Tag Archives | Ozlem’s Turkish Table

Fasulye Piyazi – Turkish bean salad with vegetables

By Ozlem Warren on July 8, 2010 in Salads 9

Bean salad with onions, tomatoes, olives and boiled eggs - Fasulye piyazl

Bean salad with onions, tomatoes, olives and boiled eggs – Fasulye piyazi

I love this tasty, nourishing Turkish bean salad, Fasulye Piyazi. At home, traditionally we serve fasulye piyazi with grilled meatballs, koftes. There are traditional restaurants, lokantas, at home that solely serve Turkish style meatballs, fasulye piyaz and pickled cucumber and peppers. This salad is also a great alternative for lunch, as I like to have, served with some nice crusty bread or in can be a part of a meze spread or accompany grills as a side.

I like to use both black and green olives, the Greek or Spanish olives work well if you can’t find Turkish olives.

Turkish cuisine is based on seasonal produce and very healthy; we have a wide variety of salads (including this bean salad), hot and cold mezzes, vegetables cooked in olive oil and they are all featured at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland; signed copies are now 25 % OFF at this link, if you’d like to grab yours. I am also delighted to share with you that we also designed this lovely Ozlem’s Turkish Table apron. It is special to my heart, as it is made in Turkey, with my hometown Antakya’s celebrated daphne leaves in the hand embroidered design – you can get yours at this link. Delivered worldwide including the US.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Serves 4-6
Preparation time: 10 – 15 minutes

2×400 gr/2 (14 oz) cans of precooked cannellini beans
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
45-60 ml/3-4 tablespoon olives, halved and stones removed
2 hardboiled eggs, quartered
A handful of flat leaf (Italian) parsley, chopped
5 ml/1 teaspoon salt
30 ml/ 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
5 ml/1 teaspoon ground sumac – optional-
1/2 teaspoon paprika flakes – optional –
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the cooked beans in a bowl, after draining its juice and rinsing over warm water. Work salt and sumac into the onion slices with your hands really well. This will soften the onions and make them more palatable. Add the onion, chopped tomatoes, half of the olives, parsley and paprika flakes into the bowl. Wisk together the extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice and pour over this mixture.

Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and combine well. Arrange on a serving plate and garnish with the eggs and remaining olives.

Serve immediately or refrigerate until required.

Afiyet Olsun!

Note: If you prefer to use the dried beans, you need to soak them in water overnight. Then drain the beans and put in a pan with plenty of fresh water. Cook about 60 minutes or until tender, adding salt toward the end of cooking time. Drain and set aside in a bowl, to be used in this salad.

Baklava with Pistachios and Walnuts – Fistikli ve Cevizli Baklava

By Ozlem Warren on June 28, 2010 in Cakes and Desserts, Turkish Festive Dishes 34

Baklava; image from Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book, by Sian Irvine Photography

An Ottoman legacy, baklava is one of the greatest creations from the pastry chefs at the Topkapi Palace. Generally, baklava is enjoyed as a mid-morning sweet snack with a cup of Turkish coffee, or as a mid-afternoon treat with a glass of tea or after lunch or dinner. There is no bad time for a good piece of baklava! The real thing shouldn’t be very sweet and heavy; on the contrary it should be light enough to tempt you to eat a small plateful.

I am passionate about my homeland’s delicious, healthy Turkish cuisine; this baklava recipe and over 90 authentic Turkish recipes are included at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland; Signed hardback copies are now 30 % OFF here, and delivered worldwide, including the US – ebook option available too. Afiyet Olsun.

Signed copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table book, available to order at this link

This recipe is an adaptation from Ghillie Basan’s The Complete Book of Turkish Cooking, one of my favorite Turkish cookery authors. My version of baklava is less sweet and more fragrant and lemony, must say really pleased with it. With using filo pastry sheets, baklava is much easier to make than you think. I hope you would give it a go sometime and enjoy this wonderful treat.

Also, here is my Baklava YouTube video, I hope you enjoy it:

Home-made baklava; delicious and easier than you think!

Serves 12
Preparation time :20 minutes Cooking time: 45 – 50 minutes

230 gr/ 8oz / 1 cup melted unsalted butter
440 gr/1 lb. 2 packs of filo pastry sheets – total 24 sheets –
375 gr/ 13 oz. walnuts and unsalted pistachios, finely chopped
10 ml / 2 tsp ground cinnamon

For the syrup:
450 gr/ 2 ¼ cups sugar
420 ml/ 14 fl. oz. / 1 ¾ cup water
Juice of ½ large lemon

30cmx19 cm (12inx7in) baking dish to bake

To serve:
Ground pistachio nuts to sprinkle over the baklavas

Preheat the oven to 160 C/ 325 F / Gas 3

Make the syrup first. Put the sugar into a heavy pan, pour in water and bring to the boil, stirring all the time. When the sugar is dissolved, lower the heat and stir in the lemon juice, them simmer for about 15 minutes, until the syrup thickens. Leave to cool in the pan.

Melt the butter in a small pan and then brush a little over the bottom and sides of the baking pan.

To thaw frozen filo sheets, it is best to place it in the fridge the night before and bring it to room temperature 2 hours before using. If in the fridge, take out the filo pastry sheets 20 minutes prior using, to bring to the room temperature. Place two sheets of filo pastry in the bottom of the greased pan and brush it with melted butter (trim from the edges to fit, if needed). Continue until you have used 12 filo sheets, brushing every two sheets with butter. Ease the sheets into the corners and trim the edges if they flop over the rim of the pan.

Spread the walnuts over the 12th buttered sheet and sprinkle with the cinnamon, and then continue as before with the remaining filo sheets. Brush the top one as well, then, using a sharp knife cut diagonal parallel lines right through all the layers to the bottom to form small diamond shapes.

Bake the baklava into the oven for about 45 minutes or until the top is golden – if it is still pale, increase the temperature for a few minutes at the end.

When the baklava is ready, remove it from the oven and slowly pour the cooled syrup over the piping hot pastry. Return to the oven for 2-3 minutes to soak up the syrup, then take it out and leave to cool.

Once the baklava is cool, lift the diamond shaped pieces out of the pan and arrange them in a serving dish. Serve baklava pieces with ground pistachios over them, always at room temperature.

Note: Baklava should never be stored at the refrigerator, as the fat congeals, pastry absorbs the moisture and it becomes soggy.

Baklava with walnuts and pistachios

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Zeytinyagli Pirasa – Leeks, Carrots and Rice Cooked with Olive Oil

By Ozlem Warren on June 16, 2010 in Vegetables Cooked in Olive Oil 22

Leeks, onions and carrots cooked in olive oil, Zeytinyagli Pirasa

Leeks are around all through the year these days and they are native to Anatolia, along with carrots. This “Zeytinyagli”(vegetables cooked in oil) recipe is wonderfully refreshing and comforting all through the year. Traditionally, we like to cook zeytinyagli dishes ahead of time, and allow the dish to cool and rest in its pan for the flavors to blend well.

The recipe is very easy to make, delicious and healthy – also vegan and gluten-free. You can keep in the fridge up to 3 days (flavors blend even better the next day!) and we serve them cold or room temperature. This recipe made a wonderful lunch for me with some crusty bread and squeeze of lemon by the side. You can serve as an appetizer, meze or as a side dish to accompany main dishes.

Turkish cuisine is based on seasonal produce and offers delicious, wholesome, easy to make meals, most of them good for vegan and gluten-free diet too. This and over 90 authentic Turkish recipes are included at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland and delivered promptly worldwide. Signed copies are available to order at this link – while the stocks last! – if you’d like.

If you live in the US, Canada or Mexico, you can order a copy at this link, with lower shipping rates.

Serves 4 – 6
Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 35 minutes

500 gr/1.1 lb fresh leeks, washed and sliced diagonally into bite size pieces
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
15 ml/1 tablespoon long grain rice, washed and drained
60 ml/2 fl oz/1/4 cup olive oil
240 ml /8 fl oz / 1 cup hot water
5 ml/1 teaspoon salt
5 ml/1 teaspoon caster sugar
Juice of 1 lemon

Chopped fresh dill for garnish (optional)
Lemon wedges to squeeze over

In a wide, heavy pan, gently heat the olive oil and sauté the onions and carrots for 5 minutes. Add the leeks and stir occasionally, taking care so they don’t scorch. When the vegetables start to soften, add the rice, hot water, lemon juice, salt and sugar.

Cover and cook gently over low heat for about 20 minutes or until the rice and vegetables are tender and the cooking liquid is absorbed. Avoid stirring during cooking, as this will disturb starch in the grains of rice.

Remove from the heat, cover with an absorbent kitchen cloth or paper towel and replace the lid. This will help to absorb any excess moisture. Set aside to cool.

Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle with chopped dill if you would like. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over and some crusty bread by the side.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem