Tag Archives | Turkish breakfast

Simit; Sesame-Encrusted Turkish Bread Rings

Simit is indeed the quintessential Turkish food; these sesame-encrusted bread rings must be the most popular snack at home. You can have simit for breakfast with a cup of cay (tea), sliced cucumber, tomatoes, feta cheese and olives. You can enjoy them for a mid morning or afternoon snack with cheese or simply plain. Turks prefer savory accompaniments to simit, though I must say it is also lovely over some butter and jam. Their flavor and deeply satisfying texture are quite unlike anything else.

Traditional simit stall (simitci) in Istanbul

There are mobile simit stalls everywhere, especially in Istanbul (Istanbullus pride themselves as to have the genuine article). Recently, there are also Simit Houses opened all around the country, where you can enjoy simit with various fillings; cheese, olive paste, sucuk (Turkish spicy sausages made from dried cured beef). A magnificent revival of this all time favorite street food.

When I saw the Simit recipe at Leanne Kitchen’s delightful book Turkey; Recipes and tales from the road, I was over the moon. No one bothers making simit at home, as it is so widely available and so good. But living abroad, you don’t mind tackling to make it and would be surprised to see how easy to make them. This simit recipe is adapted from Leanne Kitchen’s version and based on Australian cup measurement (1 US cup in volume equals about 0.95 Australian cup measurement) . I hope you enjoy them at least as much as we did.

We love savoury pastries in Turkish cuisine; variety of boreks, gozleme, pogaca, flatbreads with various fillings, pide and regional specialty pastries are all included at my cookery book (though please kindly note that simit is not at my current book), Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland. Signed copies are available at this link, and it is delivered worldwide including USA, we hope it would bring joy for home cooking.

Makes 8

Prep time: 40 minutes (+1 hr for the dough to rise) Baking time:15-18 minutes

1 pinch sugar

15ml/3 teaspoons dried yeast

500gr (1lb 2oz/3 1/4 cups (Australian) or generous 4 US cups) plain flour

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

125ml (4 fl oz/1/2 cup) pekmez (molasses like syrup, see note)

155g/5 1/2oz golden sesame seeds

Combine the sugar and 60 ml (2fl oz/ 1/4 cup) lukewarm water in a small bowl, then sprinkle over the yeast. Set aside for about 8 minutes, or until foamy, then add another 310 ml (10 3/4 fl oz/ 1 1/4 cups) lukewarm water.

Combine the flour and salt in a bowl, then add the yeast mixture and stir to form a coarse dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface ( a little bit of extra flour on the surface will help the dough to come together) and knead for 6-7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Roll the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 220 C (425 F/Gas 7) and line a large size baking tray with baking paper. Knock back the dough on a lightly floured work surface and divide it into 8 even sized pieces. Combine the pekmez with 60 ml/2fl oz water in a large bowl. Place the sesame seeds on a large plate. Working with one piece of dough at a time, use your hands to roll the dough out to make 60 cm (24″) long ropes. Fold in half so two ends align, then lift off the board and use your hands to twist each rectangle into a two stranded “rope”. Place back on the work surface and join the ends together to make a circle, pressing the ends firmly together to seal. Repeat with the remaining dough to make 8 rope circles.

Dip each ring, first into the pekmez mixture, immersing completely to coat, then drain well and toss in the sesame seeds, turning gently to coat. Transfer to the prepared tray and set aside at room temperature for about 20 minutes, to puff slightly. Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes, or until deep golden and cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Simit are best eaten on the day of making but will keep, frozen in an airtight container, for up to 1 month.

Note: Pekmez is a molasses-like syrup made from the juice and must of certain fruits, usually grapes or figs. It is available from Middle Eastern and Turkish grocery stores.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

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

Fried Eggs with Turkish Sucuk (dried sausage) – Sucuklu Yumurta

By Ozlem Warren on December 29, 2010 in Turkish Breakfast 7

This is, for me, one of the main pieces of the ultimate Turkish weekend brunch (along with the delicious olives, white cheese (similar to feta), sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, home made jam, honey, Simit, Turkish bread rings with sesame coating- and many more). And I sure will visualize myself enjoying this feast by a café along the Bosphrous in Istanbul, an ultimate treat, whenever we’re back home.

Shaped like a horseshoe, sucuk is a cured sausage made with lamb or beef and flavored with garlic, cumin and red pepper flakes. In rural areas, people make their own sucuk with variety of spices and hang them outside to cure. Most Middle Eastern markets carry sucuk, if you can’t find them; you may like to try with chorizo sausage or any other dried cured sausages or pastrami of your choice. How about adding a chopped tomato into the mixture.? Simply saute the sliced sucuk with chopped tomatoes for a few minutes before cracking the eggs, juicy tomatoes go well with the spicy sausace and eggs.

Eggs with Turkish sucuk (spicy sausage) and tomatoes, Domatesli, sucuklu yumurta – Ultimate Turkish breakfast!

Serves 2 generously

Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 5 minutes

115gr/4oz Turkish sucuk (or any dried sausage or pastrami of your choice, if preferred), sliced

1 tomato, coarsley chopped (optional)
2-4 medium free range eggs
30ml/2 tablespoon olive oil
5ml/1 teaspoon ground cumin
5ml/1 teaspoon red pepper (or paprika) flakes
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Crusty bread to serve
Sliced tomatoes and cucumbers to serve by the side

Heat the oil in the frying pan. Stir in the sliced sucuk (or your choice of dried sausage or pastrami) and chopped tomatoes (if used) and sauté them for a minute or two until they start to brown. Scatter the sausages around the edges of the pan forming a circle. Crack the eggs in the middle and cook for a few minutes on medium heat. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle ground cumin and red pepper flakes over the eggs. Cook until the egg whites are set and the egg yolks still runny.

Serve hot with crusty bread and sliced tomatoes and cucumber by the side.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem