Savory Pastries

Mini Pizzas with Olives, Cheese and Tomatoes; Zeytinli Mini Pizza

By Ozlem Warren on January 13, 2015 in Appetizers and Mezes, Savory Pastries, Turkish Breakfast 25

Mini pizzas with olives, cheese, tomatoes; zeytinli mini pizza

I love the savory pastries, pogaca and little melt-in-the-mouth mini pizzas with various fillings sold in bakeries, firin and patisseries, pastanes, in Turkey. We Turks love them for breakfast as well as for a morning or afternoon snack with cup of tea, cay; such a delicious treat.

Mini pizzas with olives, tomatoes and cheese, freshly baked – delicious!

Recently I made these little pizzas with olives, tomato and cheese topping; they really are easy to make at home and have brought smiles all round!:) A favorite with children, as well and adults, they were a big hit. Mini pizzas are best to be enjoyed straight from the oven, but they also keep well for a few days. The next day (if any left), you can microwave them for 10 – 15 seconds. Or you can sprinkle a little water over them, cover and reheat at 180 C/350 F for 5- 8 minutes. They will be lovely, soft and delicious.

Shaping the mini pizzas; round Turkish tea glass or a mug works well.

Tips: Make sure to deseed the tomatoes before chopping so that it won’t make the filling watery and the pastry soggy. As for the cheese, you can use grated mozzarella, cheddar or crumbled feta cheese. For olives; Turkish, Spanish or Greek Kalamata olives all work well. To shape the mini pizza rounds, I used my tulip shaped glass Turkish tea glass, it worked perfectly. If you don’t have one, any glass or round mold in 7-8 cm diameter would work.

Mini pizzas with olives, cheese and tomatoes, Zeytinli mini pizza, ready to eat!

I hope you enjoy these delicious mini pizzas with olives, cheese and tomatoes – Afiyet Olsun;

Ozlem

5.0 from 2 reviews

Mini Pizzas with Olives, Cheese and Tomatoes; Zeytinli Mini Pizza

I love the savory pastries, pogacas and these little melt-in-the-mouth mini pizzas with various fillings sold in bakeries, firin and patisseries, pastanes, in Turkey. We Turks love them for breakfast as well as for a morning or afternoon snack with cup of tea, cay; such a delicious treat. They are easy to make at home and a real crowd pleaser, hope you enjoy them - afiyet olsun!

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Turkish Savory Pastries

Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine

Serves: 35 mini pizzas

Ingredients

375 gr/ 3 cups all-purpose plain flour
7gr dry yeast (1 sachet)
5 ml/ 1 tsp. salt
10 ml/ 2 tsp. sugar
240 ml / 8 fl. oz. / 1 cup warm milk
15 ml/ 1 tbsp. olive oil
50 gr / 2 oz. butter, melted
For the filling:
3 small tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped
Handful - about 15- green and black olives, roughly chopped
200 gr / 7 oz. / 2 cups grated mozzarella or cheddar cheese
15 ml / 1 tbsp. olive oil
For the topping:
1 egg, beaten

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F
Combine the warm milk, sugar and dry yeast in a small bowl and mix well. Let it stand for 5 minutes so that it gets foamy.
Stir in the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the middle.
Add the melted butter and slowly pour in the milk & yeast mixture.
Knead well with your hands for a few minutes, until the dough comes together. Have a drizzle (about 1 tbsp.) of olive oil in your hands if the dough gets too sticky; knead and shape the dough like a ball.
Place the dough in the large bowl and cover with a cling film and a tea towel. Let it rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.
Prepare the filling while the dough is rising. Deseed the tomatoes and olives and chop finely. Place them in a medium sized bowl and stir in the grated cheese and olive oil. Combine and mix well. Set the filling aside.
Once the dough has risen, punch down and divide 3 equal pieces and roll into balls.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out each of the ball of dough with a rolling pin into thin flat rounds in ⅓ cm (0.14”) width. Using a round mold or round glass of 8 cm/3” in diameter, cut the flat dough into circles. Repeat until all the dough is used.
Line baking parchment paper on your baking tray and place the dough circles on it. Using your finger, make a little dent in the middle of each dough circle.
Place a dessert spoonful of filling in each dough circle (in and around the dent).
Brush the pastries with the beaten egg and bake in the preheated oven (180 C/ 350 F) for 15 minutes or until golden around the edges.
Serve hot immediately. This recipe makes 35 mini pizzas; afiyet olsun!

Notes

Make sure to deseed the tomatoes before chopping so that it won’t make the filling watery and the pastry soggy. As for the cheese, you can use grated mozzarella, cheddar or crumbled feta cheese. For olives; Turkish, Spanish or Greek Kalamata olives all work well. To shape the mini pizza rounds, I used my tulip shaped glass Turkish tea glass, it worked perfectly. If you don’t have one, any glass or round mold in 7-8 cm diameter would work.

Flatbreads with zahtar and red pepper paste; Biberli Ekmek

By Ozlem Warren on November 24, 2014 in Regional Signature Dishes; Mains, Sides and Desserts, Savory Pastries 18

Turkish flat breads with crumbled feta, hot pepper paste, zahtar and sesame seeds, Biberli Ekmek

This delicious flat bread with spicy red pepper paste, biber salcasi, feta cheese and za’atar or zahtar spice blend is a specialty from the Antakya cuisine and brings special memories back. I remember my grandmother and mum preparing the delicious topping at home and we children would take it to the local bakery, firin, to be baked over flat breads. They always smelled mesmerizing and we couldn’t wait to have a bite (or two).

Aromatic and pungent zahtar or za’atar blend

Fresh Zahter or Zahtar is a popular herb grown in southern part of Turkey, especially around Kilis and Antakya in spring. Fresh zahter looks more like summer savory, or a crossing of marjoram, oregano and thyme. This herb is wonderful on salads like this Zeytin Ufeleme, Olive salad with pomegranate molasses and zahtar. Za’atar is also the name given to the exotic blend of herbs, spices and nuts, widely used in Southern Turkish as well as Middle Eastern cooking. At my home town, Antakya, zahtar blend is a rich mixture of dried zahter, sesame seeds, crushed cooked chickpeas, cumin, nigella seeds, sea salt, sumac and many more. It has a lovely, pungent, nutty taste and flavors salads, meat, and vegetables beautifully. In Antakya, locals simply dip their bread to a bowl of olive oil than to this zahtar blend for a delicious breakfast. I now see wholesome zahtar available even in supermarkets these days, you can also make your own zahter or za’atar blend, here’s my recipe.

Spread the topping over the flat bread and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.

These delicious and healthy flat breads also feature Antakya’s much loved olive oil, Turkish hot pepper paste, biber salcasi and crumbled feta cheese, cokelek. Combined with zahtar, sesame seeds and cumin, it makes a scrumptious, wholesome and fragrant topping for the flat breads. There is a delicious heat from red pepper paste, biber salcasi, a staple in Antakya cuisine and in my kitchen, which add so much flavor. You can make your own red pepper paste, biber salcasi with my recipe; it really is worth the effort. If not, you can add red pepper flakes, mixed with tomato paste instead.

Delicious flat breads with crumbled feta, red pepper paste, sesame seeds and spices; Biberli Ekmek

I hope you enjoy Biberli Ekmek; it is delicious served as a mezze (try with hummus, muhammara, cevizli biber – red pepper paste and walnut dip or with cacik, yoghurt dip with cucumbers and dried mint), accompanies tea time, soups and main courses so well. My cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland, is a tribute to this rich culinary heritage and scrumptious authentic recipes like this delicious flat breads, dips, mezes, regional specialties are all included. You can get a signed copy at this link, if you’d like, now 25 % off for a limited time. We also have this new apron, featuring embroidery of Antakya’s daphne leaves in the design, it can make a lovely gift, you can order at this link.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

4.8 from 4 reviews

Flatbreads with feta, zahtar and red pepper paste; Biberli Ekmek

I hope you enjoy Biberli Ekmek; Turkish flat breads with crumbled feta, red pepper paste, sesame seeds, spices and zahtar blend. This easy recipe from Antakya, southern Turkey also showcases region's wonderful olive oil and crumbled feta, cokelek. Delicious and wholesome; try as a mezze (try with Hummus, Muhammara – red pepper paste and walnut dip or with Cacik, yoghurt dip with cucumbers and dried mint), or at tea time, with soups and main courses.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Turkish flat breads with spicy feta cheese topping

Cuisine: Turkish Regional Cuisine - Antakya Cuisine

Serves: 8

Ingredients

For the dough:
3 cups/16 oz./ 1 lb. plain flour
1 sachet (7 gr ) dried yeast
5 ml/ 1 tsp salt
½ cup / 4 fl. oz. luke warm milk
¾ cup/ 5 fl. oz. luke warm water
⅓ cup / 3 fl. oz. olive oil
For the topping:
200 gr/ 7 oz. crumbled feta cheese or cokelek
30 ml/ 2 tbsp. Turkish hot pepper paste, biber salcasi
15 ml / 1 tbsp. concentrated tomato paste
10 ml/ 2 tsp. ground cumin
45 ml/ 3 tbsp. sesame seeds
30 ml / 2 tbsp. zahtar or za’atar
30 ml/ 2 tbsp. olive oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F
Prepare the topping first. Combine the crumbled feta (or cokelek), red pepper paste, tomato paste all the spices, sesame seeds and olive oil. Knead with your hands to blend them well to form a smooth paste. Set the topping aside.
Now let’s make the dough. Combine the flour, dried yeast and salt in a large bowl.
Stir in the warm milk, warm water and olive oil and knead for 3 minutes to form a soft dough. If it gets sticky, drizzle a little extra olive oil in your hand to shape the dough, it really helps.
Grease a baking tray with 1 tbsp. olive oil and spread the dough as a thin flat bread base, reaching all the edges (about ¼ cm, 0.9”).
Spread the topping evenly over the flat bread.
Leave the flat bread with topping on at a warm spot to rise for 30 minutes.
Once the dough's risen, bake in the preheated oven (180 C / 350 F) for 18 – 20 minutes.
Let the baked flat bread with spicy feta cheese topping, Biberli Ekmek to cool down for 15 minutes.
Slice and serve as part of a mezze spread or with tea, Turkish cay.

Turkish vegetarian rose ravioli with filo pastry; Mantarli Gul Manti

By Ozlem Warren on October 13, 2014 in Appetizers and Mezes, Savory Pastries, Turkish Festive Dishes 11

Turkish vegetarian rose ravioli with filo pastry; mushrooms make a delicious filling.

The traditional manti, Turkish dumplings or ravioli, was a central dish in the 15th century Ottoman cuisine. A very popular dish, it was cooked in imperial kitchens and was eaten by Sultan Mehmet II almost daily. This version of manti, traditionally made with “yufka”, the fresh pastry sheets, is a popular one at home and was a big hit at our Turkish cookery class last Saturday. These mantis are also named as “Sosyete Mantisi” or Gul Manti / Gul Boregi, as they look like the shape of rose.

Baked Turkish rose ravioli with filo pastry and mushroom filling; Mantarli Gul Manti or Gul Boregi

Gul Manti is traditionally made with ground meat and onion filling. We made a vegetarian version during our class, using chestnut mushrooms, onions, garlic and tomato; it proved to be a delicious vegetarian filling and we all enjoyed it.

Spread 1 ½ tablespoon of the mushroom mixture in a line the middle of the filo pastry.

Roll the pastry like a cigar. Seal the ends of the pastry with a little water.

Then, starting from one end, roll the cigar shape into a rose shape.

Seal the ends of the pastry well with a little water.

Rose ravioli, gul manti, may seem a little awkward to make but they look so attractive that the extra effort is worthwhile. Please bear in mind that filo pastry dries out quickly and may become difficult to work with. To prevent this, keep the pastry sheets under a damp dish towel and only take out one at a time. Above is a step by step photo of how to fold and bend the filo pastry into the rose shape. If the pastry breaks as you fold/bend, please don’t worry. Keep a bowl of water by your side and seal all the broken parts with water and patch with a little pastry. It will all work just fine at the end.

Baked Turkish rose ravioli with mushrooms, gul manti; we served bulgur and potato patties aside at our Turkish cookery class

With the garlicky yoghurt and red pepper flakes infused olive oil drizzled over, these rose raviolis with mushroom filling make an impressive, delicious course. We served them with bulgur and potato patties, bulgurlu, patatesli kofte with pomegranate molasses aside, they complemented each other well.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Turkish vegetarian rose ravioli with filo pastry; Mantarli Gul Manti

With the garlicky yoghurt and red pepper flakes infused olive oil drizzled over, these vegetarian Turkish rose raviolis (or Gul Manti / Gul Boregi) with mushroom filling make an impressive, delicious course. Filo pastry is used here, please follow the instructions so that they won't get dried. Afiyet Olsun!

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Savory Pastries

Cuisine: Turkish cuisine

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

260 gr / 9 oz. filo pastry sheets, thawed
225 gr / 8 oz. chestnut mushrooms, cleaned and chopped finely
1 onion, very finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 small to medium tomatoes, finely diced
1 bunch or ½ cup Italian flat leaf parsley, freshly chopped
30 ml/ 2 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and freshly grounded black pepper
4 fl oz. / ½ cup vegetable stock
For garlic yoghurt:
260 gr / 9 oz. natural plain yoghurt, brought to room temp.
2 garlic cloves, crushed with salt
For red pepper infused sauce:
30 ml/ 2 tbsp. butter or olive oil
5-10 ml/ 1-2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Dried mint to sprinkle over to finish the rose ravioli
Small bowl of cold water aside to shape and seal the rose ravioli

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F / 180 C
For best results, thaw the frozen filo pastry in the fridge overnight and bring it to the room temperature30 minutes before using. That enables the filo thaw completely. If it is fresh as in the UK, you only need to bring the filo to the room temperature 30 minutes before using.
Bring the yoghurt to room temperature by taking out the fridge and set aside in a warm spot in the kitchen.
Clean the mushrooms with a damp paper towel and chop finely.
Sauté the chopped onions with some olive oil for a couple of minutes, until soft.
Add the mushrooms and the garlic, cook for 3-4 minutes, until softened and most of the liquid is evaporated. Stir in the tomatoes and gently cook for another 3 – 5 minutes, until most of the juice is evaporated.
Season with salt and pepper, add the parsley and mix well. Set aside to cool.
Grease a baking tray with 1 tbsp. olive oil.
On a dry surface, place the filo pastry sheets on top of one another and cut in half horizontally to form rectangles. Place damp paper towel over them to keep moist. Have a bowl of water near you.
Take out two rectangular filo pastry sheets on a dry surface (cover the rest of the filo pastry with damp towel).
Spread 1 ½ tablespoon of the mushroom mixture in a line the middle and roll like a cigar. Seal the ends of the pastry with a little water.
Then, starting from one end, roll the cigar shape into a rose shape sealing the end again with a little water. Make sure you seal all the openings/cracks with a little water. If any bigger cracks appear, you can patch it with a little pastry, sealing with water again, it works.
Brush the gul manti with a little olive oil and place them on a greased tray. Repeat this with all rectangles.
Bake in the oven for about 20 – 25 minutes or until golden.
Take the gul manti out of the oven once they are golden brown. Then place a dessert spoonful of stock on each hot manti and put in the oven for another 5 minutes to soak up the stock. The finished rose mantis should be nice and crispy outside and moist inside.
For the garlic yoghurt; whisk together the yoghurt and the crushed garlic in a bowl until smooth and creamy.
For the red pepper infused sauce; melt the butter (or gently heat the olive oil) in a small pan. Add the red pepper flakes and mix well.
Place the hot rose ravioli (gul manti) on a serving dish. Pour the garlic yoghurt over it first then dribble the peppery sauce over the garlic yoghurt.
Finish the dish by sprinkling dried mint over it and serve immediately.

Notes

1) Filo pastry dries out very quickly and becomes unworkable. To prevent this, keep the pastry sheets under a damp dish towel or paper tpwel and only take out one at a time. Any leftover pastry can be rolled up, sealed in a freezer bag and kept in the freezer.
2) You can freeze the baked gul mantis, rose ravioli. They can be successfully reheated on a greased tray (at 350 F /180C for about 15 minutes)