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Turkish cuisine provides healthy, hearty, delicious food for family and friends.
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I teach Turkish cooking classes in England,Turkey & USA, hope you can join us!,
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Grated Radish Salad with Tahini Sauce; Tahinli Turp Salatasi

Grated radish salad with tahini dressing; Tahinli Turp Salatasi

Grated radish salad with tahini dressing; Tahinli Turp Salatasi

Juicy, crunchy red radishes – turp, as we call in Turkey- add a lovely, punchy colour and a delightful peppery taste to dips and salads. In southern Turkey, in Adana region as well as in Antakya, we make a delicious, refreshing radish salad with a simple tahini sauce. We serve this Tahinli Turp Salatasi as part of a mezze spread, especially to accompany Oruk or Icli Kofte, our version of the Middle Eastern Kibbeh. The refreshing, peppery flavors of the radish salad complement the rich, nutty Oruk very well.

Delightful and easy to make radish salad with tahini sauce; tahinli turp salatasi

Delightful and easy to make radish salad with tahini sauce; tahinli turp salatasi

Tahini or Tahin, as we call it in Turkish, is a paste made from sesame seeds; it is a much loved ingredient in southern Turkish cooking as well as in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean. We use tahini in dips like hummus, salads and in baking, as in this tahini bread rolls. Most supermarkets carry tahini these days; make sure to give it a good stir before using it as it tends to separate.

Tahini makes a delicious, healthy dressing at this wonderful radish salad; tahinli turp salatasi

 I hope you can give this delicious, nutritious radish salad with tahini a go; so easy to make and packed with flavor. Here I’d like to thank my talented seramic artist cousin, dear Nihal Sarioglu and Zen Ceramics in Istanbul for my beautiful plate, showcasing this lovely radish salad with tahini sauce.

Afiyet Olsun,
Ozlem

5.0 from 4 reviews
Grated Radish Salad with Tahini Sauce; Tahinli Turp Salatasi
 
Juicy, crunchy red radishes – turp, as we call in Turkey- add a lovely, punchy colour and a delightful peppery taste to dips and salads. In southern Turkey, in Adana region as well as in Antakya, we make a delicious, refreshing radish salad with a simple tahini sauce. We serve this Tahinli Turp Salatasi as part of a mezze spread, especially to accompany Oruk or Icli Kofte, our version of the Middle Eastern Kibbeh. Hope you enjoy it, Afiyet Olsun.
Author:
Recipe type: Healthy Turkish Salads with Tahini Sauce
Cuisine: Southern Turkish Cuisine
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 200 gr / 7 oz. red radishes, washed and pat dried
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed with salt and finely chopped
  • Juice of 1 small lemon
  • 15 ml/ 1 tbsp. tahini, stirred
  • 30 ml/ 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 5 ml/ 1 tsp. cumin
  • 5 ml/ 1 tsp. red pepper flakes or chili flakes
  • Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • Flat leaf parsley to decorate
Instructions
  1. Clean and pat dry the radishes. Trim off the stem end and tip, keep the skin.
  2. Grate the radishes and place in a bowl. Sprinkle some salt over and let the moisture come out, for 5 minutes.
  3. Using an absorbent kitchen paper towel or clean tea towel, squeeze the grated radishes to get rid of the excess moisture. Later, place them in a serving bowl.
  4. To make the tahini sauce; combine the tahini, chopped garlic, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil in a small container and mix well. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste.
  5. Pour in this sauce over the grated radishes and combine well.
  6. Sprinkle the ground cumin and red pepper flakes over the radish salad with tahini and decorate with flat leaf parsley.
  7. Afiyet Olsun.
Notes
Make sure to give tahini a good stir before using it as it tends to separate.

Stuffed grapevine leaves, aubergine with lentils, Turkish flat breads and More; Let’s create a Turkish Feast; Sunday 13th December, 12 noon – 3.30pm; Divertimenti Cookery School – Hands On –

"An unforgettable evening of Turkish cookery; loved your passion, enthusiasm and clear instructions, many thanks for a great class."

“An unforgettable evening of Turkish cookery; loved your passion, enthusiasm and clear instructions, many thanks for a great class.”

Turkish cuisine not only reflects a rich historical and cultural heritage, it is also healthy and a feast to all your senses. Kick off the festive season in style and join us for an unforgettable day of scrumptious Turkish food, history and culture at my Turkish Cookery class at Divertimenti Cookery School on Sunday 13th December, 12 noon – 3.30pm. During this Hands On class, you will be amazed to see how easy it is to recreate these delicious courses once you have a go. From courgette fritters with feta and dill, mucver, to stuffed vine leaves, yaprak sarma, from aubergines, lentils and peppers cooked in olive oil to Pide, Turkish flat breads with toppings and stuffed apricots dessert with walnuts, you will have a chance to create and enjoy an authentic, wholesome Turkish feast, great for entertaining.

We will me making Turkish oval flat breads with cheese and vegetables, Peynirli, sebzeli pide, and many more at my Dec. 13th Turkish Cookery Class

We will be making Turkish oval flat breads with cheese and vegetables, Peynirli, sebzeli pide, and many more at my Dec. 13th Turkish Cookery Class

Here’s the class details; Signing up for this class is through Divertimenti Cookery School at this link, hope you can join us!

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Turkish Flat Breads with potato and cheese; Patatesli Gozleme

Turkish stuffed flat breads with mashed potato and cheese, Patatesli, Peynirli Gozleme

Turkish stuffed flat breads with mashed potato and cheese, Patatesli, Peynirli Gozleme

We Turks love these stuffed flat breads, Gozleme. Turks were originated from Central Asia, where they drifted towards Anatolia gradually and made their home. They have been making these stuffed flat breads called Gozleme since then and they are a much loved Turkish street food and a special part of Turkish breakfast. These popular snacks are cooked quickly on a hot griddle and can be filled with various fillings.

I previously made Gozleme with spinach and cheese filling, they became hugely popular. This time I made them with mashed potatoes, cheese and parsley; a comforting, delicious combination, another winner with family and friends. This gozleme is also a wonderful way to finish up leftover cooked potatoes and bits of cheese. I used feta cheese here, you can also use Turkish white cheese, grated cheddar cheese or mozzarella. I spiced up my gozleme with a little Turkish red pepper paste, biber salcasi; you can also use red pepper flakes instead if you are after a touch of spice.

I hope you enjoy making your own Gozleme, a wholesome, delicious street food at home. They go down very well with a glass of Turkish tea, cay or ayran, traditional Turkish yoghurt drink.

Turkish stuffed flat breads with potato and cheese; Patatesli, Peynirli Gozleme

Turkish stuffed flat breads with potato and cheese; Patatesli, Peynirli Gozleme

I love our savoury pastries in Turkish cuisine. Gozleme and over 90 authentic Turkish recipes are included at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland. Signed hardback copies, as well as ebook and other options are available at this link; Signed copies are delivered worldwide including US and Canada here.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

5.0 from 5 reviews
Turkish Flat Breads with potato and cheese; Patatesli Gozleme
 
We Turks love these stuffed flat breads, Gozleme. Turks have been making these stuffed flat breads over thousand of years, they are a much loved Turkish street food and a special part of Turkish breakfast. The mashed potato, cheese and parsley proves to be a delicious, comforting filling; these gozlemes are wonderful with cup of tea or as part of mezze spread.
Author:
Recipe type: Turkish Flat breads with fillings, Gozleme
Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine
Serves: 5 gozleme, feeds 6-8
Ingredients
  • 1lb./ 16 oz. /3 cups plain flour
  • 8g / 1 sachet instant dried yeast
  • Pinch of salt
  • 45 ml/ 3 tbsp. olive oil
  • 30 ml/ 2 tbsp. plain natural yoghurt (preferably whole milk)
  • About 260 ml/ 9 fl. oz. / 1⅕ cups water
  • For the filling:
  • 3 medium sized potato, cooked, skinned and mashed – about 2 ¼ cups -
  • 5ml/1 teaspoon Turkish red pepper flakes or 2 tsp. Turkish red pepper paste (optional)
  • 200gr/ 7 oz. Turkish white cheese or feta cheese, juice drained and crumbled.
  • 28 gr/ 1 oz. / ½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
  • 30 ml/2 tbsp. olive oil
  • Salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • Nonstick pan or griddle to cook the Gozleme
Instructions
  1. Combine about 150 ml / 5 fl. oz. warm water, yeast and salt in a small bowl, stir and cover. Stand in a warm place for 5 minutes or until bubbles form on the surface.
  2. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture, olive oil, yoghurt and the remaining (about 110 ml/ 4 fl. oz./ ½ cup) water. Using your hand, draw in the flour from the sides and work the mixture into a dough. Knead thoroughly to form a soft dough. Divide the dough into 8 pieces, knead them and roll into balls. Place the balls on a floured surface, cover with a damp cloth and leave them to rest for 30 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size.
  3. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Mash the cooked potatoes with a fork or a masher in a large bowl. Drain the juice of the Turkish white cheese or feta cheese and crumble into the bowl. Stir in the chopped parsley, the red pepper paste or red pepper flakes (if you wish) and pour in the olive oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and combine all well. Your filling is ready.
  4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each of the balls of the dough with a rolling pin into thin, flat rounds, about 40cm/16in diameter. Sprinkle a little flour as you roll the dough so that the dough won’t stick. Roll until you achieve a thin sheet of a flat round.
  5. Fold the left and right sides of the dough in a way for the edges to meet in the middle. Spread about 2 ½ - 3 tablespoons filling into the middle part of this flat sheet. Then fold the top and bottom edges over the filling, making sure all the filling is safely covered. Press edges together well to seal. Repeat the same procedure for the rest of the dough balls.
  6. Heat a griddle or a non-stick pan, and brush one side of the gozleme with a little olive oil and place on the pan to cook for about 2 -3 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush the uncooked side with a little olive oil and then flip it over. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, until golden brown.
  7. Brush both cooked sides of gozleme with a little olive oil -this will keep the gozleme moist. Cook the rest of the gozlemes the same way.
  8. You can either roll the Gozlemes to serve, or you can cut in halves or quarters. Ayran, Turkish yoghurt drink or Turkish tea, cay would go really well next to Gozleme.
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12th June; Hands On Turkish Cookery Class at Abinger Cookery School!

I am delighted to partner up with the wonderful Abinger Cookery School in Surrey Hills – England, to teach a feast of Turkish recipes on Friday, 12th June 2015. This will be a hands on style Turkish cookery course, as some readers requested, from 9.30 am to 4 pm on 12th June. We shall prepare the delicious Turkish dishes together all throughout the day and enjoy eating them (as well as taking some back home) at the Abinger Cookery School’s beautiful grounds. It will be a day of feasting and learning all about wonderful, delicious Turkish cuisine; from Turkish flat breads with feta, spinach, onion and peppers to Courgette fritters with feta and dill, served with garlic yoghurt, from Stuffed aubergines with minced meat and vegetables to Baklava, Turkish coffee  and many more. The class will  also be packed with information on Turkish culinary heritage, Turkish ingredients and where to source them, artful use of spices, ideas for substitution and more.  Below is the details of our course – hope you can join us to discover and learn exciting Turkish flavors.

I demonstrate Karniyarik recipe, Stuffed eggplants with ground meat and vegetables, during my online Turkish cookery course

Karniyarik, Stuffed eggplants with ground meat and vegetables, is a part of my hands on Turkish Cookery Course at Abinger Cookery School

Place: Abinger Cookery School; Guildford Road, Abinger Hammer, Dorking, Surrey, RH5 6RZ (telephone: 01306 730470)
Date: Friday, 12th June 2015
Time: 9.30 am to 4 pm (please kindly be at the Abinger Cookery School by 9.15 am)
Cost: £ 135 per person (This hands on style day class includes all printed recipes, all ingredients, my tuition, generous servings of the food at the venue. You will also be taking the food you prepared back home.) For booking, please kindly get in touch with Abinger Cookery School at 01306 730470 or  Contact them at this link.

Courgette fritters with feta and dill; a delicious vegetarian course we will have a go at our class

Courgette fritters with feta and dill; a delicious vegetarian course we will have a go at our hands on Turkish cookery class

Menu:

1) Turkish flat breads with feta, spinach, onion and peppers; Peynirli ve Sebzeli Pide – a delicious and popular flat bread with scrumptious topping, a real crowd pleaser

2) Gavurdagi Salad of ripe tomatoes, onions, walnuts and pomegranate molasses – So delicious, healthy and gluten – free!

3) Courgette fritters with feta and dill, served with garlic yoghurt; Mucver – a very popular and delicious vegetarian mezze at home

4) Stuffed aubergines with minced meat and vegetables; Karniyarik * –a classic example of Turkish cuisine, showcasing our much loved ingredient, aubergine. (* We are happy to offer the vegetarian option of the stuffed aubergines if requested ahead of time.)

5) Bulgur wheat pilaf with onions, tomatoes and peppers; Sebzeli Bulgur Pilavi – a delicious, wholesome pilaf, a meal itself

6) Yoghurt and cucumber dip with dried mint, Cacik dip

7) Baklava with walnuts; we will learn to make the real thing- much lighter and delicious!

8) Turkish coffee

Peynirli pide, Turkish flat breads with cheese, spinach and pepper topping is at our Turkish cookery course

Peynirli pide, Turkish flat breads with cheese, spinach and pepper topping is at our hands on Turkish cookery course

Places are limited and the class tends to sell out quickly, so if you would like to join us please click here to contact Abinger Cooking School to book the course and registration.

My home made baklava with walnuts; delicious with a lighter, fragrant syrup

We will learn how to make home made baklava with walnuts during our Turkish cookery course; delicious with a lighter, fragrant syrup

Sometimes, all we need is a little encouragement and guidance to try out new, exciting flavors. You will be amazed to see how easy, delicious and wholesome each course are and will be able to recreate these dishes easily at home for friends and family after the course.  As a native and seasoned traveler in Turkey, I will also be delighted to answer any questions you may have on Turkish cuisine or visiting Turkey.

Ozlem1

Hope to have a chance to enjoy Turkish cuisine together, Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

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