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Ozlem’s Turkish Table at Turkish Embassy, London and Courgette, lentils, Swiss chard cooked in olive oil

Merhaba Dear All,

It’s been a busy and exciting few months for Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book, as it has been awarded as the Winner of the prestigious Gourmand World Cookery Book Award, in the Food Heritage Category for Turkey. The Gourmand Awards are often compared by journalists to the “Oscars” and we are absolutely delighted. Ozlem’s Turkish Table is now being reprinted with the Gourmand seal to reach out more Turkish food lovers around the world, with sincere thanks to all dear readers, Pinar UK and GB Publishing. Signed copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book is available at this link and it is delivered worldwide.

I am delighted to share the latest news from Ozlem’s Turkish Table, and my new recipe, Courgette/zucchini, lentils, Swiss chard and peppers cooked in olive oil – Kabakli, Mercimekli Mualla at this post, I hope you enjoy it and it inspires you to have a go at delicious, wholesome Turkish cuisine.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Turkish Cuisine Presentation at the Turkish Embassy Residence, London

February also marked a very special event at the Turkish Embassy Residence in London. Our Turkish Ambassador HE Mr Yalcin and Mrs Yalcin very kindly hosted our Turkish Cuisine evening at the Turkish Embassy Residence in London on February 12th, with the participation of diplomats, press, distinguished guests in London. It was a real honor to do a presentation on our healthy, wholesome Turkish cuisine to our guests, with thousands years of culinary heritage. The journalist Ayse Arman was amongst the guests and very kindly did a wonderful write up about the evening and our efforts to promote Turkish cuisine abroad.

After my presentation and demonstration of Potatoes and bulgur patties with pomegranate molasses, Patatesli, bulgurlu kofte, Turkish Embassy chefs and kitchen staff very kindly prepared a feast from Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book, to serve our guests; it was an honor to see recipes from my cookery book prepared and displayed so beautifully, so very delighted that everyone enjoyed the evening. My very sincere thanks to our Ambassador and his wife, Mr and Mrs Yalcin, for hosting this wonderful event.

Courgette/zucchini, lentils, Swiss chard and peppers cooked in olive oil – Kabakli, Mercimekli Mualla

I love Antakya’s traditional Patlicanli Mercimekli Mualla (as featured at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table); it has been very popular with the readers and at my cookery classes. While I was in Guru’s Place Cookery School in Kalkan, Turkey for my cookery class last year, a Turkish lady there saw our Aubergine with lentils dish and said that she makes another version with courgettes and adds pazi (similar to Swiss card to it); she said it is really lovely too. So inspired by her kind recommendation, here is my Courgette, lentils, Swiss chard and peppers cooked in olive oil, Kabakli Mercimekli Mualla.

And I must say, it is another scrumptious dish. This time, I baked this dish in the oven; baking brought a lovely sweetness to the courgette, peppers and onions and dried mint added delicious freshness. We make this recipe using the Turkish Zeytinyagli method (Vegetables cooked in olive oil) and it’s important to let the dish cool in the pan so it can rest and the flavors develop. Once cooked, it keeps well in the fridge for 2-3 days, great for entertaining. It is packed with flavor and wholesome, also gluten-free and plant based. This dish also works very well as a filling in vegetarian lasagna (we tested this too and family loved it, recipe to follow soon). I hope you enjoy my recipe as below, Afiyet Olsun.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Courgette, lentils, Swiss chard and peppers cooked in olive oil; Kabakli, Mercimekli Mualla

I love Antakya’s traditional Patlicanli Mercimekli Mualla (as featured at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table); it has been very popular with the readers and at my cookery classes. While I was in Guru’s Place Cookery School in Kalkan, Turkey for my cookery class last year, a Turkish lady there saw our Aubergine with lentils dish and said that she makes another version with courgettes and adds pazi (similar to Swiss card to it); she said it is really lovely too. So inspired by her kind recommendation, here is my Courgette, lentils, Swiss chard and peppers cooked in olive oil, Kabakli Mercimekli Mualla. And I must say, it is another scrumptious dish. This time, I baked this dish in the oven; baking brought a lovely sweetness to the courgette, peppers and onions and dried mint added delicious freshness. We make this recipe using the Turkish Zeytinyagli method (Vegetables cooked in olive oil) and it’s important to let the dish cool in the pan so it can rest and the flavors develop. Once cooked, it keeps well in the fridge for 2-3 days, great for entertaining. It is packed with flavor and wholesome, also gluten-free and plant based.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Vegetarian and Vegan

Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine

Serves: 6

Ingredients

175g/6oz green lentils, rinsed
4-5 medium courgette/zucchini
2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, crushed and finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut in half and thinly sliced
200gr/7oz Swiss chard or pazi, washed and roughly chopped
400g/14oz (1 can of) chopped tomatoes in juice
60ml/2fl oz olive oil
240ml/8fl oz water
45ml/3 tablespoons olive oil (to par bake courgettes and peppers)
5ml/1 teaspoon salt
5ml/1 teaspoon granulated sugar (optional)
10ml/2 teaspoons dried mint
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180C/350F
Put the green lentils in a pan of boiling water, stir and cover. Simmer and par boil in low heat for 15 -20 minutes. Drain the water and set aside.
Cut the courgettes in half lengthways and cut each half into medium slices, about ½ cm, 0.2”. Spread them on a wide tray, sprinkle salt over and leave aside for 10 minutes. Using a paper towel, gently squeeze the excess water out of the courgette/zucchini.
Combine the sliced peppers and courgettes in an oven tray. Drizzle the 3 tbsp./45ml olive oil over them. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix well. Par bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes; this will help courgettes and peppers to soften up and start bringing out their lovely sweet flesh.
In a large bowl, combine the partially cooked lentils, onion, garlic, chopped Swiss chard, chopped tomatoes, salt, dried mint, olive oil and the sugar (if used). Season with ground black pepper, check the seasoning and add more salt if needed.
In a deep baking dish, place a layer of the par baked courgette and pepper slices. Spread the half of the vegetable and lentil mixture over evenly. Place the remainder of the courgette and pepper slices over the top and spread the remaining vegetable & lentil mixture over also. Add the water, cover with foil and bake at the preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 30 minutes. Then take the foil off and bake for further 10-15 minutes, or until lentils and vegetables fully cooked and have started to have a nice crispy coating.
Once cooked, leave to cool at the baking dish: this will allow the flavors to develop and blend well. Serve at room temperature (or if preferred warm) with some crusty bread. This lovely dish can be served as a vegetarian main course or can accompany grills as a side.
Afiyet Olsun.

Healthy Turkish Vegetarian Feast Master Class – Divertimenti Cookery School, London

Sunday, March 15th, 2020 from 12.00- 15.30 (Hands – On Class)

Join Ozlem at Divertimenti Cookery School in London on Sunday, March 15th, from 12 – 3.30pm to create a Healthy Turkish Vegetarian Feast, including Baked beetroot with garlic, served with pomegranate molasses and seeds, Spicy Bulgur and Lentil soup (Ezo Gelin Corba), Filo pastry with courgette, cheese and dill, Medley of baked or sauteed aubergines, peppers and courgettes served in tomato sauce and garlicy yoghurt, finishing with Caramalised carrot paste delight with hazelnuts and shredded coconut and Turkish coffee, from her Gourmand World Cookbook award winning book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table. Turkish cuisine is healthy, delicious and recipes can easily be adapted for gluten free and vegan needs too.

Participation is limited for this hands on class, if you like to join us, please kindly book your spot at this link; the class can also make a lovely gift for a foodie.

Signed copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table are back! Recipes and Events

By Ozlem Warren on June 1, 2018 in Ozlem’s Turkish Table Cookery Book, Turkish Cooking Classes 3

Signed copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book, available now (for a limited period)!

One of the happy Ozlem’s Turkish Table book owners, posting this lovely photo

Many thanks to you all, who already got your copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table and your warm, delightful feedback on the book; so glad to see Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book has being enjoyed through your kind shares of your dishes from the book and messages you very kindly showered me. I dreamed about writing this book for over 10 years and it is such happiness to see its being enjoyed. Here’s an recent note from one of the Ozlem’s Turkish Cookery book owner; “Hi Ozlem, many thanks for a great book with fantastic recipes, it’s an invaluable inspiration to me now that I have retired and my new neighbours are amazed when I bring the Turkish food cooked by myself; maybe one day I will let them into the secret”.

Signed copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table book now available for limited period!

Delighted to let you know that the signed copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table is now available as of orders from June 2nd for a limited period! A great opportunity to get a copy for yourself or as a gift. If you’d like a signed copy of Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book, please kindly order at this link. It will be delivered promptly worldwide.

Ozlem’s Turkish Table book tour in Turkey and the UK

Ozlem’s Turkish Table book launch at Zen Seramics, Istanbul, with my parents

It’s been a very busy but magical few months launching Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book , book signings and events in the UK and in Turkey. With this note, my sincere thanks goes to Pinar Foods UK for all their kind support for my book. A special highlight has been sharing my book with my dear parents, Orhan and Gulcin, at our book launch at the lovely Zen Seramics in Istanbul. My parents have always been my inspiration with their passion for Turkish cuisine and generosity in sharing, so it was a very special moment to present the book to them. The book has a lot of personal stories and our family heritage and they joyfully grabbed Ozlem’s Turkish Table with both hands with high on emotion (and some happy tears); I think my dad bought over 10 copies to proudly gift to family and friends! Most kind and I can not thank them enough for all their love and support.

Ozlem’s Turkish Table book signing at Fethiye!

Happy owners of Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book in Fethiye

I visited Fethiye at early May as part of Ozlem’s Turkish Table book tour; it was a very special visit meeting Turkish food lovers at the lovely Yakamoz Hotel over a delicious Turkish breakfast and at the delightful Mozaik Bahce, at our Antakya style dinner. It was a very memorable trip and I can not thank dear Lyn Ward from Fethiye Times enough for arranging our events in Fethiye and all her support. My sincere thanks to everyone who joined our events and their kind interest for my book and to Yakamoz Hotel and Mozaik Bahce for their amazing Turkish hospitality – I can’t wait to be back!

Ozlem’s Turkish Table book signing at One Tree Books, Petersfield

We have done lots of events and book signings in the UK too and it was so lovely to see everyone’s interest for Turkish cuisine and Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book. One of these book signings were at the One Tree Book Store in Petersfield; a delightful book store at the heart of the community with the lovely Madeleine’s Kitchen Cafe attached to it. One Tree Book Store arranged a lovely book talk and interview with me and the Madeleine’s Kitchen served Spicy bulgur and Lentil Soup, Ezo Gelin Corbasi, Courgette fritters with feta and dill, Mucver and Revani, Semolina Sponge cake from Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book, to a very enthusiastic crowd of 35 folks. It was a magical evening meeting Turkish food lovers and exchanging stories. You can get copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table at One Tree Book Store.

Ozlem’s Turkish Table podcast interview at the Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Cookery School and Radio Station

Milk Street Radio Station podcast interview

We also had a delightful podcast interview with Christopher Kimball of Milk Street Cookery School and Radio based in Boston – MA, talking about southern Turkish cuisine, stories from my homeland and my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table. You can listen to this podcast at this link (my interview starts at about 17. minutes onwards), hope you enjoy it.

Ozlem’s Turkish Table Events Coming Up

Many more events, classes, supper clubs (as well as a special Turkish cookery master class and book signing in Amman in July) coming up, so stayed tuned.

Turkish Meze Class with Ozlem Warren, Divertimenti Cookery School, London

Hands On Masterclass, Saturday 23rd June, 11:00am – 2:30pm

Please join us to recreate a scrumptious meze feast from my homeland, with recipes from my newly released cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland. You will be making the much loved ‘Baba Ghanoush’ (Smoked aubergine, pepper and tomatoes with pomegranate molasses), ‘Filo Triangles with Spinach and Feta’, ‘Muhammara’ (Red pepper paste and walnut dip), ‘Circassian Chicken in Garlic, Walnut and Coriander Sauce, ‘Poached Dried Figs in Light Syrup’. We will be pairing each course with various Yeni Rakı, a Turkish aniseed based drink which is the traditional accompaniment to the meze spread in Turkey. Each participant will also get a Yeni Rakı traditional glass and bottle; a special class not to be missed!

Participation is limited, please book your spot at Divertimenti this link, under June 23rd, hope to see you there!

Some Popular Recipes from Ozlem’s Turkish Table to share

Here are some of the recipes that have been popular from Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book, I hope you enjoy recreating them:

Pide bread, from Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book, image by Sian Irvine Food Photography

Pide bread (pide ekmek), Turkish round flat breads are a personal favorite and special especially during Ramadan, as we traditionally break the fast with pide. Many of my readers have been making Pide ekmek at home from Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book (page 107). Here’s also the link to my Pide bread recipe if you’d like to make it.

Baked Turkish meatballs casserole from Ozlem’s Turkish Table, image by Sian Irvine Food Photography

This Turkish meatballs with vegetables casserole, Firinda Sebzeli Kofte, has been another favourite from Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book (page 179); I love that you can made this all-in-one pot easy, delicious meal ahead of time and left overs freeze beautifully, a real crowd pleaser – here’s the link to my recipe.

Baked cauliflower with red onions, feta and dill, from Ozlem’s Turkish Table; image by Sian Irvine Photography

This simple Baked cauliflower with red onions, feta and dill is my family’s favorite from Ozlem’s Turkish Table (page 165) – as a matter of fact, I made twice this week! – Such a lovely and easy way to enjoy and flavour cauliflower, great as a side or as part of your meze spread, here’s the link to my recipe.

Ozlem’s Turkish Table Cookery Book, signed copies available to order at this link

I hope you enjoy the recipes and if you’d like to order a signed copy of Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book, you can order at this link, with prompt delivery.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Victoria Sponge Cake with Berries and Lemon Curd & Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee

By Ozlem Warren on June 3, 2012 in A Slice of England, Cakes and Desserts 13

The Market at the Covent Garden, dressed for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

It is an exciting time to be in Britain. London will be hosting the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, we are all counting down the days. But before that, it is the Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, that gets us all excited at the moment. We have been celebrating this remarkable occasion with street parties (apparently over 10,000 all around Britain), and today over 1,000 boats have been on River Thames for the Diamond Jubilee Thames River Pageant to mark this special occasion, just spectacular.

The Tower Bridge, London. It is a rare sight to see the bridge open up, which we witnessed a few years ago. The Tower bridge is now decorated with blue, red and white lights for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

We were in London yesterday, to soak up this amazing celebratory atmosphere, and I hope these few photos coming up would do justice to visualise the city, dressed to celebrate.

To join in the celebrations, I made BBC Food’s Victoria Sponge Cake with Berries and Lemon Curd, (adapted from Simon Rimmer’s recipe). Being a lemon fan, I enjoyed the addition of the lemon curd in this recipe. The curd’s zingy taste worked really well with the fresh berries and the mascarpone filling.

Victoria Sponge Cake with Lemon Curd and Fresh Berries

For the Victoria sponge

175g/6oz butter, plus extra for greasing

175g/6oz sugar (I used unrefined golden caster sugar)

1 lemon, zest and juice

3 free-range eggs

175g/6oz self-raising flour

For the filling

225g/8oz mascarpone

50ml/2fl oz double cream

50g/2oz icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

225g/8oz strawberries, sliced

For the lemon curd:

4 unwaxed lemons, zest and juice

200g/7oz unrefined caster sugar

100g/3½oz unsalted butter, cut into cubes

3 free-range eggs, plus 1 free-range egg yolk

Raspberries and blueberries to decorate the cake

You’ll need 2 x 22.5cm/9in greased and lined cake tins.

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

Grease and line the cake tins.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, lemon zest and juice until well combined, then fold in the flour.

Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the top is golden-brown and springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and remove from the tins once cool.

The lemon zest adds a wonderful tangy flavour to the cake

While the cake is baking, make the lemon curd; put the lemon zest and juice, the sugar and the butter into a heatproof bowl. Sit the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl. Stir the mixture every now and again until all of the butter has melted.

It is easy to make lemon curd and it adds a wonderful zesty twist to the sponge cake.

Lightly whisk the eggs and egg yolk and stir them into the lemon mixture. Whisk until all of the ingredients are well combined, then leave to cook for 10-13 minutes, stirring every now and again, until the mixture is creamy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove the lemon curd from the heat and set aside to cool, stirring occasionally as it cools. Once cooled, you can spoon the lemon curd into sterilised jars and seal.

For the filling, beat the mascarpone, sugar and cream together until well combined.

Spread the lemon curd onto one of the cakes. Cover with the strawberries, then the mascarpone filling. Place the other cake on top and dust with icing sugar, then decorate with raspberries and blueberries.

Now back to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations; London is a great walking city and walking is one of the best ways to appreciate wonderful sites. We started our walk from the Covent Garden, where the market has been decorated with lots of flags.

Friendly Pimms lady, preparing refreshing drinks at Covent Garden

At the side streets of Covent Garden, we discovered a charming, and one of the best coffee makers in town, The Monmouth Coffee, definetely worth stopping by.

A gem find in Covent Garden; we will be back to Monmouth for more great coffee and pastries

The Sofra Restaurant in Covent Garden also offers genuine Turkish hospitality and wonderful mezzes and Turkish delights for a delicious stop.

Sofra Restaurant in Covent Garden; a delicious stop for Turkish food

From the Covent Garden, we walked to the Trafalgar Square, passing by the National Gallery (which houses the national collection of Western European paintings from the 13th to the 19th centuries. It is on show 361 days a year, free of charge.)

View of Big Ben from the Trafalgar Square

We kept walking from the Trafalgar Square, straight to the Mall, which looked very atmospheric with giant flags at both side. The end of the Mall takes you to the entrance of the Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of the Queen.

The stage has set up in front of the Buckingham Palace for the Diamond Jubilee Concert

A giant stage has been built for a star-studded concert, set against the spectacular backdrop of Buckingham Palace to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s 60 year reign. The concert will be broadcasted live on Monday, June 4th on BBC1, starting at 7.30pm local time.

And here are a few more photos from our neighborhood Diamond Jubilee Street party;

“Prince Harry” was again at the center of attention

Baker Street was full of flags, food stalls, amusements for the children

Tanju Bey (Mr Tanju) is happily grilling kebabs for the crowd

I greatly admire the Queen. On her 21st birthday, the then Princess Elizabeth made a pledge to the Commonwealth: “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service..”. 65 years on, the Queen still continues to honor that pledge, by exemplifying sense of duty, compassion, kindness, tolerance, selflessness and respect for all. So admirable, so well worth celebrating.

It is indeed an exciting time to be in Britain.

Long live the Queen!