Ozlem's Turkish Table | Page 122 | Turkish CuisineOzlem's Turkish Table

Vegetables and Spicy Sausages with Eggs; Sebzeli, Sucuklu Yumurta

By Ozlem Warren on June 18, 2010 in Turkish Breakfast 0

We Turks love big breakfasts at the weekends; the long, leisurely breakfast in a way announces the arrival of the weekend. In Istanbul, friends and family rush to the cafes by the Bosphorus, with the newspapers under their arms. And the breakfast table is a feast; freshly baked breads, simit (round shaped specialty bread/pastry with sesame seeds, delicious!), feta cheese, olives, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, pastries, honey, jams, eggs cooked with cheese or vegetables and many more. You would be served Turkish tea, as well as freshly squeezed juices. With the beautiful Bosphorus – the water strait that goes thru Istanbul- by your side, no wonder everyone is happy to extend and turn it to long continuous brunch – I truly miss this!

Sucuk is one of the ingredients I crave, as it is very much used at our weekend breakfasts. Turkish sausage, sucuk, is horseshoe shaped, made of beef and spiced with cumin and red pepper flakes. Middle Eastern shops and delis carry them (And I was delighted to hear there is a Middle Eastern shop in Swindon). You can substitute with any Italian, Spanish or Greek spicy sausage if not available. This recipe has many variations; spinach, spring (green) onions, green bell peppers all marry wonderfully with egg too.

I do hope this recipe may bring a little Turkish feast to your weekend; afiyet olsun,

Ozlem

Serves 4

Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes

4 medium eggs
1 medium onion, quartered and thinly sliced
3 spring (green) onions, finely sliced
3 medium ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
115 gr/ 4 oz (Turkish) spicy sausage, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fresh, crusty bread to serve

Heat the oil in a shallow pan and stir in the onion. Cook for a couple of minutes until softened. Add the sausages and the spring (green) onions, cook for another couple of minutes on medium heat. Stir in the tomatoes, the water and let it cook gently on low heat (the little water will help the sausages to keep their moisture and prevent dryness). Make four hollows in the vegetable mixture and drop in the eggs. Cook them uncovered until the whites are firm but the yolks remain soft.

Season the mixture with salt and black pepper. Sprinkle a little red pepper flakes and ground cumin over the eggs. Serve immediately with fresh, crusty bread.

Afiyet Olsun!

Zeytinyagli Pirasa – Leeks, Carrots and Rice Cooked with Olive Oil

By Ozlem Warren on June 16, 2010 in Vegetables Cooked in Olive Oil 22

Leeks, onions and carrots cooked in olive oil, Zeytinyagli Pirasa

Leeks are around all through the year these days and they are native to Anatolia, along with carrots. This “Zeytinyagli”(vegetables cooked in oil) recipe is wonderfully refreshing and comforting all through the year. Traditionally, we like to cook zeytinyagli dishes ahead of time, and allow the dish to cool and rest in its pan for the flavors to blend well.

The recipe is very easy to make, delicious and healthy – also vegan and gluten-free. You can keep in the fridge up to 3 days (flavors blend even better the next day!) and we serve them cold or room temperature. This recipe made a wonderful lunch for me with some crusty bread and squeeze of lemon by the side. You can serve as an appetizer, meze or as a side dish to accompany main dishes.

Turkish cuisine is based on seasonal produce and offers delicious, wholesome, easy to make meals, most of them good for vegan and gluten-free diet too. This and over 90 authentic Turkish recipes are included at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland and delivered promptly worldwide. Signed copies are available to order at this link – while the stocks last! – if you’d like.

If you live in the US, Canada or Mexico, you can order a copy at this link, with lower shipping rates.

Serves 4 – 6
Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 35 minutes

500 gr/1.1 lb fresh leeks, washed and sliced diagonally into bite size pieces
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
15 ml/1 tablespoon long grain rice, washed and drained
60 ml/2 fl oz/1/4 cup olive oil
240 ml /8 fl oz / 1 cup hot water
5 ml/1 teaspoon salt
5 ml/1 teaspoon caster sugar
Juice of 1 lemon

Chopped fresh dill for garnish (optional)
Lemon wedges to squeeze over

In a wide, heavy pan, gently heat the olive oil and sauté the onions and carrots for 5 minutes. Add the leeks and stir occasionally, taking care so they don’t scorch. When the vegetables start to soften, add the rice, hot water, lemon juice, salt and sugar.

Cover and cook gently over low heat for about 20 minutes or until the rice and vegetables are tender and the cooking liquid is absorbed. Avoid stirring during cooking, as this will disturb starch in the grains of rice.

Remove from the heat, cover with an absorbent kitchen cloth or paper towel and replace the lid. This will help to absorb any excess moisture. Set aside to cool.

Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle with chopped dill if you would like. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over and some crusty bread by the side.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

What is your color ?

By Ozlem Warren on June 11, 2010 in A Slice of England, Uncategorised 0

My good friend Katherine studies colors and advices on which colors would work for you, taking into account of your skin color, eye color, complexion. She very kindly looked into “my colors”; it was a wonderfully informative, great as well as enjoyable experience. After checking loads of colors on me, it turned out that I am an “Autumn” woman, and my colour characteristics are muted, deep and warm. Now I have a wonderful swatch colour wallet, that I can check out what works for me best – and thank goodness, many of the colours are the ones I already like and have been using, and need to think seriously about some old favorites!- What a great investment I thought, knowing which colours would look best on you and avoid expensive shopping mistakes! Have you thought about your colours? Here is Katherine’s email if you’d like to know more; katherine.green@virgin.net

And here are a couple of my favorite colours from the garden at the moment! I am not a natural gardener; having lived in big cities and apartments most of my life, I couldn’t go more than enjoying my mothers beautiful pot plants. Being in England now though, it is impossible not to get mesmerised and be inspired by the beautiful gardens and array of flowers – I had been an addict on Chelsea Flower Show and not missing the Gardeners World now!- The children gave presents of a little geranium plant and sunflower seeds in spring, and we eagerly waited for them to grow. And just recently, “they popped!” as my daughter said. We now have a lovely geranium plant with gorgeous leaves and beautiful flowers and a lovely array of sunshine, a smiling sunflower in the backgarden. Hope these inspire many more to come!