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Runner (green) beans cooked in olive oil; Zeytinyagli Taze Fasulye

By Ozlem Warren on May 27, 2010 in Appetizers and Mezes, Vegetables Cooked in Olive Oil 5

Green beans or runner beans cooked in olive oil with vegetables; Zeytinyagli Taze Fasulye

I was delighted to spot some lovely runner beans in my local market the other day; they are packed with flavor and freshness and we like to cook them in olive oil with onions and tomatoes.

This is such an easy, delicious and healthy vegetarian course that you can serve as a starter or an accompaniment to grilled meat. Green beans cooked this way are a great national favorite. Enjoyed by the urban and rural families alike, there are varying theories of how to achieve the best result. Traditionally, zeytinyagli dishes (vegetables cooked in olive oil) are prepared in advance and served at room temperature, as a meze or vegetable course. French, runner and dwarf beans are all suitable to be prepared this way. Once cooked, you can store in the fridge for a good 2-3 days, great for entertaining and festivities too.

Green beans cooked this way is delicious when combined with bulgur, rice or quiona too, as in this Bulgur pilaf with green beans recipe, at my new book, SEBZE, Vegetarian recipes from my Turkish kitchen. You can get a copy of SEBZE here, worldwide.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Serves 4 – 6
Preparation time – 15 minutes Cooking time – 40 minutes

500 gr / 1.1 lb runner (green) beans, trimmed and cut into 3 pieces
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
45 ml /3 tablespoon olive oil
400 gr / 14 oz canned diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoon sugar
Salt and black pepper to taste
lemon wedges to serve

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil for a couple of minutes. Add the beans and canned tomatoes and cook for another 1 or 2 minutes. Pour over the water, add the sugar, season with salt and pepper. Bring the liquid to the boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 35 minutes. Check the seasoning and add more salt if needed. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool in the pan. İn Turkish cooking, it is important for the the vegetables cooked in oil to cool and rest in the pan it is cooked for the flavors to blend well.

Transfer to a serving dish and serve with wedges of lemon to squeeze over.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Turkish Rose Ravioli – Gul Manti or Sosyete Mantisi

By Ozlem Warren on May 26, 2010 in Savory Pastries 5

This scrumptious coiled pastry with minced meat filling with garlicky yoghurt and spiced olive oil is one of our favourite for dinner parties – it is called also referred as Sosyete mantısı (roughly translated as society or posh mantı) at home, an easier yet equally delicious version of mantı, Turkish dumplings. Found memories of having them with cay, Turkish tea at my mother’s ladies’ afternoon tea gatherings.

In Türkiye, fresh yufka sheets are used for the pastry – filo pastry sheets work just as well here, to form the elegant rose shaped pastry. The trick with filo pastry sheets is that they need to be kept under slightly damp towel so they don’t dry out. Take one sheet at a time to make the coiled shape and work fast. The milk and olive oil sauce works like magic to keep the pastry intact while coiling. They can be made ahead of time and freeze well after baking. If freezing, reheat at preheated fan oven at 180C/350F for about 10 minutes.

You can also make a vegetarian version, using spinach and feta in the filling, as in Ispanakli peynirli gül böreği from my cookery book SEBZE – you can get a copy here worldwide.

Ispanakli gul boregi, from SEBZE cookery book

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do,

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Turkish Rose Ravioli - Gul Manti or Sosyete Mantisi

This scrumptious coiled pastry with minced meat filling with garlicky yoghurt and spiced olive oil is one of our favourite for dinner parties – it is called also referred as Sosyete mantısı (roughly translated as society or posh mantı) at home, an easier yet equally delicious version of mantı, Turkish dumplings. Found memories of having them with cay, Turkish tea at my mother’s ladies’ afternoon tea gatherings. In Türkiye, fresh yufka sheets are used for the pastry - filo pastry sheets work just as well here, to form the elegant rose shaped pastry. The trick with filo pastry sheets is that they need to be kept under slightly damp towel so they don’t dry out. Take one sheet at a time to make the coiled shape and work fast. The milk and olive oil sauce works like magic to keep the pastry intact while coiling. They can be made ahead of time and freeze well after baking. If freezing, reheat at preheated fan oven at 180C/350F for about 10 minutes.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Savoury pastry

Cuisine: Turkish cuisine

Serves: makes 7 coiled pastries

Ingredients

7 filo pastry sheets (I use Jus Roll) (if you are using thin filo sheets, I suggest using 2 sheets for each coiled pastry)
For the pastry filling:
750g/1lb 10 ½ oz minced beef
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3tbsp double concentrated tomato paste
1tbsp pomegranate molasses
1tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the milk and olive oil sauce:
60ml/2fl oz whole milk
1tsp olive oil
For brushing:
1 medium egg, beaten
2tsp olive oil
For the garlicky yoghurt:
450g/1lb whole milk yoghurt
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Sea salt to taste
For the spiced olive oil:
60ml/2fl oz olive oil
1tsp pul biber
1tsp dried mint

Instructions

Combine the yoghurt with the chopped garlic and season with sea salt to your taste. Cover and set aside to bring to room temperature. Take the filo pastry sheets out of the fridge to bring to room temperature, 20 minutes before using, for the best results.
Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
Pour 1tbsp olive oil in a wide, heavy pan and stir in the chopped onions; sauté for 4 minutes over medium heat. Stir in the minced meat to the pan, combine with the onions and sauté for further 8 minutes then turn the heat off. Stir in the tomato paste and pomegranate molasses, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, combine well. Place the filling in a large bowl and set aside to cool.
Preheat fan oven to 180C/200C/400F. In a small bowl, combine milk with olive oil, to brush the filo pastry sheets. In another small bowl, combine beaten egg with olive oil, to brush the finished rose pastry.
Once the filling is cooled down, open pack of filo sheets. Lay the sheets on a dry, clean surface and cover with a slightly damp towel. To coil the filo successfully, the filo sheets need to be kept moist. Only take one sheet at time and keep the rest covered.
Take 1 filo sheet out and place on a dry surface lengthways. Working fast, brush the sheet with the milk and olive oil mixture. Then place about 110g filling in a line, along the edge near you, leaving 2cm at each end of the pastry filling free (try not to overfill, so the pastry don’t break while coiling). Gently roll up into a cylinder. Brush the pasty edge with the milk and olive oil mixture. Starting from one end, gently wind the filo into a coil and place on the tray with the baking paper on. Brush over and sides of the coiled pastry with the milk and olive oil mixture to seal the end (this helps to patch up any broken pastry too). Repeat the same procedure with the rest of the 6 filo pastry sheets and place the coiled pies side by side with about 1 inch space between them. Make sure to brush the top and sides of the coiled pastries with the milk and olive oil mixture, to keep them intact.
Brush the top and side of the pastries with the egg and olive oil mixture. Bake in middle shelf of the preheated fan oven for 25 – 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and cooked through.
Pour olive oil on a small sauté pan and warm over medium heat. Stir in the pul biber and dried mint and gently infuse for 30-40 seconds, turn the heat off.
To serve; spread about 4tbsp garlicky yoghurt on an individual serving plate and place a rose pastry over the top. Drizzle pul biber and dried mint infused olive oil over the hot rose pastry, and drizzle a little more garlicky yoghurt over if you like too. Alternatively, serve the rose pastry plain with a zesty salad aside.

Bulgur Wheat Pilaf with Vegetables – Sebzeli Bulgur Pilavi

By Ozlem Warren on May 17, 2010 in Pilafs and Rice 9

Bulgur wheat pilaf with onions, tomatoes and peppers

My cousin asked me recently what to feed his 15 month old baby. Our children have been eating mainly what we have been eating (with the condition of compromising from the seasoning and adding more salt and spices on our own plate), we have been lucky. And that’s what I have suggested to him. Turkish food provides a healthy and balanced diet to the children too and this bulgur pilaf with vegetables would be a healthy and delicious option to give to them – my children enjoy it greatly!

Often confused with cracked wheat, bulgur wheat is a grain made from cooked whole wheat berries, which have had the bran removed, and is then dried in the sun and crushed. As it has already been cooked, it requires little cooking to reconstitute itself. It is available coarsely and finely ground. For pilaf, the coarser type is used, to create a nutty and delicious dish, which is a meal in itself and served with yoghurt. Bulgur has been a major staple in many rural areas in Turkey; during the Ottoman Period, the rice was a very precious commodity that only the rich could afford. This made the bulgur a very popular option and healthy one too. It is reach in fiber and provides good source of protein.

Serves 6
Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: about 20-25 minutes

350 gr/ 12 oz/ 2 cups of coarse organic bulgur wheat, rinsed and drained
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
15 ml / 1 tablespoon olive oil
30 ml / 2 tablespoons butter
400 gr /14 oz can of chopped tomatoes
600 ml / 1 pint / 2 1/2 cup hot vegetable or chicken stock or water
1 teaspoon salt – please adjust to your taste –
freshly ground black pepper
chopped parsley for garnish – optional-

Rinse the bulgur under cold running water, drain and set a side.

Sauté the chopped onions in olive oil and butter until soft. Add the green bell pepper and chopped tomatoes, cook for another minute. Add the stock (or water) and bring to boil.

Add the bulgur, salt and ground pepper and stir once. Cover and cook over a low heat until the bulgur has absorbed all the stock and stem holes are visible on the surface. It is important not to stir the pilaf during this time. Remove the pan from the heat. Cover the pan with a cloth or absorbent kitchen paper and the lid over the top. The bulgur will continue cooking in the steam and the cloth will absorb any excess moisture. Leave to stand covered, for at least 15 minutes before serving.