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Tag Archives | ispanakli borek

My Online Turkish Cookery Course with Turkish Recipes – Live Now!

 

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I have been teaching Turkish cookery internationally over 8 years and have often been asked to do an Online Turkish Cookery Course from readers all round the world. So for lovers of Turkish cuisine, here comes my Online Turkish Cookery Course or ‘My virtual Turkish cookery class!

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.

We produced this Turkish cookery course, with thanks to Mer-ka-bah,  a wonderful online platform, offering holistic online courses to improve health and wellbeing; from Healthy Eating  to Mindfulness Meditation and many more. I was delighted when Mer-ka-bah approached me to prepare an online Turkish cookery course,  as part of their Cultural Heritage Programs. Mer-ka-bah online courses provides accessibility (you can watch the courses in your home, while on the road or desktop) and flexibility (anytime that suits you; as little as 10 minutes a day or the whole course, you can pause and come back as you wish) and yours to keep (once purchased, you own the course and can revisit whenever you’d like, with your user name and password.

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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 this Karniyarik (Stuffed eggplants with ground meat and vegetables), Spinach & filo traybake pastry (Ispanakli Borek) and more recipes at my online Turkish cookery course.

I demonstrate Karniyarik recipe, Stuffed eggplants with ground meat and vegetables, during my online Turkish cookery course

I demonstrate Karniyarik recipe, Stuffed eggplants with ground meat and vegetables, during my online Turkish cookery course

My Online Turkish Cookery Course is about 1 hour 50 minutes and divided into different modules, covering Turkish culinary history, Importance of being connected with our roots, Seasonality, Use of Spices, Turkish serving traditions, as well as 4 classic Turkish recipes I demonstrate (Stuffed eggplants with ground meat & vegetables, Karniyarik; Spinach and feta filo 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 am also delighted that we have a special introductory offer of 19 GBP / $ 28.56 for my online Turkish cookery course at the moment. I hope it helps to learn more about the wonderful Turkish cuisine and Turkish culture.

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Spinach and feta traybake filo pastry, Ispanakli Borek, is amongst the recipes I demonstrate at my online Turkish cookery course.

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, 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.

This course may also make a wonderful gift to yourself or someone who enjoys Turkish cuisine, interested in travels to Turkey and would like to know more about Turkish cuisine. I very much hope the course inspires you to learn more about Turkish cuisine and you enjoy it.

I would also greatly appreciate if you can share with friends and family; many thanks in advance.

Afiyet Olsun to you all!

Ozlem

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Spinach and Cheese Pie – Ispanakli, Peynirli Borek

 

 

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Ispanakli, Peynirli borek; spinach and cheese pie

Merhaba (means Hello in Turkish);

I hope this lovely borek recipe inspires you to go back to kitchen and make it for friends and family – or why not just treat yourself?-

This wonderful pie has to be one of the most deliciously pleasing and easy borek around. If you can get yufka, fresh paper thin fresh pastry sheets, it would be best. Alternatively, filo pastry sheets for this recipe also work well. If frozen, you need to defrost them overnight in the fridge and leave at room temperature about 2 hours before using. I combine the feta cheese with mozzarella in this recipe to make it moister. At home, boreks, savory pastries are a very popular snack with ladies’ tea time gatherings and immensely popular with children too. I remember fondly looking forward to my mother’s tea parties to enjoy these tasty treats, and now my children totally love them anytime of the day.

Here’s also my YouTube video to make this delicious and easy borek:

 

I love our savory pastries in Turkish cuisine; boreks, gozlemes, pogacas and more; there’s a Savory Pastries chapter in my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, with all these savoury treats and regional specialties included. Signed copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table is available to order at this link and delivered worldwide – and signed copies are now 20 % off, as a gift from us to enjoy healthy, delicious Turkish recipes at home. Also our new item, this lovely Ozlem’s Turkish Table apron, can also make a wonderful gift to a foodie. There is now lower delivery costs  of Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book for the US, Canada and Mexico at this link 

Delicious spinach and cheese pastry with fillo sheets; Ispanakli, peynirli borek

Delicious spinach and cheese pastry with fillo sheets; Ispanakli, peynirli borek

This borek is a great addition to a weekend brunch or a dinner party appetizer, Afiyet Olsun!

Serves 8 -10
Preparation time – 15 minutes
Cooking time – 40 minutes

150 gr / 7 oz spinach leaves
150 gr/ 7 oz feta cheese, beyaz peynir, mashed with a fork
100 gr / app. 4 oz grated mozzarella
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup / 125 ml milk
1/2 cup / 125 ml water
3 tablespoons mild olive oil
12 sheets of fillo pastry (cut in half vertically, which makes 24 sheets)
1 tablespoon nigella seeds
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 180c/350 F/gas mark 4

Remove the stalks of the spinach, wash and chop roughly. Mix together in a bowl with the feta cheese, shredded mozzarella and two of the beaten eggs. In a separate bowl, mix the water, 1 tablespoon olive oil and milk.

Grease a rectangular baking dish with the remaining olive oil. Lay the pastry sheets along its long side and cut in half vertically. Open the sheets only when you are ready to use them and cover the rest with a damp towel so that they don’t dry out.

Lay three sheets in the greased baking dish. Pour a little of the milk-olive oil-water mixture (about 3 tablespoons) all over the sheet. Repeat this layering two more times, using three fillo sheets each time.

Lay three more sheets over and spread the spinach filling evenly. Continue laying three sheets of fillo, pouring over each the milk mixture, three more times. Lay the remaining sheets on the top of the pie, sprinkling the milk mixture. Whisk together the remaining beaten egg with a little olive oil and brush over the pastry. Sprinkle with sesame or nigella seeds.

Bake the pie in the oven for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Serve hot, cut into pieces. This dish can be successfully reheated.

Important tips: If you would like to cut back on the amount of the eggs, you can omit or decrease them in the spinach and feta filling. 2) Once cooked, if you keep the pie covered with flax or parchment paper, this will keep the pie moist. 3) This pie freezes wonderfully. Once cooled, put the pie in a freezer bag and seal. When you’d like to reheat (at 350 F for about 15 minutes), put the pie in a greased baking tray and sprinkle the top with a little milk and water mixture to give some moisture.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Vegetarian Coiled/Swirl Filo Pie (Kol Boregi) and Bulgur Wheat Salad (Kisir) Zoom Cookery Class

Saturday, April 17th 2021, 6 pm – 7.30 pm (BST) 

I love our savoury pastries, boreks, with a variety of fillings, at home; I am repeating this delicious Vegetarian Swirl Pie, Kol boregi zoom cookery class, due to your kind interest. I would be delighted to see you at  my zoom cookery class on Saturday, April 17th, 2021, 6 pm – 7.30 pm (BST), where I will show you how to make this impressive and so moreish Coiled / Swirl filo pie with zucchini/courgette, dill, cheese and onions, Kol Boregi, as we call in Turkish. The class also includes one of my favourite salads, Spicy bulgur wheat salad with pomegranate molasses, Kisir, from my southern Turkish roots.

You can see the class details and registration at this link, as well as all my other zoom cookery class on offer.

 

 

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