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Kaygana Crêpes with Parsley and Spring Onions

Pancake day is round the corner, and I wanted to remind you our delicious, savoury Kaygana crepes, from my new book SEBZE, Vegetarian recipes from my Turkish kitchen.

These fragrant, savoury crêpes are a popular breakfast, especially in the Black Sea region and the northeastern part of Turkey. It’s a cross between an omelette and a Western-style crêpe and each region, almost each house, has their own version. In the Black Sea region chopped anchovy might be added; some may have it less eggy, some may add more herbs, garlic or spring onions (scallions). In the city of Trabzon, traditionally kaygana can be made using water instead of milk; plain (wheat) flour could be substituted with corn (maize) flour, too. We absolutely love these crepes with my Kuru İncir Reçeli (dried fig jam) from SEBZE, with thin slices of mature Cheddar (or Turkish kaşar cheese) on the side if you like.

SEBZE, Vegetarian Recipes From My Turkish Kitchen

Here is my recipe; you can get a copy of my book SEBZE here worldwide, too.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Kaygana Crêpes with Parsley and Spring Onions

These fragrant, savoury crêpes are a popular breakfast, especially in the Black Sea region and the northeastern part of Turkey. It’s a cross between an omelette and a Western-style crêpe and each region, almost each house, has their own version. In the Black Sea region chopped anchovy might be added; some may have it less eggy, some may add more herbs, garlic or spring onions (scallions). In the city of Trabzon, traditionally kaygana can be made using water instead of milk; plain (wheat) flour could be substituted with corn (maize) flour, too.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Vegetarian crepes

Cuisine: Turkish cuisine

Serves: 5

Ingredients

255 ml (8½ fl oz/1 cup) full-fat milk
165 g (5½ oz/11/3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
4 medium eggs, beaten
small handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
3 spring onions (scallions), trimmed and finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

Instructions

Combine the milk and flour in a large mixing bowl and whisk until you reach a smooth consistency. Pour in the beaten eggs and whisk again until well combined. Stir in the chopped parsley and spring onions, season with salt and pepper and combine well.
Brush a wide, non-stick, 25 cm (10 in) frying pan (skillet) with the melted butter and heat over medium–high heat. Pour a ladle of the kaygana batter into the pan and swirl it around so the bottom of the pan is evenly coated in a thin layer. Cook over a high heat for about 45 seconds–1 minute on one side until golden. Use a wide spatula to flip the crêpe over and cook the other side for 30–45 seconds, until darkish golden blobs appear. Transfer to a serving plate.
Cook the rest of the kaygana this way, brushing the pan with melted butter each time. Roll the crêpes into individual rolls and place side by side on a serving plate.

Öcce Fritters with Spring Onion and Fresh Herbs

By Ozlem Warren on February 14, 2025 in SEBZE 4

Image styled by Esther Clark, for SEBZE ccokbook

These delightful, herby Öcce fritters, from my new book, SEBZE, Vegetarian recipes from my Turkish kitchen, are a popular specialty in southern Turkiye, especially in the Gaziantep, Kilis and Hatay regions. Locals make them with lots of spring onions (scallions), herbs and fresh garlic, when in season. There are many variations throughout the country, where, for instance, grated courgettes (zucchini) can be added too, as in our popular kabak mücveri. In south, locals use a special öcce pan with hollows, where the batter is poured over to be shallow fried. A regular, non-stick wide pan will work just as well. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. As variations, you could add some grated beets, carrots to the mix for additional crunch. You can use gram/chickpea flour for gluten-free option.

SEBZE, Vegetarian Recipes From My Turkish Kitchen

There are 85 delicious, doable, wholesome Turkish vegetarian recipes at my new book SEBZE, many are adaptable for gluten-free too. You can get a copy here worldwide.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem x

5.0 from 2 reviews

Öcce Fritters with Spring Onion and Fresh Herbs

These delightful, herby fritters are a popular specialty in southern Turkiye, especially in the Gaziantep, Kilis and Hatay regions. Locals make them with lots of spring onions (scallions), herbs and fresh garlic, when in season. There are many variations throughout the country, where, for instance, grated courgettes (zucchini) can be added too, as in our popular kabak mücveri. In south, locals use a special öcce pan with hollows, where the batter is poured over to be shallow fried. A regular, non-stick wide pan will work just as well. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. As variations, you could add some grated beets, carrots to the mix for additional crunch.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Vegetarian recipes

Cuisine: Turkish cuisine

Serves: 4

Ingredients

6 spring onions (scallions), trimmed and finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
30 g (1 oz) fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
130 g (4¼ oz) flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (including stems)
1 teaspoon pul biber or red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
85 g (3 oz/2/3 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour (use gram/chickpea flour for a gluten-free option)
55 g (2 oz) beyaz peynir or feta, crumbled (optional)
3 medium eggs, beaten
light olive oil or groundnut oil, for shallow frying
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Combine the spring onions, garlic, fresh mint, parsley, pul biber and cumin in a large bowl. Using your hands, combine the mixture well. Add the flour and cheese (if using) and stir in the beaten eggs, then season with salt and pepper, and combine well into a batter.
Heat enough oil to cover the base of a large non-stick frying pan (skillet) (about 25 cm/10 in in diameter) over a medium–high heat. Drop tablespoons of the batter mix into the hot oil, spoonful by spoonful, leaving space between each one. Shallow fry for about 2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels.
They are delcious with Haydari dip from SEBZE

Chicken, vegetables and bean stew – Sebzeli tavuklu türlü

By Ozlem Warren on June 7, 2023 in Casseroles and Stews 0

This chicken, vegetables and bean stew is a delicious and easy all in one pot, versatile meal. I used courgettes, peppers, chard in mine, though you can use other vegetables in hand – aubergines, runner beans, kale or spinach would be lovely here too. When in season, I love using butternut squash or pumpkin, for autumnal flavours and comfort. Türlü is our traditional stew, where vegetables and sometimes meat are cooked together over stove top or baked, with spices, tomato and sometimes pepper paste (though optional, biber salcasi, Turkish pepper paste add oodles of flavour; if you prefer a milder flavour, you can substitute with an additional tablespoon of double concentrated tomato paste). I always keep good quality precooked dried beans and chickpeas in my pantry and add to my stew and casseroles – they not only add extra layer of flavour and wholesomeness but make your stew go further too. You can prepare this stew ahead and it freezes well. Simply omit meat for vegetarian option and replace with more beans or cubed potatoes.

Use pumpkin/butternut squash for autumnal variation instead of courgettes

SEBZE, Vegetarian Recipes From My Turkish Kitchen

We have a lot of bean based stews in Turkish cuisine, including our iconic Bean stew, Kuru Fasulye; the vegetarian version of this delicious stew is in my new book SEBZE, Vegetarian recipes from my Turkish kitchen, you can get a copy here worldwide.

Chicken, vegetables and bean stew – Sebzeli tavuklu türlü

This chicken, vegetables and bean stew is a delicious and easy all in one pot, versatile meal. I used courgettes, peppers, chard in mine, though you can use other vegetables in hand – aubergines, runner beans, kale or spinach would be lovely here too. Türlü is our traditional stew, where vegetables and sometimes meat are cooked together over stove top or baked, with spices, tomato and sometimes pepper paste (though optional, biber salcasi, Turkish pepper paste add oodles of flavour; if you prefer a milder flavour, you can substitute with an additional tablespoon of double concentrated tomato paste). I always keep good quality precooked dried beans and chickpeas in my pantry and add to my stew and casseroles – they not only add extra layer of flavour and wholesomeness but make your stew go further too. You can prepare this stew ahead and it freezes well. Simply omit meat for vegetarian option and replace with more beans or perhaps small chunks of potatoes.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Chicken and vegetable stew

Cuisine: Turkish cuisine

Serves: 6

Ingredients

700g skinless chicken breast fillets, cut into 6x4cm chunks
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 medium courgettes, trimmed and sliced into 1cm width circles
3 pointy or 2 red bell peppers, deseeded, cut into 2cm chunks
100g chard or kale, cut into 2cm slices
2tbsp double concentrated tomato paste
1tbsp Turkish red pepper paste, biber salcasi (optional)
200g chopped tomato in can
400g/ 1 can of pre-cooked cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
1tsp pul biber
4tbsp olive oil
350ml water
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Pour 2 tbsp olive oil over a wide pan and stir in the chicken, tomato paste, pepper paste, cumin and pul biber. Season with salt and ground black pepper and combine the chicken pieces with the pastes and seasoning. Sauté over high heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring continuously, which helps seal the juices and lightly browns the chicken. Then place the chicken on a plate and leave the remaining marinade in the pan.
Pour in the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil into the pan and stir in the onions, courgette and peppers. Sauté over high heat for 8 minutes, combining with the lovely marinade left in the pan, stirring often. The vegetables will soften and shrink in size at the end of this period. Stir in the chard and 150ml of the water and cook further 3 minutes, stirring often.
Stir the chicken back into the pan, along with the chopped tomato and the remaining 200ml water, season and combine well. Cover, bring to the boil then turn the heat to low and simmer for 35 minutes.
Stir in the rinsed cooked beans, combine well. Cover and simmer for another 15 minutes. Serve warm with Cacik dip of yoghurt with cucumbers and with rice or bulgur pilaf aside.
Afiyet Olsun.