Tag Archives | spring onions

Leftovers Supper – Eggs with Potatoes, Bell Peppers and Spring Onions – Patatesli, Biberli Sahan Yumurta

By Ozlem Warren on July 4, 2011 in Turkish Breakfast, Vegetables Cooked in Olive Oil 4

Do you do leftovers suppers? We do it quite often and must say I really enjoy it. Not only you finish up all the bits and bobs remaining, but also it is easy to prepare and can turn to delicious suppers. I usually have a few boiled leftover potatoes, the odd bell pepper or courgette (zucchini) waiting for their turn to be finished. And me being an egg lover, vegetables usually end up marrying with eggs.

This supper is super easy to prepare and you can use any vegetable in your fridge that needs finishing; mushroom, onions, peppers, courgettes all work very well. I especially love to add potato and sprinkle some cumin over them; the light smoky flavor of cumin is magical on sautéed potatoes, combined with eggs. Another good example of how you can add wonderful flavors to dishes using spices. With some green salad (or garlicky yoghurt) and crusty bread by the side, this is quite a perfect leftovers dinner for me or a lovely brunch treat.

Eggs with potatoes, bell peppers and spring onions; a little cumin and red pepper flakes add a lot of flavor here.

Serves 1-2
Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 8 minutes

2 free range medium eggs
1/4 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
2 spring (green) onions, coarsely chopped
1-2 small boiled potatoes, coarsely chopped
15ml/1 tablespoon olive oil
5ml/1 teaspoon ground cumin
5ml/1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Green Salad (of lettuce, cucumbers, radishes and anything else you fancy) to serve by the side
Fresh crusty bread to serve by the side

Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan and stir in the chopped boiled potatoes and bell peppers. Sprinkle half of the ground cumin and red pepper flakes over them and season with salt and black pepper. Stir and sauté for about 3-4 minutes over medium heat and let the spices infuse on the vegetables. Stir in the spring (green) onions and cook for another minute.

Create two holes in the pan with sautéed vegetables around and crack the eggs there. Cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat, until the egg white is set and egg yolk is still runny (you can cook a little more if you like your eggs well done). Sprinkle the left over cumin and red pepper flakes over the eggs, and season with salt and pepper.

How about serving this lovely leftovers supper with some fresh green salad? Just coarsely chop the lettuce, radishes, cucumbers and tomatoes (or any salad needs finishing in your fridge!), drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and squeeze of lemon over, season with salt and pepper. You are ready to go!

Serve the eggs hot with green salad and some crusty bread by the side.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Spicy Bulgur Wheat Salad with pomegranate molasses – Kisir

By Ozlem Warren on April 8, 2010 in Appetizers and Mezes, Salads 23

We made Kisir today with the children. We talked about how important it is for us to be able to share and have an access to the recipes from our mothers, grandmothers, and be able to pass on to friends, family and to the next generation. More than being recipes, they really reflect our heritage, culture, traditions and keep the memories alive.

So here comes kisir, from my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table. Kisir is a specialty in the southeast of Turkey, from where the country’s spicier dishes hail. It is offered as a welcome to the guests in the homes of Antakya, where my roots are from, and in Gaziantep. Kisir is generally made with nar eksisi (sour pomegranate molasses) instead of lemon juice – though it is common to use lemon juice for Kisir at northwest Turkey. It can be rolled into balls and served nestling in crunchy lettuce leaves. This dish is perfect for buffets or as part of a barbecue spread. It really is a “bowl of health and goodness” with fresh vegetables, bulgur – packed with fiber and pomegranate sauce full of antioxidants.

This wonderful, refreshing can be prepared a couple of days in advance and can be stored in the fridge for 4-5 days. As a matter of fact, it tastes even better a day or two later it’s made! I hope you can get to try the recipe. If you can’t find pomegranate molasses, a good balsamic vinegar and lemon juice also works well in this bulgur wheat salad. Turkish hot pepper paste, biber salcasi is used widely in this salad in Southern Turkish cooking; you can always make your own red pepper paste, here is my recipe.

Note: There are two main varieties of bulgur wheat available, fine and coarse bulgur. Fine bulgur is traditionally used in salads like kisir whereas coarse bulgur is used in pilafs or As as we call it in Antakya. If you can’t get the fine bulgur wheat, you can also make this salad with coarse bulgur, widely available in supermarkets. In that case, use 240ml/8 fl oz hot water for 175gr/6oz coarse bulgur and cook on low heat for 10 minutes, covered.

Serves 4 – 6
Preparation time: 25 minutes

350gr/12oz fine bulgur wheat
240ml/8 fl oz hot water
15ml/1 tablespoon tomato paste
15ml/1 tablespoon red pepper paste (optional)
5ml / 1 teaspoon pul biber, chili flakes or red pepper flakes
Juice of 1 lemon
30ml/ 2 tablespoon concentrated sour pomegranate molasses, nar eksisi
45ml/3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 green (spring) onions, finely chopped
4 tomatoes, finely chopped
Small bunch of finely chopped flat leaf (Italian) parsley
5ml / 1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Pomegranate seeds to serve (optional)
Lettuce leaves to serve

Mix the bulgur wheat, salt, ground black pepper, red pepper flakes (or paprika or chili flakes), tomato paste, red pepper paste and the chopped onion and knead thoroughly – this will help all the flavors marry and the onion to soften-. Pour the hot water over this mixture and stir, then leave to stand for about 15 minutes. It should absorb all the water by the end of this period. The bulgur should be of a dry consistency.

Add the lemon juice and the pomegranate molasses together with the extra virgin olive oil and knead well again. Stir in the remaining ingredients and combine thoroughly.

Image by Sian Irvine Photography, from Ozlem’s Turkish table cookery book

Serve as a salad in a bowl garnished with pomegranate seeds (if preferred) and lettuce leaves. Alternatively, take spoonfuls of the mixture and with wet hands roll into balls the size of walnuts. Refrigerate until required.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

New! Ozlem Turkish Table Apron on Sale

I am absolutely delighted to share with you that we also designed this special Ozlem’s Turkish Table apron, just in time for the holiday gift giving season. 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 – this lovely apron would make a wonderful gift for the festive season, you can get yours at this link. Delivered worldwide including the US.

Ozlem’s Turkish Table Interview with TRT Radio 1 (Turkish National Radio 1)

It’s been an honor to be interviewed by the Turkish National Radio, TRT Radyo 1, at the Gunebakan Program today, talking about Turkish cuisine abroad. A special moment for me, talking in Turkish, at my homeland’s national radio channel. As we talked during the interview, our recipes are valuable gateways to share our thousands years of our culinary heritage with the world and pass on to the next generations. Also living abroad, I well know how precious our food is to connect us to our homeland, our memories and bring our stories to life. It is such a privilege to share my homeland Turkey’s amazing culinary heritage, traditions, recipes, hospitality, through these precious opportunities and my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland. My sincere thanks goes to GB Publishing and Pinar Foods UK for helping me spread the word on wholesome, delicious Turkish cuisine.

Here is the link to our interview with TRT Radio 1, I hope you enjoy it: