Tag Archives | Ezo Gelin Corba

Ozlem’s Turkish Table Cookery Book and Turkish cookery classes

Sian Irvine’s beautiful shot of still life; aubergines and pomegranates for my cookery book coming up, Ozlem’s Turkish Table – Recipes from My Homeland

Merhaba dear All,

I hope this note finds you well and you had an enjoyable summer. I was in Turkey – in Istanbul then in Bodrum – it was very special to be back home and spend quality time with my family.

The last few months have also been very busy preparing my Turkish cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table – Recipes from My Homeland with GP Publishing. If you may recall, we had a fantastic photo shoot with the very talented Sian Irvine Photograpy back in July. Since then, we have been lovingly editing and shaping each chapter; it’s now coming together beautifully and I can not wait to share with you all!

This book will be a compilation of my favorite Turkish recipes and a special tribute to my southern Turkish roots, with an emphasis on regional dishes from my hometown Antakya and southern Turkey in general, along with my personal stories. There will be some lovely black and white photos of my parents, grandparents and family in the book, which are so dear to me; these were the people I got my inspiration from and the book is their legacy, it will be special to share with you all. With this book, I truly hope you feel the warmth, generous, sharing spirit of our Turkish culture; I truly hope it may inspire you to have a go at the recipes – and there will be delicious new recipes too – and that the book will help you to connect with my beautiful homeland.

It’s been a labor of love in the making but we are almost there – we plan to be ready for pre-orders by November and the book will be out in March 2018. I hope to be able to personally sign the copies for you and hope to see you at one of our pre-order book events – stay tuned!

Sunny Flavours of Turkey with Ozlem Warren, Divertimenti Cookery School, London

Hands On Masterclass, Saturday 7th October, 11:00am – 2:30pm

I have a delicious, hands on Turkish cookery class coming up at the Divertimenti Cookery School in London on Saturday, October 7th, with home made baklava and many more. Below is the class details, do hope you can join us!

Participation is limited, please kindly book through Divertimenti Cookery School at this link

Home made baklava is delicious and easier than you think, we will have a go at our class in Divertimenti Cookery School, London on October 7th, 2017

Please join us as we will cling on to the autumnal sunshine than with a feast of delights from Ozlem’s Turkish Table. Showcasing authentic, regional recipes from her beloved homeland, you will cook alongside Ozlem preparing a selection of seasonal dishes from this colourful and aromatic cuisine as well as learn about Turkish coffee. Recipes will include ‘Zeytinyagli Sarma’ (Stuffed Vine Leaves), ‘Shepherds Salad, ‘Iskender Kebab (Tender slices of meat over pita bread with roasted vegetables and yoghurt sauce), ‘Baklava with Walnuts’ and Turkish Coffee.

What I have been cooking lately..

Spicy bulgur and lentil soup, Ezo Gelin Corba is in the menu

With the temperatures turning cooler, I have been cooking wholesome soups like Ezo Gelin Corba, Turkish spicy bulgur and lentil soup. We love this soup as a family; it’s satisfying, easy to make and so delicous, flavored with dried mint and red pepper flakes. I tend to make a big batch and freeze leftovers, works very well. Here’s the link for my Ezo Gelin corba, I hope you enjoy it too.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Turkish Vegetarian Feast; Ideas from our Turkish Cookery Class

By Ozlem Warren on March 15, 2016 in Appetizers and Mezes, Turkish Cooking Classes 10

Merhaba All,

Talking about Turkish culinary heritage at Divertimenti Cookery School, London

We had a delicious Turkish cookery class at the Divertimenti Cookery School in London last Sunday. It was wonderful to be hands on with 9 enthusiastic participants and create a Turkish feast. Here are some photos and recipes we made at our class, I hope they inspire you too.

Ezo Gelin Corba, Spicy Bulgur and Lentil Soup

Ezo Gelin corba, spicy bulgur and lentil soup flavored with dried mint and red pepper flakes, was one of the highlights of the class, everyone really enjoyed it and pleasantly surprised how easy it was. A wholesome, delicious soup you can prepare ahead of time and left overs freeze beautifully too.

Turkish flat breads with crumbled feta, red pepper paste, za’atar mix

Biberli Ekmek, southern Turkish style flat breads with crumbled feta, za’atar and red pepper paste, was another easy recipe we did at the class. These flat breads take me back to my childhood in Antakya immediately, as my mother and grandma used to prepare the topping for the flat breads and we would take it to our local bakery to bake. Za’atar here is a delicious, aromatic blend of spice mix, including wild oregano, ground cumin, sesame seeds, crushed pistachio, crushed chickpeas and many more, utterly delicious.

Karides Guvec; baked prawn and vegetables casserole with grated cheese, from our Turkish cookery class

Baked vegetables casserole with chickpeas and grated cheese

We then had a go at the popular Karides Guvec, Prawn casserole with vegetables and grated cheese. A favorite starter at fish restaurants at home, it also makes a wonderful, easy to make main course. If you are not keen on prawns, you can take out and add cooked chickpeas to the mixture instead, as we did for an alternative version. Ground cumin goes well with chickpeas, as well as red pepper flakes for a delicious heat.

Potato and bulgur rolls, patatesli, bulgurlu kofte, with olive oil and pomegranate sauce

These gorgeous potato and bulgur rolls, Patatesli, bulgurlu kofte, with spring onions and red pepper flakes were another highlight. You can make them ahead of time and they are delicious dipped into olive oil & pomegranate molasses sauce.

Revani, semolina sponge cake, light and fragrant with lemon juice and lemon zest.

Moist, delicious semolina sponge cake in light syrup, Revani, was our dessert. I love the lightness semolina gives to this dessert, also fragrant with lemon juice and lemon zest, so easy to make, here’s my Revani recipe.

Turkish coffee and its best accompaniment, Turkish Delight

Last but not least, we finished off with Turkish coffee, a perfect end to a Turkish meal, along with Turkish Delight. Turkish coffee is more than a drink for us Turks; we take time to pause and enjoy a delicious sip with a friend or to reflect. Here’s how to make Turkish coffee and its rituals, hope you enjoy it.

Enjoying the delicious Turkish feast we prepared together at the Divertimenti Cookery School

We then set down and enjoyed the fruits of our labor together, it was a great team effort! Due to popular demand, my Turkish vegetarian class will be repeated at the Divertimenti Cookery School in London on Saturday, April 30th, from 11 am to 2.30 pm. Here’s my cookery class details if you’d like to join us.

My best wishes and Afiyet Olsun to you all,

Ozlem

Wholesome Turkish Cuisine, use of spices and Hospitality above all

By Ozlem Warren on September 29, 2014 in Farmers Market in England, Turkish Spices 21

Elmbridge Food Festival at Painshill Park, Surrey – England

Talking about Turkish cuisine and culinary heritage at the demo theatre, Elmbridge Food Festival

I was delighted to be one of the guest speakers at the Elmbridge Food Festival at the Painshill Park’s, the beautiful 18th century landscape garden, Surrey – England last weekend. The festival showcased the local produce, artisanal bakery as well as ethnic cuisines in Surrey. It was a gorgeous weekend with sun upon us and a well-attended enthusiastic crowd at the demo theatre.

So much to talk about (now that I was given a mic and a crowd!); Turkish hospitality, importance of seasonality, use of spices and more

Fresh fruit and vegetables galore at the markets, pazar, in Turkey

It was a great opportunity to talk about delicious, wholesome Turkish cuisine and that it is beyond kebabs (as much as we love them). Turkish cuisine is based on fresh, seasonal produce. We are a lucky nation blessed with four seasons and abundance of seasonal fruit and vegetables regularly on display at farmer’s markets, pazar. In addition to fresh produce, wholesome grains like bulgur, legumes, dried fruits and nuts also feature frequently in Turkish cuisine. Here is some more information on Turkish cuisine and culinary traditions, if you like.

My sweet models displaying dried bell peppers and eggplants!

The dried bell peppers, eggplants (aubergines) and baby okra attracted a lot of attention (thanks to my sweet helpers!) during the food festival. This is a mainly southern Turkish tradition; the excess produce of meaty peppers, aubergines (eggplants) and baby okra are dried under the hot sun in the summer at the southern part of Turkey. The flesh and seeds of the eggplants and pepper are taken out and left for drying at the regions of Antakya and Gaziantep. They will end up having a rich, concentrated flavor and delicious when stuffed with ground meat and aromatic rice, as in these stuffed dried eggplants and peppers, kuru patlican ve biber dolmasi.

Hummus, flavored with red pepper flakes infused olive oil

The fresh produce, grains and legumes are also flavored with artful use of spices in Turkish cuisine. For instance, we use pungent, warm cumin often. Combined with chickpeas and tahini, cumin is the spice that makes hummus taste like hummus. Cumin is wonderful on lamb and beef; with chickpeas, lentils, cabbage, eggplant and cooked tomato; or combined with spices like dried mint, paprika, cilantro (coriander) and saffron. It’s also perfect with garlic or fennel.

Ezo Gelin Corba, Turkish red lentil and bulgur soup, flavored with dried mint and red pepper flakes.

How about the hearty Red lentils and bulgur soup, Ezo Gelin Corba? This spicy red lentil soup is one of my favorites; rich in fiber and protein and flavored with the refreshing dried mint and smoky, spicy Turkish red pepper flakes or chili flakes. It is a very satisfying, heartwarming meal itself with some crusty bread aside. You can read more about spices used in Turkish cuisine here; they are a wholesome way of adding flavors naturally.

Turkish Delights, Lokum

We finished our talk with the Turkish Delights, Lokum, one of Turkey’s hallmarks. The real thing is much more fragrant, less sweet and packed with flavor, compared to the ones I came across abroad. Therefore I decided to make my own Turkish delight and demonstrated in one of of Turkish cookery classes. You’d be pleasantly surprised to see it is easier than you think, though bear in mind that home made lokum will be softer than the commercial ones but packed with flavor. Here’s my home made Turkish delight recipe, if you’d like to try out.

Serving Turkish Delights at the Elmbridge Food Festival

One of the highlights of my talk at the food festival was the hospitality, generosity of Turkish cuisine and culture. Hospitality is a big part of Turkish culture and you can feel it everyday life all around. I vividly remember friends and extended family members knocking the door of my Grandmother’s 400 year old house in Antakya spontaneously and happily welcomed to the dinner table. We would all sit around her courtyard dinner table under the fig tree and have a feast of senses with arrays of wonderful mezzes, abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables cooked in olive oil (Zeytinyaglilar), succulent kebabs and many more. You will be offered tea or Turkish coffee in the banks, shops, wherever you go with a smile. Turkish saying “Basimin ustunde yerin var” (“I would place you above my head”) I think sums the Turkish hospitality very well. We Turks place our guests at the top of our heads and would be delighted to share our food with them, even it is some fresh bread and cheese.