Ozlem’s Turkish Table | Page 30 | Turkish CuisineOzlem's Turkish Table

Katmer; Turkish crunchy pancakes with pistachio and clotted cream

This delicious and easy to make Turkish crunchy pancakes with pistachios and clotted cream, Katmer, hails from Gaziantep, one of the must visit gastronomic regions in Turkiye. The crunchy, flaky Katmer is traditionally the first meal eaten by the bride and groom after their wedding night in Gaziantep. It tastes absolutely heavenly with Gaziantep’s world famous pistachios and the thick Turkish clotted cream, kaymak.

My (updated) version of Katmer here uses filo pastry sheets (you can use the fresh, paper thin Turkish yufka pastry sheets for baklava – baklavalik yufka – if you can get too) and thick clotted cream instead of kaymak, as it is not easy to find kaymak abroad (mascarpone cheese also gave good results). The substitution worked well in Katmer and made a lovely, easy and light dessert with with fresh fruit by the side. You can serve Katmer as part of breakfast, dessert or as a tea time treat, perfect with Turkish tea, cay.

I hope you enjoy Katmer, Afiyet Olsun,
Ozlem

5.0 from 1 reviews

Katmer; Turkish crunchy pancakes with pistachio and clotted cream

This delicious and easy to make Turkish crunchy pancakes with pistachios and clotted cream, Katmer, hails from Gaziantep, one of the must visit gastronomic regions in Turkey. It is delicious as part of breakfast, tea time treat or a light dessert with fresh fruit aside.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Turkish regional desserts

Cuisine: Turkish

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

6 sheets of filo pastry, thawed (each sheet about 480 mm x 256 mm) or baklavalik yufka
70g unsalted butter, melted
200g clotted cream, orTurkish kaymak
65 g. unsalted pistachio kernels, finely chopped
3 tbsp white granulated or brown sugar
Small bowl of water with a drizzle of oil, to secure the katmer parcels
1 tbsp finely chopped pistachio kernels to decorate
Fresh berriies to serve aside - optional

Instructions

Take the filo sheets or baklavalik yufka out of the fridge 20 minutes prior using to bring to room temperature. If filo sheets are frozen, it is best to thaw in the fridge overnight and take out 1 hour prior using to bring to room temperature. Alternatively, you can take out the frozen filo sheets 2 hours prior using to bring to room temperature. Place on a clean, dry surface and cover with a damp towel.
Place a filo sheet near you and brush with the melted butter. Place another filo sheet on top and brush again with the melted butter.
Place 4 tbsp of kaymak or clotted cream, as little dabs, in the middle of the sheet, within a 15 cm square frame. Leave a margin of about 5 cm on top and bottom of the long edges of the sheet with no filling. Sprinkle 2 tbsp finely chopped pistachios and 1 tbsp sugar evenly over the cream.
Fold the bottom and top part of the filo sheets over the long edge of the filling; this will secure the filling. Brush this folded pastry with melted butter too.
Now fold the right side of the buttered sheet over the filling, then fold the left side over on top, to make a 15 cm square parcel. Brush the top and sides of the katmer parcel with melted butter. Also dip another brush into the water & oil mixture and brush the edges of the parcel to seal, so that the filling stays secure.
Make 2 more katmer parcels this way, using 2 filo sheets at a time.
Brush a large, non-stick frying pan with melted butter and place the buttered side of katmer on the pan. Cook for 2 minutes, over medium to high heat. While cooking, brush the top side of the katmer with melted butter too. Once the bottom of katmer is golden, flip the katmer over carefully using a large spatula, let the other side cook for 1- ½ minutes over medium to high heat.
Place the cooked katmer on a large serving plate, and cook the remaining katmer parcels this way, brushing both sides during cooking.
Slice each katmer into six pieces, sprinkle finely chopped pistachio over and serve warm, perhaps with fresh berries and tea, cay at the side.

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

Rolled Cabbage Leaves with Bulgur filling; Bulgurlu Lahana Sarma

By Ozlem Warren on November 9, 2015 in Casseroles and Stews, Regional Signature Dishes; Mains, Sides and Desserts 17

Rolled cabbage leaves with bulgur, ground meat, onion and spices; Bulgurlu Lahana Sarmasi

We love stuffed vegetables, dolmas in Turkish cuisine and I have a soft spot for this delicious stuffed cabbage leaves with bulgur, onions and ground meat, Bulgurlu Lahana Sarmasi, Antakya style (“Dolma” is the term used for stuffed vegetables, as in peppers, aubergines, tomatoes and “Sarma” is the term used for rolled leaves in Turkish cuisine). Bulgur is flavored here with the dried mint (the star spice here), cumin and red pepper flakes, along with onion and parsley. It makes a delicious filling even without the meat; so by all means omit the meat for a vegetarian version. I remember as a child so eagerly waiting for this delicious sarma to cook; mother would ask whether we would like to do a “quality check” of the rolls from the pot and we tuck in at that very minute, happy days. These rolls can easily be an all day snack for us.

Tip for separating the cabbage leaves; try to get a large cabbage with big, straight leaves. Trim the bottom root and place the cabbage as whole in a large pan with boiling water and simmer for 8 minutes. The leaves will start to peel off without breaking. Please save the hard stalk or the hard middle part of the cabbage leaves; they are delicious in Lahana Kapuska; cabbage cooked with rice, onions, ground meat and spices, a sort of deconstructed rolled cabbage leaves – my recipe link is here.

Rolled cabbage leaves with bulgur, Southern Turkish Style; dried mint and red pepper flakes flavor the cabbage and bulgur beautifully

Wholesome grain bulgur is widely used in southern Turkish cuisine in mezzes, salads, stuffed vegetables and in bulgur pilaf. Cooked in lemony olive oil sauce, it makes a delicious pairing with cabbage here; all you need is some plain yoghurt aside to enjoy this delicious Bulgurlu Lahana Sarmasi. You can use (1 tbsp.) pomegranate molasses instead of lemon juice in the sauce if you’d like a sharper taste.

My roots go back to ancient Antioch, Antakya and I love sharing Antakya’s delicious, diverse cuisine, along with other healthy, wholesome Turkish recipes, all included at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland. Signed copies available at this link, and now 20 % Off, if you’d like a copy. It is delivered worldwide including the US, Canada and Mexico, with lower delivery rates here. We also have this Ozlem’s Turkish Table apron available now, made in Turkey, with my hometown Antakya’s daphne leaves embroidered in the design, it can make a lovely gift for a foodie. You can order at this link.

I hope you enjoy our family favorite; Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

4.5 from 2 reviews

Rolled Cabbage Leaves with Bulgur filling; Bulgurlu Lahana Sarma

Wholesome grain bulgur pairs with cabbage well and makes a delicious filling with ground meat, spices and onion. I hope you enjoy this Southern Turkish style rolled cabbage leaves with bulgur filling; it is delicious and wholesome. Plain yoghurt by the side complements the cabbage rolls very well. Afiyet Olsun!

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Healthy Mains with bulgur and cabbage

Cuisine: Southern Turkish Cusine

Serves: 6

Ingredients

200 gr/ 7 oz. / 1 cup coarse bulgur
1 large cabbage (which yields about 20 large to medium cabbage leaves)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
225 gr/ 8 oz. ground (minced) beef or lamb
Small bunch of parsley leaves, finely chopped
30 ml / 2 tbsp. olive oil
15 ml / 1 tbsp. dried mint
5 ml/ 1 tsp. cumin
5 ml/ 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the sauce:
4 cloves of garlic, crushed with salt and finely chopped
15 ml / 1 tbsp. olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon (or 1 tbsp. pomegranate molasses)
500 ml / 1 pint / 2 cups of water
15 ml / 1 tbsp. tomato paste
Dried mint and red pepper flakes to serve
Plain yoghurt to serve

Instructions

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil.
Trim the bottom root and place the cabbage as whole in the pan with boiling water and simmer for 8-10 minutes.
Remove the cabbage and leave it to cool. Then take a sharp knife and cut the outer leaves from the main stalk. The rest of the leaves will start to peel off without breaking one by one. Peel off about 20 large to medium leaves for rolling and set them aside (Please save the hard stalk or the hard middle part of the cabbage leaves, that is too small or hard to roll; they are delicious in Lahana Kapuska; cabbage cooked with rice, onions, ground meat and spices, which I will also share in the coming weeks).
For the filling; combine the bulgur, chopped onion, parsley, olive oil, dried mint, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and freshly ground black pepper in a large bowl. Knead well with your hands for a few minutes. Stir in the ground meat and knead for another minute to combine well.
With a sharp knife, carefully trim and make a V shape cut to remove the thickest part of the stalk from the base of each cabbage leaf. Place 1 to 1 ½ tablespoon of the filling (depending on the size of the leaf) in the middle of the leaf. Fold in the sides and then roll the leaf up tightly. Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.
Place the rolled leaves tightly in a heavy pan with seam side down, do the second layer too and pack tightly.
For the sauce, mix together the water, olive oil, lemon juice (or 1 tbsp. pomegranate molasses), tomato paste and chopped garlic in a bowl. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste. Pour this sauce over the rolled cabbage leaves (the water should just about to cover the top of the rolled cabbage leaves). Place a plate on top of the leaves to stop them unraveling during cooking.
Cover the pan and cook on low heat over stove top or burner for 40 – 45 minutes, simmering gently.
Once cabbage rolls are cooked, serve hot, decorated with dried mint and red pepper flakes. Plain yoghurt complements this delicious cabbage rolls with bulgur filling, bulgurlu lahana sarmasi, beautifully. Afiyet Olsun.

Notes

Tip for separating the cabbage leaves; try to get a large cabbage with big, straight leaves. Trim the bottom root and place the cabbage as whole in a large pan with boiling water and simmer for 8 minutes. The leaves will start to peel off without breaking.