Shepherd’s Salad with tangy sumac, delicious and refreshing
An easy, utterly delicious and healthy salad that complements main courses, it is also great to have for lunch with some cheese and crusty bread. The simple dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning is just right. Sprinkle some tangy sumac over the salad for extra zing and flavor.
Serves 4
Preparation time : 10 minutes
Half of a large cucumber, about 160 gr/5 ½ oz, cut in quarters and sliced
2-3 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
3 spring (green) onions, finely chopped
Handful of flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
30 ml/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon
5ml/1tsp. ground sumac
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix the cucumbers, tomatoes, spring onions and the parsley in a bowl. Add the olive oil and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and mix well. Sprinkle ground sumac over for an extra zing and flavor.
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Karniyarik; Stuffed eggplants with ground meat, onion, tomatoes
This impressive dish is a legacy of the Ottoman Palace kitchens and yet another of the imperial demands for ingenuity concerning the much loved eggplant, aubergine, you will find this dish wherever you go in Turkey! Though traditionally made with ground lamb, you may prepare it with ground beef or have a vegetarian version too. Simply replace the meat with your favorite vegetable (mushrooms, chickpeas work very well), sprinkle some grated cheese over the top and bake it, it turns out to be a delicious alternative.
You can cook this dish ahead of time and gently reheat in the oven. Karniyarik freezes very well, once cooked. Here’s also my YouTube video for how to make Karniyarik :
Preparation time – 45 minutes Cooking time – 55 minutes
3 dark purple eggplants (aubergines; small to medium variety if possible)
340 gr / 12 ounces ground (minced) lean lamb
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
400 gr /14 oz (1 can of) chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
240 ml / 1 cup water
1 bunch or 1/2 cup Italian (flat) parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 – 4 tablespoons canola oil or ground nut oil for shallow frying
6 thin slices of tomato and green bell peppers, seeded – for decorative topping
1 -2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 180 C / 350 F
Cut the eggplants in half lengthways leaving the stalk intact. In each half of eggplant, cut a deep split lengthways without cutting through to the skin on the opposite side and leaving 1/2″-13 mm- uncut at either end. Sprinkle salt over the flesh side of the eggplants and leave them aside for 15 minutes. Salt will help the moisture come out of the eggplants.
In a little of the olive oil, sauté the onions until soft. Add the ground lamb and cook until all the moisture is absorbed. Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, mix well. Continue cooking for a further couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in most of the chopped parsley. Seasoning is important, so please check the seasoning of the mixture and add more salt or pepper if you would like.
Dry the eggplants with kitchen towel thoroughly. Lightly brown them evenly on both sides in the canola oil or gorundnut oil. With the split sides facing up, place them into a well-oiled ovenproof dish or a baking tray. Spoon the filling into the splits. On the top of each filled eggplant put a slice of tomato and a green bell pepper. Mix the water with a drizzle of olive oil. Pour this mixture on the baking tray. Cover and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes. Remove the cover and continue baking for another 15 minutes or until they are tender and the eggplants are nicely browned on top.
Serve hot with plain rice and a dollop of plain yoghurt by the side.
