Tag Archives | Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book

Baked Cauliflower with feta, dill, onions; Karnabahar Mucveri

By Ozlem Warren on April 6, 2015 in Appetizers and Mezes 34

Baked Cauliflower with feta, dill, onions; Firinda Karnabahar Mucveri

Inspired by the delicious Zucchini/courgette fritters with feta; Mucver, as we call it in Turkish, this time I made this wonderful dish using cauliflowers. Rather than frying, I baked the cauliflower florets flavored with feta, dill, onions in the oven. The result has been equally delicious and lighter in flavor, served with a refreshing wedge of lemon aside.

I love cauliflower’s firm texture and you can flavor it easily with herbs, olive oil and lemon juice. During our Culinary tour to Turkey a few years ago, we made the cauliflower fritters with feta and dill at our Aegean style cookery class in Sirince; they were scrumptious with garlic yoghurt aside. Here is also my YouTube video on how to make this lovely Baked cauliflower dish:

Stir in the chopped red onions, spring (green onions), parsley, dill, olive oil and the crumbled feta cheese to the bowl with the cauliflower florets.

Stir in the chopped red onions, spring (green onions), parsley, dill, olive oil and the crumbled feta cheese to the bowl along with the cauliflower florets.

I am happy to report that baking rather than frying works very well in this dish. It is easier, lighter and still packed with flavor. Dill, parsley, spring onions, red onions pack a punch and flavor the cauliflowers very nicely, along with feta cheese. You can add some red pepper flakes to the mixture for a pleasant heat, if you like. There’s also no need to cook the cauliflowers beforehand.

You can serve this baked cauliflower florets with Cacik dip of yoghurt with cucumber and garlic or the Shepherd’s Salad; it would make a delicious lunch or light supper with crusty bread and wedge of lemon aside. Baked Cauliflower with feta, dill, onions, Firinda Karnabahar Mucveri would also accompany grills well – delicious hot or cold.

Baked Cauliflower with feta, dill, onions; Firinda Karnabahar Mucveri

If you enjoy wonderful hot and cold mezes, vegetables cooked in olive oil like this dish and more, I have included a large variety of vegetarian courses in my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland. Signed copies are now 25 % OFF at this link and delivered worldwide including the US, for a limited time. We also have this seasonal Ozlem’s Turkish Table apron, with the embroidery of my hometown Antakya’s celebrated daphne leaves in the design. It can make a lovely gift, if you like to order here.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

4.8 from 13 reviews

Baked Cauliflower with feta, dill, onions; Karnabahar Mucveri

An utterly delicious vegetarian Turkish appetizer, featuring cauliflowers, flavored with feta cheese, onions, dill, parsley. Baking works very well here, the result is a lovely, light vegetarian dish; delicious hot or cold.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Vegetarian Turkish Appetizers

Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 medium cauliflower (about 850 gr), cut into small florets
180 gr / 6 ½ oz. feta cheese, drained and crumbled
4 tbsp. / 60 ml all purpose (plain flour) – use gluten-free flour for gluten-free version
3 medium eggs, beaten
½ red onion, finely chopped
3 spring (green) onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Small bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Small bunch of fresh dill, finely chopped
30 ml/ 2 tbsp. olive oil
10 ml/ 2 tsp. red pepper flakes or chili flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Wedges of lemon to serve
22 cm x 22 cm (7”x7”) baking dish recommended

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F
Cut the cauliflower in small florets, wash and drain the excess water in a colander/sieve.
Beat the eggs in a small bowl.
Place the drained cauliflower florets in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the chopped red onions, garlic, spring (green onions), parsley, dill, olive oil and the crumbled feta cheese to the bowl.
Season with salt, ground black peppers and chili (red pepper flakes). Using your hands, combine all the ingredients. At this stage, you can check the seasoning – add more salt or peppers to your taste.
Stir in the beaten egg and flour to the cauliflower mixture and combine well.
Grease your baking dish with 15 ml/ 1 tbsp. olive oil and pour in the mixture to the baking dish.
Bake in the preheated oven (180 C / 350 F) for 25 – 30 minutes, until the cauliflower florets have a nice light brown color on top.
Slice and serve hot with a wedge of lemon and crusty bread aside. Cacik dip of yoghurt with diced cucumber and garlic or Shepherd’s salad with tomatoes, cucumbers and spring onion in lemon juice and olive oil dressing would go well with this delicious dish.

Sautéed Liver with Red Onion, Parsley and Sumac Salad; Ciger Tava

By Ozlem Warren on March 30, 2015 in Appetizers and Mezes 30

Turkish Style Sauteed Liver with Red Onion, Parsley and Sumaz Piyaz Salad; Ciger Tava or Arnavut Cigeri

I was delighted to spot calf’s liver at my butcher the other day and decided to make our popular dish, Ciger Tava, Sautéed Liver, served with red onions, parsley and sumac piyaz salad. Also known as Arnavut Cigeri in Turkey, this is an easy and delicious way to enjoy liver flavored with red pepper flakes, accompanied by sumac flavored red onion & parsley salad. With a squeeze of lemon over, it is great to see even those who may pass liver normally, enjoy this way of preparing.

I used calf’s liver as it was available but try also lamb’s liver if you can get it; utterly delicious prepared this way and a hugely popular mezze at home. We enjoyed it as a main course, accompanied by these delicious Potato and Bulgur rolls with pomegranate molasses, Patatesli, Bulgurlu Kofte aside.

Delicious and easy sauteed liver with red onion, parsley and sumac salad; Ciger Tava

Tip: The trick with cooking liver is that it needs to be stir fried quickly for a few minutes each side so it browns slightly and gets crispy outside but stays moist and soft inside. So please prepare your red onion, parsley and sumac salad first and then cook the liver so that you can serve straight after cooking over the salad, with a wedge of lemon aside.

We have a rich meze tradition in Turkish cuisine with a healthy, wide range choices of salads, dips, mezzes, vegetables cooked in olive to share with family and friends, including this Sauteed liver dish – all included in my cookery book. Ozlem’s Turkish Table, available to order (with a prompt delivery) at this link.

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

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

4.8 from 6 reviews

Sautéed Liver with Red Onion, Parsley and Sumac Salad; Ciger Tava

Sauteed liver Turkish style, Ciger Tava or Arnavut Cigeri, as it is also known, is an easy and delicious way to enjoy liver with red pepper flakes. Sumac flavored red onion & parsley piyaz salad accompanies the sauteed liver very well; serve with a wedge of lemon aside, for an extra zing, flavor and freshness.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Turkish mezzes with liver

Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine

Serves: 4

Ingredients

500 gr/ 1 ¼ lb. fresh lamb’s or calf’s liver
60 ml / 4 tbsp. light olive oil
45 ml/ 3 tbsp. all-purpose (plain) flour
10 ml/ 2 tsp. red pepper flakes or chili flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the red onion, parsley and sumac piyaz salad:
1 large red onion, cut in half lengthways and thinly sliced
Handful of flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
10 ml/ 2 tsp. ground sumac
1 lemon cut in wedges

Instructions

Make the piyaz salad first. Slice the red onion and rub 1-2 tsp salt (preferable sea salt) into the onion slices; this will soften the onions and make them more palatable. Stir in the chopped parsley, ground sumac and black pepper, combine well. Spread the piyaz salad on a serving dish and set aside.
Slice the liver into chunky bites or stripes (removing skin or ducts).
Spread the flour on a tray and stir in the red pepper flakes, salt and ground black pepper, mix well. Toss the sliced liver into the flour mixture and make sure all liver pieces have a light coating of the flour mixture.
Heat the olive oil is a wide, heavy pan. In the meantime, place absorbent kitchen paper towel on a clean tray.
Toss in the liver into the hot pan with olive oil and sauté on high heat for about 2-3 minutes each side. The liver pieces will become crispy and have a light brown coating outside but still will be moist and soft inside. Once cooked, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper towel.
Serve immediately over the bed of red onion, parsley and sumac salad. We like to serve with a wedge of lemon and squeeze the lemon juicer over the liver while eating; it gives a lovely refreshing taste to the liver and complements the red onion salad well.

Notes

The trick with cooking liver is that it needs to be stir fried quickly for a few minutes each side so it browns slightly and gets crispy outside but stays moist and soft inside. So please prepare your red onion, parsley and sumac salad first and then cook the liver so that you can serve straight after cooking with a wedge of lemon.

Potato, red onion, pepper and olive bake with cumin and chili flakes

By Ozlem Warren on October 27, 2014 in Appetizers and Mezes, Gluten-free recipes, Vegetables Cooked in Olive Oil 15

Baked potatoes, peppers, red onion and olives with cumin and red pepper flakes

Merhaba to you all; this week, I would like to share this favorite easy, delicious all in one vegetarian course – Spiced potatoes, onions, pepper and olives baked in olive oil. Touch of warm, pungent cumin and spicy Turkish red pepper flakes add a lot of flavor to the vegetables here, especially to the humble potato, transforming their taste to a new level. The sweetness of peppers and red onions also give a lovely contrast to juicy, salty olives and complement one another really well. As always, it is all about using a few good, seasonal ingredients and you have a delicious, wholesome dish in hand in less than 1 hour.

Combine the spices and the seasoning with the vegetables and olives, giving them a good mix, before baking

You can serve this comforting, gluten-free course as a side to grills or as part of a mezze spread. It can be also be a delicious, light main course on its own with the Cacik dip of cucumber, yoghurt with dried mint and some crusty bread aside. You can also bake this dish ahead of time and give it a gentle reheat in the oven just before serving. Try to get good quality olives; Turkish, Italian, Spanish or Greek Kalamata olives all work well and really make a difference.

Turkish cuisine is healthy, delicious and packed full of easy, wholesome vegetarian options like this recipe. I am passionate about my homeland’s scrumptious Turkish cuisine; over 90 authentic Turkish recipes are included at my Gourmand award winner cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland. Signed copies are available at this link and delivered worldwide.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

5.0 from 1 reviews

Potato, red onion, pepper and olive bake with cumin and chili flakes

Hope you enjoy this delicious all in one vegetarian course - Spiced potatoes, onions, pepper and olives baked in olive oil. Touch of warm, pungent cumin and spicy red pepper flakes add a lot of flavor to the vegetables here, especially to the humble potato, transforming their taste to a new level. You can serve this lovely, gluten-free course as a side to grills or as part of a mezze spread.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Vegetables baked in olive oil with spices

Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1kg / 2.2 lb. medium potatoes, quartered
2 medium red onions, cut in half and thinly sliced
2 red bell pepper (or pointy pepper), deseeded, quartered and thinly sliced
12- 14 good quality black olives, pitted and halved
15 ml/ 3 tsp. ground cumin
10 ml / 2 tsp. Turkish red pepper flakes or chili flakes (you can use more for a spicier taste)
30 ml / 2 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200 C/ 400 F
Put the quartered potatoes in a large enough pan with plenty of cold water.
Parboil or partially cook the potatoes for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a pan and stir in the sliced red onions and peppers. Sautee for 5 minutes, until they start to soften up, turn the heat off.
Grease the baking tray with a good drizzle (about 2 tbsp.) of olive oil. Combine the parboiled potatoes, sautéed red onions, peppers and the pitted black olives in the tray. Include any remaining olive oil in the pan of the sautéed red onions and peppers to the baking tray.
Stir in the ground cumin and red pepper flakes over the vegetables. Season with salt and ground black pepper.
Using your hands, combine the spices and the seasoning with the vegetables and olives, giving them a good mix.
Bake for 35 minutes at 200 C/ 400 F and serve hot.