journey to my beloved İstanbul. The book now is ready to Pre-order HERE, and we would be very grateful if you can pre-order, as it hugely helps a new book, my sincere thanks in advance.

Breakfast plate from Istanbul cookery book, photo by Sam A Harris

Born and raised in Türkiye, I lived in İstanbul for more than 15 years. I am passionate about this magical city, where I studied, worked and even married my husband, Angus, on the banks of the Bosphorus. This special cookery book, İstanbul, is a result of my years of research, experience and memories of living, enjoying its diverse, multicultural heritage, delicious food and recreating the recipes, in an accessible way so that food lovers all round the world can make at home with ease and relive memories. As the former capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, İstanbul has a fascinating culinary heritage. Over the years, many ethnic groups have all made the city their home, each in turn contributing to its cuisine. Hence it was important to me that this book honoured the many different communities that have made the city’s food scene what it is today.

Isanbul landscape, from Istanbul cookery book, by Sam A Harris

Multi-cultural meze spread from Istanbul cookery book, image by Sam A Harris

With easy and flavourful recipes for dishes from the fırın (bakery) to the kahvaltı evi (breakfast houses), ocakbası (fireside), sokak (street), one-pot wonders and more, Istanbul cookery book is a dynamic collection of more than 80 recipes which I aim to take readers on a journey through Istanbul, showing just how delicious and satisfying the city’s food can be, whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner. Vegetarian readers would be happy to know that over 50 of the recipes are vegetarian, nodding to our bountiful farmers markets, and many are gluten-free or provided options where applicable.

Sigara boregi, cheesy filo rolls from Istanbul cookery book, image by Sam A Harris

Beets with toasted hazelnuts, olives, pul biber oil from Istanbul cookery book, image by Sam A Harris

Cheat’s Lahmacun from Istanbul cookery book, image by Sam A Harris

Expect to find Ottoman classics such as Hünkar Beğendi, rolled vine leaves with sour cherries, Visneli Sarma, breakfast staples Soğanlı Menemen, Acuka dip, Yengen tost, multicultural flavours such as Topik, Borekitas and nutty Çerkez Tavuğu, delicious savoury bakes like crispy Fırında Sigara Böreği, street food classics like Kolay Gözleme, fluffy Açma, Lokma, scrumptious sweets such as Şekerpare, Mozaik Kek, Esnaf lokantası style one pot wonders like Süzme Mercimek Çorbası, Hasan Pasa Kofte, Karides Güvec, regional flavours like home-style Iskender Kebap, Fırında Patlıcan Kebabı, easy Cheat’s Mantı, Easy Lahmacun, vegetarian delights such as Fırın Sebze, Mercimekli Karnıyarık, Barbunya Pilaki, Peynirli Sebzeli Pide, easy mezes, pickles, drinks and so much more. Recipes that will transport you to the fascinating city of İstanbul.

Peynirli, Sebzeli Pide from Istanbul cookery book, image by Sam A Harris

Hunkar Begendi, from Istanbul cookery book, image by Sam A Harris

Yengen toasties from Istanbul cookery book, image by Sam A Harris

It’s been an absolute honour and privilege to write this book. A celebration of İstanbul’s diverse, delicious food, it is my heartfelt tribute to a magical city, one that I love and that has shaped so much of my cooking. I genuinely love every recipe in this book and so excited and proud to share with you all; there is something for everyone here, with stunning photography. Huge thanks to my publisher Quadrille and everyone who touched this beautiful book. I hope it brings you joy and inspiration and transports you to magical Istanbul. Pre-orders are open HERE and we would be very grateful!

My family photo from Istanbul cookery book, image by Sam A Harris

Srumptious sweets such as Sekerpare cookies in Istanbul cookery book too. Image by Sam A Harris

My chilchood favourite Mozaik Cake with dried cherries and pistachios from Istanbul cookery book, image by Sam A Harris

I can’t wait for you to cook from my new book, Istanbul! We would be grateful if you can pre-order HERE, as it helps new books so much (you only pay when it is delivered at lowest price). Cok teşekkür ederim, afiyetler olsun,

Özlem xxx

ISTANBUL cookery book – Pre-order HERE!

Antalya style bean salad with tahini sauce

By Ozlem Warren on August 6, 2024 in Salads, Vegetarian recipes 0

Antalya style bean salad with tahini sauce – Tahinli piyaz. Photo by Sam A Harris from SEBZE cookery book

This Antalya style bean salad with tahini sauce, Tahinli piyaz, is one of my favourite recipes from my recent cookery book, SEBZE, Vegetarian recipes from my Turkish kitchen. It makes a substantial, delicious lunch or perfect aside to grills, pasta. I hope you enjoy my recipe here. You can get a copy of SEBZE cookery book worldwide at this link too.

SEBZE, Vegetarian Recipes From My Turkish Kitchen

Antalya style bean salad with tahini sauce

We have a variety of bean salads in Türkiye and this Tahinli Fasulye Piyazı is a specialty from the Antalya region, on the southwest coast of Türkiye. It makes a substantial, nutritious, great-value lunch with flatbreads to mop up the delicious sauce.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Vegetarian recipes

Cuisine: Turkish cuisine

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

2 x 400 g (14 oz) tins pre-cooked cannellini beans (or equivalent dried beans)
½ small onion, quartered and thinly sliced
1 medium ripe tomato, diced
handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
45 g (1¾ oz/1/3 cup) Turkish or other good-quality black olives, pitted and halved
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the tahini sauce
2 fat garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
juice of ½ lemon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon grape or cider vinegar
60 ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) lukewarm water
To serve
2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

Drain and rinse the pre-cooked beans, then place in a large bowl (If you prefer to use dried beans, as it is traditional in Türkiye, you need to soak them in cold water overnight. Drain and put them in a pan with plenty of fresh water, and cook for about 1 hour, or until tender, adding salt towards the end of the cooking time. Drain and set aside in a bowl, to be used in this salad). Stir in the onions and gently combine.
To make the tahini sauce, combine the garlic, lemon juice, ground cumin and a good pinch of salt with the tahini in a small bowl. Stir and combine well; you will notice the sauce will thicken. Pour in the vinegar and lukewarm water and combine well for 30 seconds. You will achieve a runny sauce at the end. Pour this sauce over the beans and gently combine well.
Stir the tomatoes, parsley and olives into the salad and combine well, then check the seasoning and adjust to your taste.
Transfer the salad to a serving plate, decorate with the quartered, hard-boiled eggs, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and serve.

Turkish style roast chicken with rice and currants stuffing – Ic Pilavli Firin Tavuk

By Ozlem Warren on December 14, 2021 in Pilafs and Rice, Roasts and Kebaps, Salads, Turkish Festive Dishes 0

Towards to end of the roasting, we traditionally glaze the chicken with a mixture of tomato paste, yoghurt and olive oil; this gives a lovely colour and taste to the chicken. The rice that we use to stuff the chicken is partially cooked – you can prep this ahead of time.

I hope you enjoy my mother’s roast chicken recipe, firin tavuk, which would appear at special family meals as well as at New Year’s Eve on our table. If you wish, you can stuff your turkey with this fragrant rice this way too. Muhammara, my mother’s walnut and red pepper paste dip, as well as zingy Shepherd’s Salad always accompanied our roast, if you like to include at your festive table – both recipes are included at my cookery table, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, as well as the Ic Pilav, Herby rice with pine nuts, currants, with addition of lamb liver (just omit lamb liver for a vegetarian option). My baked beetroot salad with pomegranate molasses also makes a lovely accompaniment to this festive dish. If you live in the USA, Canada or Mexico, there is now lower shipping rates for hardback copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table at this link.

My very best wishes to you all for the festive season, Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Turkish style roast chicken with rice and currants stuffing – Ic Pilavli Firin Tavuk

My dear belated dad Orhan, absolutely loved his roast chicken, Firin Tavuk, with our traditional rice with currants (kus uzumu) stuffing, Ic Pilav. I have recreated this special recipe recently, and we greatly enjoyed it with friends. I used Jamie Oliver’s roast chicken recipe as a base and adapted to my Turkish style roast with our additions. Towards to end of the roasting, we traditionally glaze the chicken with a mixture of tomato paste, yoghurt and olive oil; this gives a lovely colour and taste to the chicken. The rice that we use to stuff the chicken is partially cooked – you can prep this ahead of time.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Turkish style roast chicken

Cuisine: Turkish cuisine

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

For the roast chicken:
1.9kg/4lb 5oz free range chicken
650g/1lb 6oz carrots
2 medium onions
1 bulb of garlic
1 lemon, cut in half
60ml/4tbsp olive oil
Handful of sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary
For the 2nd stage chicken marinade:
10ml/2tsp double concentrated tomato paste
15ml/1tbsp whole milk yoghurt
15ml/1tbsp olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
For the Rice pilaf with chestnuts, pine nuts and currants:
170g/6oz cooked chestnuts, chopped into small bite size pieces
30ml/2 tablespoons olive oil
15ml/1 tablespoon butter
30ml/2 tablespoons currants
45ml/3 tablespoons pine nuts
1 medium onion, finely chopped
10ml/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (add a little more if you like cinnamon)
350g/12oz long grain rice, rinsed and drained
750ml/1¼ pints hot water (500ml hot water for partial cooking first)
1 small bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 small bunch of dill, finely chopped
Sea salt and ground black pepper
Wedges of lemon to serve
For the roast potatoes:
1.5kg/3lb 5oz Maris Piper potatoes
45ml/3tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

First prepare your fragrant rice. We will be partially cooking the rice to stuff into the chicken. Soak the currants in warm water for about 15 minutes. Then drain and set aside.
Heat the butter and the olive oil in a heavy, medium size pan over a medium heat. Stir in the onion and cook for about 4-5 minutes, until softened. Stir in the currants, cinnamon and the rinsed rice, combine well for a minute. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Pour in the 500ml hot water and bring to the boil. Then lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer gently for 7- 8 minutes or until all the liquid have been absorbed. Our partially cooked rice with currants is ready. You can make your partially cooked rice a day ahead of time and keep covered in the fridge.
Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking and bring to the room temperature. Preheat the fan oven to 200C/400F.
Wash and coarsely chop the vegetables, there is no need to peel the carrots. Break the garlic bulb into cloves and leave them unpeeled. Spread the prepared vegetables on a large bowl, drizzle 30ml/2tbsp olive oil, season with sea salt and pepper and sprigs of rosemary and thyme. Rub and combine all with the vegetables. Leave this bowl aside – to be combined with the chicken later.
Place the chicken on a large roasting tray. Drizzle the chicken with 30ml/2tbsp olive oil and season well with sea salt and ground black pepper and rub all round the bird.
Place half of the lemon inside the chicken’s cavity. Then carefully spoon 270g/9oz of partially cooked rice inside the chicken’s cavity. Take care not to over stuff, so the rice won’t get mushy. Insert the other half of the lemon to close chicken’s cavity. Roast for 1 hour at preheated fan oven at 200C/400F.
Now is the time to prepare your roast potatoes, if you plan to have them. Make sure to get them into the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking. Peel the potatoes and quarter the large ones and cut the medium ones in half, so they are all roughly even size. Place them on a large pot, sprinkle over salt. Cover with hot water and par boil for 7 -8 minutes. Then drain in a colander and leave to steal dry for 2 -3 minutes.
After 1 hour of roasting, take the chicken out of the oven and spread your prepared vegetables around the chicken to roast together another 30 minutes.
Place the potatoes into a large tray, drizzle with 45ml/3tbsp olive oil and season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Coat and combine well and roast in the oven for 40-45 minutes, timing with the roast chicken.
Now prepare your Turkish style marinade to coat the chicken, for the 2nd stage of marinade; in a small bowl, combine 2 tsp tomato paste, 1tbsp olive oil and 1tbsp whole milk yoghurt, season with sea salt and black pepper, combine well. After the 1 hour 30 minutes of chicken being roasted, take the chicken tray out and brush this marinade all over the chicken. Return the chicken tray back to the oven for a further 15 minutes of roasting; by the end of this period, the vegetables around the chicken should be nicely roasted and the marinate will give a lovely colour to the chicken, as well as taste. When the chicken is cooked (to check, cut into the chicken; if the juices run clear, then the chicken is fully cooked) take the tray out of the oven and transfer the chicken to a board to rest for 10 minutes or so. Cover the chicken and roasted vegetables with foil to keep warm.
While the chicken is in the oven for the final stage, finish your partially cooked festive rice. On a medium to large pot, drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil and stir in the pine nuts; stir and sauté for 2 minutes over medium heat - as they begin to turn golden, stir in the chopped chestnuts and partially cooked rice and combine well. Pour in the remaining 250ml / 9fl oz hot water over, season with salt and black pepper, combine well. Then lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer gently 5-6 minutes or until all the liquid have been absorbed. Turn off the heat; cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel and place the lid back on tightly. Leave to steam for 10 minutes. Just before serving, stir in the chopped parsley and dill and combine gently.
Place your festive Ic Pilav on a large serving plate, and your roast potatoes on another serving place. Serve your Turkish style roast, Firin Tavuk, with vegetables around. Muhammara, my mother’s walnut and red pepper paste dip, as well as zingy Shepherd Salad always accompanied our roast, if you like to include at your festive table too.