Turkish Cooking Classes

Turkish Vegetarian Feast; Ideas from our Turkish Cookery Class

Merhaba All,

Talking about Turkish culinary heritage at Divertimenti Cookery School, London

We had a delicious Turkish cookery class at the Divertimenti Cookery School in London last Sunday. It was wonderful to be hands on with 9 enthusiastic participants and create a Turkish feast. Here are some photos and recipes we made at our class, I hope they inspire you too.

Ezo Gelin Corba, Spicy Bulgur and Lentil Soup

Ezo Gelin corba, spicy bulgur and lentil soup flavored with dried mint and red pepper flakes, was one of the highlights of the class, everyone really enjoyed it and pleasantly surprised how easy it was. A wholesome, delicious soup you can prepare ahead of time and left overs freeze beautifully too.

Turkish flat breads with crumbled feta, red pepper paste, za’atar mix

Biberli Ekmek, southern Turkish style flat breads with crumbled feta, za’atar and red pepper paste, was another easy recipe we did at the class. These flat breads take me back to my childhood in Antakya immediately, as my mother and grandma used to prepare the topping for the flat breads and we would take it to our local bakery to bake. Za’atar here is a delicious, aromatic blend of spice mix, including wild oregano, ground cumin, sesame seeds, crushed pistachio, crushed chickpeas and many more, utterly delicious.

Karides Guvec; baked prawn and vegetables casserole with grated cheese, from our Turkish cookery class

Baked vegetables casserole with chickpeas and grated cheese

We then had a go at the popular Karides Guvec, Prawn casserole with vegetables and grated cheese. A favorite starter at fish restaurants at home, it also makes a wonderful, easy to make main course. If you are not keen on prawns, you can take out and add cooked chickpeas to the mixture instead, as we did for an alternative version. Ground cumin goes well with chickpeas, as well as red pepper flakes for a delicious heat.

Potato and bulgur rolls, patatesli, bulgurlu kofte, with olive oil and pomegranate sauce

These gorgeous potato and bulgur rolls, Patatesli, bulgurlu kofte, with spring onions and red pepper flakes were another highlight. You can make them ahead of time and they are delicious dipped into olive oil & pomegranate molasses sauce.

Revani, semolina sponge cake, light and fragrant with lemon juice and lemon zest.

Moist, delicious semolina sponge cake in light syrup, Revani, was our dessert. I love the lightness semolina gives to this dessert, also fragrant with lemon juice and lemon zest, so easy to make, here’s my Revani recipe.

Turkish coffee and its best accompaniment, Turkish Delight

Last but not least, we finished off with Turkish coffee, a perfect end to a Turkish meal, along with Turkish Delight. Turkish coffee is more than a drink for us Turks; we take time to pause and enjoy a delicious sip with a friend or to reflect. Here’s how to make Turkish coffee and its rituals, hope you enjoy it.

Enjoying the delicious Turkish feast we prepared together at the Divertimenti Cookery School

We then set down and enjoyed the fruits of our labor together, it was a great team effort! Due to popular demand, my Turkish vegetarian class will be repeated at the Divertimenti Cookery School in London on Saturday, April 30th, from 11 am to 2.30 pm. Here’s my cookery class details if you’d like to join us.

My best wishes and Afiyet Olsun to you all,

Ozlem

Festive Offering for My Online Turkish Cookery Course – 50 % Off!

By Ozlem Warren on November 19, 2015 in Online Turkish Cookery Course, Turkish Cooking Classes 4

With the festive season upon us, I am delighted to share that I am offering my Online Turkish Cookery course 50% of its normal selling price (£13.50 instead of £27.00) , until 24th December. I truly hope this festive offering would be an inspirational gift to yourself or someone you know who may enjoy learning Turkish cookery with a selection of classical Turkish dishes.

My online Turkish cookery course covers step by step demonstrations of 4 classic Turkish recipes, including stuffed aubergines/eggplants (karniyarik), potato & bulgur rolls, spinach and feta filo pastry, Ispanakli Borek and Turkish Coffee

Festive Season is about taking the time to spend special moments with family and friends. Turkish culture is about coming together with friends and family to enjoy a delicious meal, share laughter and create cherished memories. I truly hope festive gift giving of my online Turkish cookery course may help reconnecting with our loved ones and sharing plates of wholesome, delicious Turkish food with those you care about.

Making Spinach and feta filo pastry, Ispanakli Borek at my online Turkish cookery course

Turkish cuisine is my passion and I feel very fortunate to be a part of this rich and welcoming Turkish culture. With my online Turkish cookery video, I aim to provide a window into the warm Turkish culture through the delicious, healthy, wholesome Turkish food with thousands of years of culinary heritage. Turkish food is a wonderful expression of the warm, generous Turkish culture has a strong emphasis on sharing, giving, hospitality, that I think is a very strong bond to connect us with our past. I hope that throughout the video, you can feel the warmth, welcoming nature, hospitality of Turkish cuisine, how it nurtures our body, as well as our soul. My special thanks goes to Mer-ka-bah, a wonderful online platform, offering holistic online courses to improve health and well being, for producing my online Turkish cookery course.

I demonstrate Spinach and cheese pie with filo pastry – Ispanakli, Peynirli Borek with step by step instructions at my online Turkish cookery course

Here are the 2 Free Previews of the course for you to get a flavor of what my online Turkish cookery course is all about. First one is Meet the Presenter and the second one is Why Should I Do the Course, explaining the course structure, what you can learn from the course and the recipes I demonstrate. I demonstrate Karniyarik (Stuffed eggplants with ground meat and vegetables), Spinach & filo tray bake pastry (Ispanakli Borek), Bulgur & Potato rolls with pomegranate molasses sauce, Patatesli, Bulgurlu Kofte and Turkish Coffee. I also hope you enjoy the wonderful background Turkish music composed for us and my photos from my travels in Turkey throughout the course; fascinating sites, markets, glorious seasonal produce, gathering with friends to enjoy the Turkish food, as we do it rather well in Turkey : )

I demonstrate Karniyarik recipe, Stuffed eggplants with ground meat and vegetables, during my online Turkish cookery course

Karniyarik, stuffed eggplants with ground meat and vegetables, is part of my online Turkish cookery course too

Here is how it works; once you purchase my online Turkish cookery course and create a user name and password, your course will sit in your “My mer-ka-bah” folder. You can then access and revisit with your username and password whenever you like. You can follow the Chapter order or pick and choose whichever chapter you would like to watch in your own time, whether it is Adding Flavor; 5 Key Spices Chapter or Ispanakli Borek; Spinach and Feta tray bake filo pastry recipe Demonstration; or any other – choice is all yours! Once purchased, the course is yours indefinitely. You can watch the course unlimited times, you can pause and come back later. This video is what I cover and more at my Turkish cookery classes and I hope it inspires and you enjoy it. Please also note that the course is interactive; you can leave me messages at the comment section, I would love to hear from you.

You will be learning how to make the perfect cup of Turkish coffee at my online Turkish cookery course

Happiness is a meal shared… What better way to celebrate this festive season than to connect with your loved ones over a special meal? I hope my festive gift offering of my online Turkish cookery course inspires you to create and enjoy memorable meals with family and friends.

My best wishes & Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Turkish Flat Breads with potato and cheese; Patatesli Gozleme

By Ozlem Warren on September 7, 2015 in Appetizers and Mezes, Savory Pastries, Turkish Breakfast, Turkish Cooking Classes, Turkish Street Food 25

Turkish stuffed flat breads with mashed potato and cheese, Patatesli, Peynirli Gozleme

We Turks love these stuffed flat breads, Gozleme. Turks were originated from Central Asia, where they drifted towards Anatolia gradually and made their home. They have been making these stuffed flat breads called Gozleme since then and they are a much loved Turkish street food and a special part of Turkish breakfast. These popular snacks are cooked quickly on a hot griddle and can be filled with various fillings.

I previously made Gozleme with spinach and cheese filling, they became hugely popular. This time I made them with mashed potatoes, cheese and parsley; a comforting, delicious combination, another winner with family and friends. This gozleme is also a wonderful way to finish up leftover cooked potatoes and bits of cheese. I used feta cheese here, you can also use Turkish white cheese, grated cheddar cheese or mozzarella. I spiced up my gozleme with a little Turkish red pepper paste, biber salcasi; you can also use red pepper flakes instead if you are after a touch of spice.

I hope you enjoy making your own Gozleme, a wholesome, delicious street food at home. They go down very well with a glass of Turkish tea, cay or ayran, traditional Turkish yoghurt drink.

Turkish stuffed flat breads with potato and cheese; Patatesli, Peynirli Gozleme

I love our savoury pastries in Turkish cuisine. Gozleme and over 90 authentic Turkish recipes are included at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland. Signed hardback copies, as well as ebook and other options are available at this link; Signed copies are delivered worldwide including US and Canada here.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

5.0 from 6 reviews

Turkish Flat Breads with potato and cheese; Patatesli Gozleme

We Turks love these stuffed flat breads, Gozleme. Turks have been making these stuffed flat breads over thousand of years, they are a much loved Turkish street food and a special part of Turkish breakfast. The mashed potato, cheese and parsley proves to be a delicious, comforting filling; these gozlemes are wonderful with cup of tea or as part of mezze spread.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Turkish Flat breads with fillings, Gozleme

Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine

Serves: 5 gozleme, feeds 6-8

Ingredients

1lb./ 16 oz. /3 cups plain flour
8g / 1 sachet instant dried yeast
Pinch of salt
45 ml/ 3 tbsp. olive oil
30 ml/ 2 tbsp. plain natural yoghurt (preferably whole milk)
About 260 ml/ 9 fl. oz. / 1⅕ cups water
For the filling:
3 medium sized potato, cooked, skinned and mashed – about 2 ¼ cups -
5ml/1 teaspoon Turkish red pepper flakes or 2 tsp. Turkish red pepper paste (optional)
200gr/ 7 oz. Turkish white cheese or feta cheese, juice drained and crumbled.
28 gr/ 1 oz. / ½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
30 ml/2 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Nonstick pan or griddle to cook the Gozleme

Instructions

Combine about 150 ml / 5 fl. oz. warm water, yeast and salt in a small bowl, stir and cover. Stand in a warm place for 5 minutes or until bubbles form on the surface.
Sift the flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture, olive oil, yoghurt and the remaining (about 110 ml/ 4 fl. oz./ ½ cup) water. Using your hand, draw in the flour from the sides and work the mixture into a dough. Knead thoroughly to form a soft dough. Divide the dough into 8 pieces, knead them and roll into balls. Place the balls on a floured surface, cover with a damp cloth and leave them to rest for 30 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Mash the cooked potatoes with a fork or a masher in a large bowl. Drain the juice of the Turkish white cheese or feta cheese and crumble into the bowl. Stir in the chopped parsley, the red pepper paste or red pepper flakes (if you wish) and pour in the olive oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and combine all well. Your filling is ready.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out each of the balls of the dough with a rolling pin into thin, flat rounds, about 40cm/16in diameter. Sprinkle a little flour as you roll the dough so that the dough won’t stick. Roll until you achieve a thin sheet of a flat round.
Fold the left and right sides of the dough in a way for the edges to meet in the middle. Spread about 2 ½ - 3 tablespoons filling into the middle part of this flat sheet. Then fold the top and bottom edges over the filling, making sure all the filling is safely covered. Press edges together well to seal. Repeat the same procedure for the rest of the dough balls.
Heat a griddle or a non-stick pan, and brush one side of the gozleme with a little olive oil and place on the pan to cook for about 2 -3 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush the uncooked side with a little olive oil and then flip it over. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, until golden brown.
Brush both cooked sides of gozleme with a little olive oil -this will keep the gozleme moist. Cook the rest of the gozlemes the same way.
You can either roll the Gozlemes to serve, or you can cut in halves or quarters. Ayran, Turkish yoghurt drink or Turkish tea, cay would go really well next to Gozleme.