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Eggplant (aubergine) Pot Stew and Beautiful Winter Frost at Wisley Gardens – Patlicanli Tencere Kebabi

By Ozlem Warren on December 10, 2010 in Casseroles and Stews, Uncategorised 1

This is one of my favourite stews – or as we call in Turkish, Pot Kebabs, “Tencere Kebabi”. The marriage of sweet, meaty aubergines with the delicately flavoured shallots (and lots of it) is divine; you hardy need the meat to add extra flavour (You may try excluding the meat for a delicious vegetarian course). I love dipping the crusty bread to its juice. Also the lentil/bulgur patties (recipe is under the section of mezes in the blog) goes very well to dip into the yummy juice of the stew.

Christmas Eve dinner is traditionally Turkish dinner in our home, as our international (extended) family loves Turkish cooking, especially the aubergines. So this will be my main course this year. You can cook this delicious stew ahead of time and any left overs can be frozen successfully. You can enjoy entertaining stress-free:)

And a little photo from the wonderful Wisley Gardens; the frost on the plants make the gardens look absolutely magical.

Serves 4-6
Preparation time: 35 minutes Cooking time: 55 minutes

3 small to medium eggplants (aubergines), quartered and sliced
450gr/1lb shallots, peeled and cut in half
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in cubes
1 carrot, cut in cubes
500gr/ 1 ¼ lb beef or lamb in chestnut sized pieces
90 ml/ 6 tablespoon olive oil
400gr/ 14 oz can of chopped tomatoes
15ml/1 tablespoon Turkish red pepper paste (optional)
8fl oz/ 1 cup water
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and ground black pepper

Spread the eggplant slices in a tray and sprinkle salt over them, leave for 15-20 minutes. Salt will help to take the moisture out of the eggplants. Drain the juices, as they are bitter, and squeeze dry the eggplants with paper or tea towel.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pan. Stir in the eggplants and shallots and sauté until they start to turn golden brow (my mother actually would shake the pan too, so that the aubergines don’t get bruised:) Season with salt and pepper. Add the meat to brown a little. Toss in the carrots and potatoes and cook for a few minutes, stir well. Season with salt and black pepper generously. Add the chopped tomatoes, red pepper paste (if used) and water, mix well. Check the seasoning and add the red pepper flakes. Cover and cook on a medium to low heat for about 40 minutes, until the sauce starts to thicken.

Serve hot with some nice crusty bread or plain rice by the side. The bulgur&lentil; patties in the blog (under Meze section) would go really well to dip in the delicious juice of the stew too.

Afiyet Olsun!

Hearty Turkish Red Lentil Soup – Kirmizi Mercimek Corbasi

By Ozlem Warren on November 29, 2010 in Soups 24

Because of their rich protein content, lentils have been a valuable food source in Asia Minor since Neolithic times. This soup is most probably Turkey’s most popular soup, enjoyed not only for lunch and dinner but also for a hearty breakfast in Anatolia.

I like to add carrots and potatoes to this easy, delicious and nutritious soup. The lovely colours of red lentils, carrots and potatoes bring an array of sunshine to any cold winter day! The addition of cumin and red pepper flakes add a wonderful, energising flavour, as we do in Southern Turkish cooking. I recommend you to make a big batch and freeze some, as it freezes really well.

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

This delicious soup and many more wholesome Turkish recipes along my stories from my homeland is included at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland, Signed copies are now 20 % Off at this link. Delivered worldwide including the US and Canada.

Also, as a new item, Ozlem’s Turkish Table aprons, with Antakya’s celebrated daphne leaves in the embroidered design, are now available to purchase via GB Publishing, at this link, it can be a lovely gift to a foodie, delivered worldwide.

Serves 6
Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 40 minutes

250gr/9oz/generous 1 cup red lentils, rinsed and drained
15ml/1 tablespoon long grain rice, rinsed and drained
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot cut in small cubes
1 medium potato, peeled and cut in small cubes
1.2lt/2 pints/5 cups hot water
15ml/ 1 tablespoon olive oil
15ml/1 tablespoon butter
10ml /2 teaspoon ground cumin
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

For the pul biber/red pepper flakes infused olive oil:

10ml/2tsp (or more) pul biber or red pepper flakes

30ml/2tbsp olive oil

Extra wedge of lemon (and if you’d like) croutons to serve

Pour in the olive oil into a large heavy pan. Stir in the onion, carrots and potato and saute for 2 minutes, over medium to high heat. Add the red lentils, rice and hot water to the pan. Bring to boil and skim off any froth. Over a medium heat, simmer for about 35 minutes or until the lentils, rice and the vegetables cooked. Please stir occasionally to ensure the lentils don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Add a little more water to the pan if the soup appears to be too thick to your liking.

Once cooked, add the lemon juice, butter and cumin to the mixture. Check the seasoning and add salt and black pepper to your taste, combine well.

In a separate small pan, stir in the olive oil and Turkish pul biber or red pepper flakes. Combine well over a low to medium heat. The pul biber will infuse to the olive oil and this will taste spectacular in the soup.

Serve the hot soup, with a drizzle of pul biber infused olive oil over the top and a wedge o lemon for extra zing by the side. Some nice crusty bread by the side or croutons over the soup would go very well.

You can cook this wonderful soup ahead of time and freeze some if you’d like.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Filo pastry with zucchini, dill and Feta; Kabakli Borek

By Ozlem Warren on November 20, 2010 in Appetizers and Mezes, Savory Pastries, Turkish Breakfast 7

Kabakli, peynirli borek; Zucchini, feta and dill filo pastry

Various kinds of pastries called “borek”, constitute an important part in Turkish cookery. Different sorts of dough can be prepared at home though it is very convenient to buy ready made fresh thin pastry sheets called “yufka” widely available in Turkey. You can substitute yufka with filo pastry sheets as I do for this recipe and it works remarkably well. The filo pastry sheets in the UK come fresh and need to be left in room temperature for 30 minutes before using. The filo pastry in the US comes frozen and you need to thaw them 2 hours prior using.

You can also use any filling of choice, meat, spinach, spicy pumpkin, potato, leeks… the list of the possibilities is endless! This tasty borek, can be a lovely side dish or first course for dinner parties, they are also delicious for the weekend brunch, Turkish style.

Serves 6-8
Preparation time – 30 minutes Cooking time – 25 minutes

12 sheets of filo pastry

For the filling:
2 medium courgettes (zucchini), grated
225gr/8oz feta cheese, crumbled
60gr/2oz grated mozzarella
2 eggs, beaten
4 green (spring) onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped dill
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the egg&milk; mixture:
1 egg, beaten
30ml/2 tablespoons olive oil
120ml/4fl oz/1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 180 C/ 350 F / Gas 4

For the filling, put the grated courgette (zucchini) in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Set aside for 30 minutes. Squeeze well to allow the excess water to run away. (You can prepare the courgettes this way up to a day in advance and keep in the fridge, covered). In a bowl, combine the grated courgette, feta cheese, grated mozzarella, beaten eggs, chopped green onion and dill. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. You may wish to leave out the salt if the feta cheese is already salty.

Combine the beaten egg, olive oil and the milk in a bowl and mix well.

Generously grease a baking tray with olive oil. Take a filo sheet and covered the rest with a damp cloth. This will help avoid the pastry getting too dry or less manageable. Put a sheet of filo pastry on the tray and brush with 2 tablespoons of the egg &milk; mixture. Continue doing this for the next 5 sheets. Now put the 6th sheet on top and this time spread the courgette filling evenly. Add the next sheet over the top and apply the egg&milk; mixture over the top, making sure the whole surface is nicely covered and moistened. Continue this for each sheet, including the last sheet.

Bake the pastry in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until the top of the pastries is golden brown and puffed up.

Transfer onto a serving plate, and serve. This pastry can be successfully preheated and frozen.

Turkish filo pie with zucchini, feta and dill; Kabakli Borek

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Notes:1) If you freeze the cooked pastry, you can reheat at 180C/350F for about 15-20 minutes. Please moisten the top of the pastry with a couple of tablespoonful of milk so that it won’t dry out.
2) If you have any courgette filling left over (as the size of filo sheets vary in different countries), you can knock up a delicious omelet with adding another egg or two.