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Home Style Beyti Kebab

By Ozlem Warren on June 22, 2022 in Roasts and Kebaps 0

Beyti Kebab is one of the much loved traditional Turkish kebabs in Turkey- succulent Beyti kofte, rolled over thin wrap, served with a delicious tomato sauce and garlicky yoghurt on top. It is easy to make Beyti Kebab at your home and so delicious. Traditionally minced/ground lamb is used, though you can use half and half minced beef and lamb as I do here or just minced/ground beef if you prefer (10% fat is recommended). You can use Turkish fresh yufka sheets, lavash style thin flat breads if you can find. If not, thin, fresh flour tortilla works well too as an option.

We had some roasted peppers aside too. The garlicky yoghurt is a must here as it complements the Beyti rolls with tomato sauce so beautifully. You can serve with a refreshing green salad aside, such as Shepherd’s salad with sumac. I hope you enjoy our home style version of Beyti kebab, a lovely meal to savour with family and friends.

Why not also try my Pistachio lamb kebabs with roasted veg, Fistikli kebap, also at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table (signed copies are available here and delivered worldwide) – another perfect dish for the summer or bring sunny vibes.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Home Style Beyti Kebab

Beyti Kebab is one of the much loved traditional Turkish kebabs at home - succulent Beyti kofte, rolled over thin wrap, served with a delicious tomato sauce and garlicky yoghurt on top. It is easy to make Beyti Kebab at home and so delicious. Traditionally minced/ground lamb is used, though you can use half and half minced beef and lamb as I do here or just minced/ground beef if you prefer (10% fat is recommended). You can use Turkish fresh yufka sheets, lavash style thin flat breads if you can find. If not, thin, fresh flour tortilla works well too as an option.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Kebabs

Cuisine: Turkish cuisine

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

For the Beyti kofte rolls:
750g/1lb 10 oz minced/ground beef, lamb or a combination (10% fat)
1 medium onion, grated
1 medium egg, beaten
2 slices of stale bread (crusts removed)
Small bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)
5ml/1tsp ground cumin
½ tsp (or more!) pul biber or red pepper flakes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Small bowl of water with a drizzle of oil - to shape the kofte rolls -
For the tomato sauce:
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
30ml/2tbsp olive oil
30g/2tbsp double concentrated tomato paste
90ml/3fl oz water
5ml/1tsp pul biber
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Garlic yoghurt:
350g/12oz whole milk or strained yoghurt
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Sea salt to taste
4 thin, fresh flour tortilla (25cm in diameter), lavash bread or yufka to wrap the Beyti kofte
Optional:
140g/5oz small green peppers (Turkish pointy sivri biber or Padron peppers work well)
15ml/1tbsp olive oil
Sea salt to taste

Instructions

First prepare the Beyti kofte. Soak 2 slices of stale bread (hard crusts removed) in a small bowl with warm water and squeeze out the excess water with your hands. Combine the kofte ingredients in a large mixing bowl, except the meat. Using your hands, combine them well for a minute (this ensures a smooth blend of the ingredients and soften the onions. Parsley is not traditionally included but we like the freshness of the herb here; please save a little for decorating the plate when serving). Stir in the ground/minced meat and again combine well with your hands. If you have time, cover with cling film and let the mixture rest and settle in the fridge for 30 minute – this helps the mixture to firm up and hold together better when cooked-.
Preheat fan oven to 180C/350F. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Also take the yoghurt out of the fridge to bring to room temperature.
Have a small bowl of water with a drizzle of olive oil and the Beyti kofte mixture near you. Dampen your hand in the oily water (that helps shaping the kofte) and take about a medium orange size kofte mixture in your hands. Roll into a log about 13 cm long. Place on a tray with baking paper and gently pat to flatten a little – kofte roll will be about 5cm wide. Repeat this with the rest of the kofte mixture and place them side by side, with about 2cm space between them. You will have 8 long Beyti kofte rolls. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Place the small green peppers on a small baking dish and drizzle with 1tbsp olive oil. Season with sea salt and combine well with your hands. Put this also in the preheated fan oven at 180C to bake for 18-20 minutes (it works well if you put them in the oven after the first 10 minutes of Beyti kofte baking so that they both finish baking the same time).
While they are baking, prepare your garlic yoghurt sauce. Combine the chopped garlic with the yoghurt, season with sea salt to taste. Leave aside at room temperature.
Once kofte is baked, take out of the oven; also take the peppers out of the oven. Turn the oven temperature down to 160C fan. Place the kofte rolls on a large flat plate. Gently place and pat the tortilla wraps or yufka over the kofte tray, for the wrap/yufka to soak up the delicious juices of kofte.
Place the wrap on a clean, dry surface. Place 2 Beyti kofte rolls end to end to make one long roll, at the edge near you. Roll into tight log. Cut the log into 4 equal pieces, about 5.5cm long. Have a clean baking paper on the baking tray and place these Beyti rolls seam side down. Repeat this for the remaining kofte rolls, using the wraps.
Brush the top of the rolls with a little olive oil (about 1 tbsp. enough for all) and place in the oven to warm up and get a little crispy, for 5 - 6 minutes. Also return the baked peppers back to the oven to warm up, for 2-3 minutes.
While they are baking, make your tomato sauce. Pour in 2tbsp olive oil over a small sauté pan and stir in the chopped garlic. Sauté for just over a minute on medium to high heat. Stir in the tomato paste and pul biber and combine well. Then pour in the water, season with sea salt and ground black pepper and simmer on a medium to low heat for 1-2 minutes. If appears to be on thick side, dilute with one or two tablespoons of water. Turn the heat off.
Now ensemble your Beyti kebab. Arrange the Beyti rolls in a circle on a serving plate and place the garlic yoghurt in the middle. Drizzle tomato sauce over the Beyti rolls and decorate with the roasted peppers around the plate. Decorate with the remaining chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Cheat Manti, Kiymali Makarna – Pasta with Turkish ragout sauce, garlicky yoghurt and Pul biber olive oil

By Ozlem Warren on October 5, 2021 in Pasta – Makarna 2

I absolutely love manti, Turkish dumplings with fillings. When I am short of time though, I make this “Cheat Manti”, Kiymali Makarna, using shell shaped conchiglie pasta, over a delicious Turkish style ragout sauce, topped with garlicky yoghurt and pul biber/red pepper flakes infused olive oil – a lovely meal my mother used to make for us for busy weekday dinners. And it certainly delivers that satisfying manti taste – the garlicky yoghurt and pul biber oil take the dish to the next level and brings comforting manti vibes, in almost no time.

You can make your meaty ragout sauce ahead of time. I try to sneak in as much vegetables as possible in the sauce; diced carrots, peppers, mushrooms, aubergines all work well. The meat sauce is roughly based on my topping recipe for the Stuffed aubergines/eggplants, Karniyarik, from my cookery book Ozlem’s Turkish Table, which is cooked further and reduced. For a vegetarian topping, why not using my Baked Vegetables with chickpeas, Firinda Sebzeli Turlu recipe? Great way to finish leftovers too. Please take the yoghurt out of the fridge and bring to room temperature, about 1 hour before you ensemble the dish.

If you also like to make manti, I have two delicious recipes. This is my Traditional manti with minced/ground meat filling; here is also my Vegetarian manti recipe with crushed chickpeas and caramalised onions. They are both so delicious and satisfying and well worth your effort.

My family absolutely love this Cheat Manti, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. You can serve Shepherd salad with sumac onions as a side, if you like.

Cheat Manti, Kiymali Makarna - Pasta with Turkish ragout sauce, garlicky yoghurt and Pul biber olive oil

I absolutely love manti, Turkish dumplings with fillings. When I am short of time though, I make this “Cheat Manti”, using shell shaped conchiglie pasta, over a delicious Turkish style ragout sauce, Kiymali Makarna, topped with garlicky yoghurt and pul biber/red pepper flakes infused olive oil – a lovely meal my mother used to make for us for busy weekday dinners. And it certainly delivers that satisfying manti taste – the garlicky yoghurt and pul biber oil take the dish to the next level and brings comforting manti vibes, in almost no time. You can make your meaty ragout sauce ahead of time. I try to sneak in as much vegetables as possible in the sauce; diced carrots, peppers, mushrooms all work well. The meat sauce is roughly based on my topping recipe for the Stuffed aubergines/eggplants, Karniyarik, from my cookery book Ozlem’s Turkish Table, which is cooked further and reduced. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Pasta

Cuisine: Turkish cuisine

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

500g/1lb 2oz shell (conchiglie) pasta or your choice of pasta
450g/1lb minced/ground beef (or lamb)
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 medium carrot, finely diced
1 medium green bell pepper, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Small bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
200g/7oz (can of) chopped tomato
15ml/1tbsp tomato paste
30ml/2tbsp olive oil
240ml/8fl oz water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the garlicky yoghurt:
400g/14oz plain yoghurt (I like to use whole milk yoghurt)
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
Salt to your taste
For the pul biber/red pepper flakes infused olive oil:
10ml/2tsp (or more!) Turkish pul biber, red pepper flakes or chili flakes
30ml/2tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Please take the yoghurt out of the fridge and bring to room temperature, about 1 hour before you ensemble the dish. For the garlicky yoghurt, combine the yoghurt with chopped garlic in a medium sized bowl. Season with salt to your taste, combine well and set aside.
Pour 2tbsp olive oil on a wide heavy pan and stir in the onions and carrots. Stir and sauté for 2-3 minutes, over medium to high heat.
Stir in the ground (minced) meat, garlic and chopped peppers, combine well. Sauté for 4-5 minutes over medium to high heat, stirring continuously.
Add the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and 240ml water, combine well. Season with salt and ground black pepper and cook over medium heat for 30 – 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will reduce at the end of this period; check the seasoning and add more salt or ground black pepper if needed. Stir in the chopped parsley and combine well, turn the heat off.
Towards the last 10 minutes of the meat sauce to get ready, pour in the hot water to a medium sized pan and stir in your pasta (I like to use shell shaped conchiglie pasta, which reminds me the manti shape). Cook your pasta, al dente, as per the cooking instructions in the package (conchiglie pasta cooks al dente in 10 minutes). Drain the water and drizzle a little olive oil over and combine, so the pasta doesn’t stick.
In a small sauté pan, drizzle 2tbsp olive oil and stir in the pul biber or red pepper flakes. Stir and gently infuse the pul biber to the olive oil, over medium to low heat, for 1 -2 minutes, turn the heat off.
You are now ready to ensemble your cheat manti feast; using a serving spoon, place the pasta on a plate. Spread the 3 – 4 tablespoonfuls of the meaty sauce over the pasta and scatter a few small dollops of garlicky yoghurt over the sauce. Drizzle pul biber infused olive oil over the garlicky yoghurt. Serve immediately.
Afiyet Olsun.

Signed copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book – 10 % Off, delivered worldwide

Holiday and gift giving season is upon us. Hardback signed copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book, as well as this beautiful apron, are available to order at this link, and delivered worldwide, including the US. Signed copies are 10 % off via GB Publishing, and we are told they make very special gifts.

Turkish Shortbread Cookies with Pistachio – Fistikli Un Kurabiyesi

By Ozlem Warren on July 19, 2021 in Cakes and Desserts, Ozlem’s Turkish Table Cookery Book 0

Turkish shortbread cookies with pistachio, Fistikli Un Kurabiyesi

This delicious, crumbly shortbread cookies, un kurabiyesi, is a national favouite; my mother would make them for her afternoon tea gatherings, bayrams and special occasions when I was a child. You will find them in our pastanes, patisseries in plain, with almond or sometimes with dried fruits in Turkey. They are delicious, enjoyed with Turkish coffee, Turk kahvesi and tea, cay.

I added coarsely ground (or very finely chopped) pistachios to mine – it is nice to feel the texture and enjoy the taste of pistachios, so take care not to ground them too finely. Turkish pistachios, as referred as green emeralds are packed with flavour and we use nuts liberally in our desserts and sweet treats. They add a delicious, fragrant nutty taste. You can use ground almonds or hazelnuts instead of pistachio too. These fistikli un kurabiyesi is a great hit with my family and friends; I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Turkish Shortbread Cookies with Pistachio – Fistikli Un Kurabiyesi

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Shortbread Cookies - Un Kurabiyesi

Cuisine: Turkish cuisine

Serves: 18 cookies

Ingredients

300g/10 ¼ oz plain all-purpose flour, sifted
110g/4oz icing sugar, sifted
90g/3 ¼ oz shelled pistachios, coarsely ground or very finely chopped
250g/9oz unsalted butter
½ tsp baking powder
5ml/1tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Extra icing sugar for dusting
Sprinkle of extra coarsely ground pistachio for serving

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180C/350F
Coarsely ground the pistachios, with a few pulses in a food processor; take care not to ground too finely, as it’s lovely to feel the texture and enjoy the taste of pistachios.
Sift the flour into a large bowl and set aside. Sift the icing sugar in a separate bowl too.
Put the butter in a large mixing bowl and coarsely slice. Beat using a mixer for 2 – 3 minutes, until smooth and light. Stir in the icing sugar and beat for another 2 minutes, until well combined.
Add the sifted flour, baking powder, pinch of salt and vanilla extract and beat for another 2 minutes, making sure all combined well.
Stir in the coarsely ground pistachio to the mix, beat another minute or two, until all combined and turned into a crumbly dough.
Using your hands, gently combine and turn the mixture into a dough ball. Place in a bowl, cover with cling film and keep in the fridge for 10 minutes. This helps shaping and forming the shortbread cookie balls.
Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
Take the dough out of the fridge and pull off walnut sized pieces of dough and gently shape into balls, rolling the dough into round shape with your hands. Each dough ball will be about 3cm / 1.2in in diameter. Place the dough balls on the baking tray, with about 5cm/2in between each dough ball. You will make about 18 dough balls.
Bake the Turkish shortbread cookies, un kurabiyes, in the preheated oven for 15 – 18 minutes, they will be pale golden; try not to overbake, so that they can retain their crumbly texture.
Take the cookies out of the oven and let them cool completely. Once cool, sift icing sugar over them and sprinkle a little ground pistachio over when serving. They are delicious aside tea and Turkish coffee. They can be stored in a container with a lid for a good 5-6 days.
Afiyet Olsun.