Tag Archives | Ozlem’s Turkish Table

Ozlem’s Turkish Table Cookery Book – in the making!

Merhaba dear All,

I hope you are all well. Apologies for a bit of silence from my end; it’s been a very busy few months with teaching Turkish cookery in England, Istanbul and in Amman – Jordan, as well as being a part of exciting events like the Taste of London, thanks to Turkish Tourism Board – UK’s kind invitation; it was great to share Turkish cuisine with everyone.

But the main event that kept me busy has been the preparation for my Turkish cookery book. It’s been very exciting and busy getting the content ready and the photo shoots excitement last week all of a sudden made this special project very real. Here I wanted to share a little glimpse of our very exciting and labor of love 5 day photo shoot for my Turkish cookery book. My very special thanks goes to the amazing food photographer dear Sian Irvine, who passionately shot each and every image with a huge expertise, I can’t thank her enough. Over 70 dishes have been lovingly prepared and photographed, with huge thanks to an army of dear friends who helped during the shoots and gave their plates and bowls to be used as props. A labor of love in making but so worth it, enjoyed every minute of it:

Getting ready for the Turkish breakfast spread photo shoot

Turkish breakfast spread, almost there, one of my favorite chapters in the book! Love all the freshness and abundance of Turkish cuisine.

My dear publishers George and Brenda at GB Publishing, most kindly let us use their wonderful space for our photo shoot for 5 days and their living room became our “Prop Room” with a vast collection of plates, bowls, textile, boards and more, our huge thanks to them for their kindness – in return, we made sure they sampled each and every dish after the shoot !:)

Here’s our prop room!

More of the prop room!

A close up on a part of the Turkish breakfast spread – I can eat this all day long!

Getting the spices ready for the photo shoot – essential part of southern Turkish cookery

The crew getting the fresh produce shoot ready

Sian is shooting the mezze spread – another highlight from the book

All curious eyes checking the images over the Image man Jonny’s expert hands

Some of the absolutely fabulous dear friends, Heleen, Ann and Susie here, helping out during the shoots and the lovely Sian, my sincere gratitude each and every one of them

My publishers George, Brenda, our lovely photographer Sian and some of the fabulous friends helping, dear Susie and Claire here- sitting down after the shot and enjoying the food we produced together. My huge thanks also goes to dear Mina, Ellie and Leonie who helped out and kindly packed us all up!

I hope you enjoy having a little glimpse of our 5 day photo shoot with over 70 dishes lovely prepared and presented – a labor of love in making and so very special. My photos really don’t do enough justice, I can’t wait for you to see the real images, they are absolutely amazing.

This Turkish cookery book project is a tribute to my homeland and a very dear project to my heart, a dream come true! It will have a special focus on Southern Turkish cuisine though my favorite, classic Turkish recipes will also be featured. I have so longed to share my homeland’s bountiful, delicious, healthy cuisine, packed with culinary traditions and high on hospitality, generosity and warmth, along with my personal stories; I really can’t wait to share this special book with you all. Many of you so kindly filled in my Turkish cookery book Survey with your valuable feedback, my sincere thanks. If you haven’t had a chance to do yet and may be able to fill in, your feedback would be greatly appreciated it to help shape the book. As a thank you, if you leave your name and email address at the end of the survey, you will be entitled to a 10% discount when the book is published. I would be more than happy to send you a signed copy!

We plan to start the pre-orders for the book as of end October, with a worldwide publication as of March 2018, I so look forward to sharing this special book with you all!

My best wishes for a wonderful summer – I will be back home, Turkey and I can not wait – and I will be in touch on my return. In the meantime, I wanted to share one of my favorite salads, Antakya’s Cokelek Salatasi – crumbled feta cheese salad with spices; perfect for Turkish breakfast and brunch.

Cokelek Salata; crumbled white cheese or feta salad, flavored with spices and olive oil

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Piyaz Salad with red onions, tomatoes, parsley and sumac

By Ozlem Warren on February 6, 2017 in Salads, Turkish Cooking Classes 23

Piyaz Salad with red onions, tomatoes, parsley and sumac

We had a delicious Turkish cookery class at the Divertimenti Cookery School in London on Jan. 29th with enthusiastic participants. This vibrant and easy Piyaz Salad with red onions, tomatoes and parsley, flavored with sumac was a big hit from the class. It is a traditional salad at home, especially popular alongside Turkish meatballs, Kofte, as well as Lahmacun, Turkish thin pizza with minced meat and vegetables topping. I love the tangy sumac with the red onions in this salad, gives a refreshing, zingy flavor, so delicious.

Rolling Piyaz Salad inside Lahmacun, delicious

We also made Lahmacun, thin Turkish pizza with minced/ground meat topping at our Turkish cookery class – another big hit! – We then placed some Piyaz Salad in the middle of Lahmacun and rolled to eat, as we do it traditionally at home. Such a wonderful combination. Here’s my Lahmacun recipe, if you like to make it at home.

Wonderful participants of my Jan. 29th Turkish Cookery Class at Divertimenti Cookery School, London.

I am passionate about healthy, delicious Turkish cuisine; this recipe and over 90 healthy, authentic Turkish recipes are included at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland. Signed copies are now 20 % this link and delivered worldwide including USA, if you like to get a signed copy.

Ozlem’s Turkish Table; Recipes from My Homeland – can be purchased at this link (signed copies!)

I hope you enjoy this easy, delicious, healthy Piyaz Salad, Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

5.0 from 2 reviews

Piyaz Salad with red onions, tomatoes, parsley and sumac

This vibrant and healthy Piyaz Salad gets ready in no time and it is so delicious. Red onions and tomatoes work very well with the tangy sumac; we tradionally enjoy this salad with Lahmacun, Turkish thin pizza with minced/ground meat topping, as well as Turkish meatballs. It is also a lovely salad served with cheese, olives and hummus.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Salads

Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine

Serves: 4

Ingredients

3 medium tomatoes, quartered and roughly chopped
1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 bunch of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon salt
15ml/1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
10 ml/2 teaspoon ground sumac
½ teaspoon paprika flakes – optional –
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Rub and work sumac and the salt into the onion slices with your hands really well (this will soften the onions and help spices infuse in well).
Stir in the chopped tomatoes, parsley and paprika flakes, combine well.
Wisk together the extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice and pour over the piyaz salad. Season with more salt (if needed) and freshly ground black pepper.
Serve Piyaz Salad with feta cheese, olives and/or hummus for a delicious spread. Piyaz Salad is also the ultimate accompaniment of Lahmacun and Turkish meatballs, kofte.

Turkish Vegetable Soup with Orzo – Sehriyeli Sebze Corbasi

By Ozlem Warren on November 2, 2016 in Ozlem’s Turkish Table Cookery Book, Soups, Turkish Cooking Classes 21

Turkish vegetable soup with orzo; Sehriyeli Sebze Corbasi

Soup have a special place in Turkish cuisine; traditionally meals always start with a soup. For my small family, a hearty soup can be a main course itself with some nice crusty bread next to it. I made this lovely Turkish vegetable soup with orzo pasta today and it went down very well. My son was under the weather and after having the soup, he said, “I love this corba, mummy, just what the doctor ordered!” – best compliment to my ears.

Orzo pasta or “sehriye” as we call it in Turkish fits in this soup very well, thickens the broth beautifully and makes it substantial. Being a lemon fan, I give a generous squeeze, with plenty of red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper over the soup for a delicious heat, when serving. You can also crumble some feta cheese over the top before serving if you’d like too. For a gluten-free option, you can use rice instead of orzo pasta.

Many wholesome soups, regional specialties, pastries, vegetables cooked in olive oil and more are included at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland, Signed copies now 25 % Off at this link, as well as our new Ozlem’s Turkish Table apron here, delivered worldewide including the US.

I hope you enjoy this delicious, easy and wholesome Turkish soup, Sehriyeli Sebze Corbasi, Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

5.0 from 3 reviews

Turkish Vegetable Soup with Orzo - Sehriyeli Sebze Corbasi

This delicious vegetarian soup, Sehriyeli Sebze Corbasi, is easy, delicious and wholesome. Orzo pasta or "sehriye" as we call it in Turkish fits in this soup very well, thickens the broth beautifully and makes it substantial. Being a lemon fan, I give a generous squeeze, with plenty of red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper over the soup for a delicious heat, when serving. You can also crumble some feta cheese over the top before serving if you'd like too. For a gluten-free option, you can use rice instead of orzo pasta.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Vegetarian Soups

Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped
2 bell peppers (red, yellow or green), deseeded and coarsely chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped in small pieces
Handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
180 gr / 6¼ oz / 1 full cup orzo pasta
30 ml/ 2 tbsp. olive oil
400 gr / 1 can of chopped tomatoes
½ tbsp. double concentrated tomato puree
1.10 litres / 2 pints hot water or vegetable stock
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
10 ml / 2 tsp. Turkish red pepper flakes or chili flakes
Extra wedges of lemon to serve
Crusty bread or pide bread to serve

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a heavy, wide sauce pan and add the onions, peppers and carrots. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes, they will start to soften up.
Pour in the hot water or vegetable stock. Also pour in the chopped canned tomatoes and the tomato puree, stir well. Cover and bring to to the boil.
Stir the pot and cover again, cook for 10 minutes at medium to low heat.
Then add the orzo pasta, season with salt and ground black pepper and combine well. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes at medium to low heat, stirring occasionally.
Once the orzo pasta is cooked, stir in the parsley, pour in the lemon juice and combine well. Check the seasoning and add more salt and ground black pepper, if needed. Turn the heat off.
Serve hot with Turkish red pepper flakes or chili flakes over the soup, with extra wedges of lemon and crusty bread by the side. Afiyet Olsun.