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Maria's Apple Cake with Cinnamon and Walnuts

By Ozlem Warren on September 27, 2011 in Cakes and Desserts, Uncategorised 2

The UK apple season runs through Autumn and Winter. We have loads of different varieties at the moment and the orchards are packed full of apples. My good friend Sarah gave us a basket full of apples a few weeks ago, and I have been looking to find a good recipe to use them. Then another good friend, Maria, mentioned her mother’s apple cake recipe (from Greece); with use of cinnamon, it sounded yummy and reminded me my mother’s version. Cakes and pastries are favorite tea time treats in Turkey, and we use cinnamon, nuts and fruits in our cakes too.

So with our English apples, we gave it a go for Maria’s apple cake. The result was a lovely, moist apple cake with wonderful smells of cinnamon. This is quite a generous size of a cake and would be great for cake bake, gatherings, parties. Children love to be involved too! We added walnuts though you can skip that if you’d like it nut free (or add another nut of your choice) or add raisins instead. My special thanks to Sarah for the wonderful apples, and Maria, for the lovely recipe:)

Serves 10-12
Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 45-50 minutes

4-5 medium size apples, peeled and cut in small chunks
Juice if 1/2 lemon
4 eggs, beaten
460gr/1lb plain flour
340gr/12oz caster sugar
115gr/4oz/1/2cup crushed walnuts
15ml/1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
15ml/1tablespoon baking powder
100ml/1/2 cup sunflower oil

Icing sugar to decorate (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F

Prepare a large size baking tray by greasing it lightly with sunflower oil.

Mix the apples with the lemon juice in a bowl (that will prevent apples to get darker).

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together until smooth. Add the oil and keep on beating. In a separate bowl, sift the flour and stir in the baking powder, mix well. Add this flour mixture to the sugar/egg/oil mixture, mix well. Finally stir in the apples, walnuts and cinnamon, and combine well.

Pour the cake mixture into the greased baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes. The cake should rise and turn golden brown at top. You can insert a skewer to see if the cake is cooked – if the skewer comes clean that means it is cooked. If not, cook for a futher 5-10 minutes.

Once cooked, cool down the cake for about 15 minutes. You can dust with the icing sugar if you like. Slice the cake and serve; some vanilla ice cream by the side goes well too.

Afiyet Olsun!

Cauliflower and Chestnut Mushrooms with Garlic, Olive Oil and Lemon Juice

By Ozlem Warren on September 19, 2011 in Uncategorised, Vegetables Cooked in Olive Oil 1

Here are two delicious, healthy and easy to prepare vegetable courses, that can save the mid week dinners. They would also be a great side dish for grilled meat, fish or pasta.

Cauliflower can be a little bland on its own, and cooking them with mushrooms in this recipe works really well; I love the crunchiness of the cauliflower along with the juicy, meaty texture of mushrooms. And once they’re dressed with olive oil&lemon; juice, they are simply irresistible. Few sprinkles of red pepper flakes (or paprika) spice it up really nicely too.

Serves 2-4
Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes

1 small cauliflower, cut into florets
225gr/8oz chestnut mushrooms (or any kind of your choice)
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
A handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)
30-45ml/2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of I lemon
5-10ml/ 1-2 teaspoons ref pepper flakes (or paprika/chili flakes)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Clean the mushrooms with a damp paper towel and cut into quarters. Steam or microwave the cauliflower florets for 3 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan and stir in the garlic and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper (salt really helps the mushrooms to release the moisture). Stir and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until the mushrooms soften up. Add the steamed/microwaved cauliflower florets and lemon juice, mix well. Let them cook for another 2-3 minutes. Stir in the parsley, if you are using (mushroom and parsley do really well), and give a good stir. Sprinkle the red pepper (or paprika or chilli flakes) over, mix well. Check the Seasoning and add more salt or ground pepper if needed.

Serve warm as a side dish to pasta, grilled meat or fish.

Afiyet Olsun!

Beetroot Salad with Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil Dressing

By Ozlem Warren on September 19, 2011 in Uncategorised, Vegetables Cooked in Olive Oil 4

I got some wonderful beetroots in my vegetable box last week. I haven’t cooked with them myself before though I love their taste. They are delicious when boiled, roasted or even raw, when grated or sliced thinly.

Beetroots can be boiled or steamed for 20-60 minutes, depending on its size. Once cooked, their skin will just slip off (or you can peel the skin like I did before boiling).
One tip though, beetroot bleeds and will stain your hands. You can avoid this by wearing gloves or remove the stains with lemon.

The sweetness of the beetroot complements the tanginess of balsamic vinegar so well. Very refreshing, easy and a healthy vegetable course, highly recommended!

Serves 2-4
Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 35 minutes (for this recipe)

225gr/8oz beetroot
60gr/2oz rocket (or salad leaves) washed and pat dried
30ml/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
30ml/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
A squeeze of lemon juice
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Wash the beetroots and cut off the tops. Peel the skin (or you can peel it once cooked) and cut into chunks. Boil them in plenty of water for about 35 minutes (depending on its size, it could be a little longer). It is cooked when you pierce it easily with a skewer.

To make the dressing, combine the extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice in a small bowl. Season with salt and ground black pepper and mix well.

Mix the rocket (or salad leaves of your choice) with the cooked beetroot in a serving dish. Pour the dressing over the top and mix well.

Afiyet Olsun!