Tag Archives | olive oil

Celeriac with winter vegetables, cooked in olive oil – Zeytinyagli Kereviz

By Ozlem Warren on November 14, 2011 in Appetizers and Mezes, Vegetables Cooked in Olive Oil 6

Celeriac is a knobbly root closely related to celery, and has a wonderful flavor; a mix of aniseed, celery and parsley, and perhaps with the meaty bite of mushrooms. In Turkey, we like to poach the chunks of celeriac in olive oil & lemon sauce, with carrots, potatoes, onions and peas. This kind of cooking, called “Vegetables cooked in olive oil” or “Zeytinyaglis”, are very healthy and delicious.

I love this easy style of cooking and that you can prepare ahead of time. This lovely dish can accompany to fish, meat or and other vegetable courses, also it can be a wonderful starter. The lemon & olive oil sauce adds a wonderful, refreshing taste to celeriac. You can enjoy this course cold, at room temperature or slightly warm.

Celeriac. carrots and peas cooked in olive oil, with lemon and dill; Zeytinyagli Kereviz

Serves 2-4
Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 35 minutes

2-3 small celeriacs, peeled and cut into small chunks
30ml/2 tablespoons peas, fresh or frozen
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
1 small potato, peeled and diced
5 small shallots, peeled or 1 small onion, chopped
120ml/4 tablespoons olive oil
8 fl oz/1 cup water
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and sugar to taste
Fresh dill to garnish

To prevent discoloration during the preparation, keep the raw celeriac in a bowl of water with a squeeze of lemon juice. Cut each one into small chunks.

Cook the peas separately until tender and put to one side.

Drain the celeriac chunks and place in a heavy pan together with the other prepared vegetables. Add the olive oil, water, a little sugar (perhaps 1/2 teaspoon), season with salt. Give them all a good stir, cover and cook on a low to medium heat for about 25 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add the cooked peas and the juice of lemon, combine well. Check the seasoning and add more salt if needed.

Finally, add a little chopped dill, heat through and then remove from heat. Set aside to cool.

Serve the celeriac with vegetables warm at room temperature, with a little garnish of dill over and a wedge of lemon by the side.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Bulgur Wheat Pilaf with Sautéed Mushrooms, Peas and Tomatoes – Mantarli, Bezelyeli Bulgur Pilavi

By Ozlem Warren on July 14, 2011 in Pilafs and Rice 8

We consume a good amount of bulgur wheat in Turkish cuisine – in the form of salads, soups and pilaf rice – and I am always on the look out for spicing up bulgur. Packed with fiber and vitamins and low on fat, bulgur is a very healthy option and can be very delicious too. This time I experimented bulgur with sautéed mushrooms; the meaty, juicy flavor of mushrooms worked really well with bulgur. If you can add a few more vegetables into the mix and grate some parmesan (or any hard cheese you prefer) over, this dish could be a wonderfully satisfying, easy and delicious supper. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Bulgur wheat pilaf with sauteed mushrooms and vegetables; wholesome and delicious.

Serves 4- 6
Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 20-25 minutes

4 garlic gloves, crushed and finely chopped
3 large Portobello mushrooms, cleaned and coarsely chopped
3 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
45gr/1/2 cup frozen peas
350 gr/12 oz bulgur wheat, rinsed and drained
600gr/1 pint/2 1/2 cups hot water
30ml/2 tablespoons olive oil – and an extra drizzle for the bulgur

A squeeze of lemon

5ml/1 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Grated parmesan (or any hard cheese you prefer) to serve

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy pan. Stir in garlic and chopped mushrooms, and season with salt generously (mushrooms and garlic go very well and the salt helps the water to come out of mushrooms). Sauté for 2-3 minutes until mushrooms soften and start to loosen up. Add the dried oregano and a squeeze of lemon and mix well. Turn the heat off, leaving it a side.

On a separate pot, drizzle a little olive oil and add the bulgur and chopped tomatoes, tossing thoroughly over low heat. Add the hot water, season with salt and ground pepper. Stir to combine thoroughly. Bring to boil for 1-2 minutes, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 8 minutes. At this time stir in the frozen peas to bulgur mixture and stir to combine. Then cover and simmer for a further 3-4 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed. Turn off the heat and add the sautéed mushrooms into the mixture and combine well. Cover the pan with a paper towel and press the lid on top. Leave to steam for a further 10 minutes.

Bulgur wheat pilaf with mushrooms and vegetables – ready for your enjoyment

Serve the bulgur pilaf with some grated parmesan over the top. You can serve some steamed vegetables by the side if you would like too.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Leftovers Supper – Eggs with Potatoes, Bell Peppers and Spring Onions – Patatesli, Biberli Sahan Yumurta

By Ozlem Warren on July 4, 2011 in Turkish Breakfast, Vegetables Cooked in Olive Oil 4

Do you do leftovers suppers? We do it quite often and must say I really enjoy it. Not only you finish up all the bits and bobs remaining, but also it is easy to prepare and can turn to delicious suppers. I usually have a few boiled leftover potatoes, the odd bell pepper or courgette (zucchini) waiting for their turn to be finished. And me being an egg lover, vegetables usually end up marrying with eggs.

This supper is super easy to prepare and you can use any vegetable in your fridge that needs finishing; mushroom, onions, peppers, courgettes all work very well. I especially love to add potato and sprinkle some cumin over them; the light smoky flavor of cumin is magical on sautéed potatoes, combined with eggs. Another good example of how you can add wonderful flavors to dishes using spices. With some green salad (or garlicky yoghurt) and crusty bread by the side, this is quite a perfect leftovers dinner for me or a lovely brunch treat.

Eggs with potatoes, bell peppers and spring onions; a little cumin and red pepper flakes add a lot of flavor here.

Serves 1-2
Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 8 minutes

2 free range medium eggs
1/4 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
2 spring (green) onions, coarsely chopped
1-2 small boiled potatoes, coarsely chopped
15ml/1 tablespoon olive oil
5ml/1 teaspoon ground cumin
5ml/1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Green Salad (of lettuce, cucumbers, radishes and anything else you fancy) to serve by the side
Fresh crusty bread to serve by the side

Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan and stir in the chopped boiled potatoes and bell peppers. Sprinkle half of the ground cumin and red pepper flakes over them and season with salt and black pepper. Stir and sauté for about 3-4 minutes over medium heat and let the spices infuse on the vegetables. Stir in the spring (green) onions and cook for another minute.

Create two holes in the pan with sautéed vegetables around and crack the eggs there. Cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat, until the egg white is set and egg yolk is still runny (you can cook a little more if you like your eggs well done). Sprinkle the left over cumin and red pepper flakes over the eggs, and season with salt and pepper.

How about serving this lovely leftovers supper with some fresh green salad? Just coarsely chop the lettuce, radishes, cucumbers and tomatoes (or any salad needs finishing in your fridge!), drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and squeeze of lemon over, season with salt and pepper. You are ready to go!