Tag Archives | Turkish savory pastries

Mini Pizzas with Olives, Cheese and Tomatoes; Zeytinli Mini Pizza

By Ozlem Warren on January 13, 2015 in Appetizers and Mezes, Savory Pastries, Turkish Breakfast 25

Mini pizzas with olives, cheese, tomatoes; zeytinli mini pizza

I love the savory pastries, pogaca and little melt-in-the-mouth mini pizzas with various fillings sold in bakeries, firin and patisseries, pastanes, in Turkey. We Turks love them for breakfast as well as for a morning or afternoon snack with cup of tea, cay; such a delicious treat.

Mini pizzas with olives, tomatoes and cheese, freshly baked – delicious!

Recently I made these little pizzas with olives, tomato and cheese topping; they really are easy to make at home and have brought smiles all round!:) A favorite with children, as well and adults, they were a big hit. Mini pizzas are best to be enjoyed straight from the oven, but they also keep well for a few days. The next day (if any left), you can microwave them for 10 – 15 seconds. Or you can sprinkle a little water over them, cover and reheat at 180 C/350 F for 5- 8 minutes. They will be lovely, soft and delicious.

Shaping the mini pizzas; round Turkish tea glass or a mug works well.

Tips: Make sure to deseed the tomatoes before chopping so that it won’t make the filling watery and the pastry soggy. As for the cheese, you can use grated mozzarella, cheddar or crumbled feta cheese. For olives; Turkish, Spanish or Greek Kalamata olives all work well. To shape the mini pizza rounds, I used my tulip shaped glass Turkish tea glass, it worked perfectly. If you don’t have one, any glass or round mold in 7-8 cm diameter would work.

Mini pizzas with olives, cheese and tomatoes, Zeytinli mini pizza, ready to eat!

I hope you enjoy these delicious mini pizzas with olives, cheese and tomatoes – Afiyet Olsun;

Ozlem

5.0 from 2 reviews

Mini Pizzas with Olives, Cheese and Tomatoes; Zeytinli Mini Pizza

I love the savory pastries, pogacas and these little melt-in-the-mouth mini pizzas with various fillings sold in bakeries, firin and patisseries, pastanes, in Turkey. We Turks love them for breakfast as well as for a morning or afternoon snack with cup of tea, cay; such a delicious treat. They are easy to make at home and a real crowd pleaser, hope you enjoy them - afiyet olsun!

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Turkish Savory Pastries

Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine

Serves: 35 mini pizzas

Ingredients

375 gr/ 3 cups all-purpose plain flour
7gr dry yeast (1 sachet)
5 ml/ 1 tsp. salt
10 ml/ 2 tsp. sugar
240 ml / 8 fl. oz. / 1 cup warm milk
15 ml/ 1 tbsp. olive oil
50 gr / 2 oz. butter, melted
For the filling:
3 small tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped
Handful - about 15- green and black olives, roughly chopped
200 gr / 7 oz. / 2 cups grated mozzarella or cheddar cheese
15 ml / 1 tbsp. olive oil
For the topping:
1 egg, beaten

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F
Combine the warm milk, sugar and dry yeast in a small bowl and mix well. Let it stand for 5 minutes so that it gets foamy.
Stir in the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the middle.
Add the melted butter and slowly pour in the milk & yeast mixture.
Knead well with your hands for a few minutes, until the dough comes together. Have a drizzle (about 1 tbsp.) of olive oil in your hands if the dough gets too sticky; knead and shape the dough like a ball.
Place the dough in the large bowl and cover with a cling film and a tea towel. Let it rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.
Prepare the filling while the dough is rising. Deseed the tomatoes and olives and chop finely. Place them in a medium sized bowl and stir in the grated cheese and olive oil. Combine and mix well. Set the filling aside.
Once the dough has risen, punch down and divide 3 equal pieces and roll into balls.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out each of the ball of dough with a rolling pin into thin flat rounds in ⅓ cm (0.14”) width. Using a round mold or round glass of 8 cm/3” in diameter, cut the flat dough into circles. Repeat until all the dough is used.
Line baking parchment paper on your baking tray and place the dough circles on it. Using your finger, make a little dent in the middle of each dough circle.
Place a dessert spoonful of filling in each dough circle (in and around the dent).
Brush the pastries with the beaten egg and bake in the preheated oven (180 C/ 350 F) for 15 minutes or until golden around the edges.
Serve hot immediately. This recipe makes 35 mini pizzas; afiyet olsun!

Notes

Make sure to deseed the tomatoes before chopping so that it won’t make the filling watery and the pastry soggy. As for the cheese, you can use grated mozzarella, cheddar or crumbled feta cheese. For olives; Turkish, Spanish or Greek Kalamata olives all work well. To shape the mini pizza rounds, I used my tulip shaped glass Turkish tea glass, it worked perfectly. If you don’t have one, any glass or round mold in 7-8 cm diameter would work.

Kiymali Pide; Turkish Flat bread with ground meat and vegetables

By Ozlem Warren on July 8, 2014 in Ozlem’s culinary and cultural trip photos to Turkey, Savory Pastries, Turkish Street Food 58

Kiymali Pide, Turkish oval flat breads with ground meat, onion, tomato and peppers

This Kiymali Pide, Turkish flat bread with ground meat and vegetables filling, is one of the most popular snacks and our slow cooked “fast food” in Turkey. In Rural Anatolia and at my home town Antakya, locals would prepare the filling and take it to their local bakery, firin, to be baked into delicious flatbreads with this topping over. There are also “Pideci” Turkish flat bread shops that solely bake and serve these flat breads along with piyaz or Coban Salata, Shepherd’s Salad; such delicious flavor combinations.

Traditional bakery, firin in Antakya. Bakers not only bake the bread but also flat breads with toppings that customers would bring.

I am often asked the difference between pide and lahmacun, another national favorite. Lahmacun is also a flat bread with ground meat topping, but it is thinner and in round shape. We like to squeeze lemon over it liberally and roll it like a wrap to eat lahmacun. Pide is oval in shape, thicker and we serve in slices.

Shaping the flat breads; it is easier to spread the filling while the oval flat bread is on the tray.

Pide can also be made in various toppings; some favorite toppings are ground meat & onion, Turkish kasar (cheddar) cheese & spinach, cheese and pastrami (Turkish dried beef), cheese and Turkish spicy sauage (sucuk). Sometimes an egg or two can be cracked over pide towards the end of baking too, as in some examples of Karadeniz Pidesi a specialty of a pide prepared in Black Sea region.

Kiymali Pide, Turkish flat breads with meat and vegetables topping, freshly baked

Making pide is actually much easier than you think – we made it at my recent Turkish cookery class and it was a big hit. I hope you enjoy this delicious Turkish specialty, our version of pizza, packed with flavor and have a chance to recreate at home.

Signed copies of Ozlem’s Turkish Table book, available to order at this link

Both vegetarian pide and with minced/ground meat topping are included at my Turkish cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland. Signed copies are now 20 % OFF at this link and delivered worldwide including the US.

Kiymali Pide, sliced Turkish flat breads with ground meat topping, ready to serve.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

5.0 from 11 reviews

Kiymali Pide; Turkish Flat bread with meat, onion and peppers

This Kiymali Pide, Turkish flat bread with ground meat and vegetables topping, is one of the most popular snacks and our slow cooked “fast food” in Turkey. In Rural Anatolia and at my home town Antakya, locals would prepare the filling and take it to their local bakery, firin, to be baked as these delicious flat breads with toppings. There are also “Pideci” Turkish flat bread shops that solely bake and serve these flat breads. I hope you enjoy this delicious Turkish specialty, our version of pizza, packed with flavor and have a chance to recreate at home.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Turkish flat breads with ground meat and vegetable topping; Kiymali Pide

Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine

Serves: 6

Ingredients

For the dough:
300 gr/ 10½ oz. / + 2 tbsp. all-purpose plain flour
5ml/1 tsp. salt
14 gr/4 tsp. dried yeast (2 packs of 7gr dried yeast)
1 pinch of sugar
8 fl. oz. /1 cup warm water
45ml/3 tbsp. olive oil
For the topping:
1 medium onion, finely chopped
400 gr/14 oz. ground beef or ground lamb or mixture
½ green bell pepper or 1 green pointy pepper, finely diced
2 medium tomatoes, deseeded and diced
15 ml/ 1 tbsp. lemon juice
15 ml/ 1 tbsp. olive oil
Salt (5 ml/1 tsp. salt is recommended) and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 egg + 15 ml/ 1 tbsp. olive oil to brush the pide

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 350 F
Stir in the dried yeast and sugar in a small bowl and pour in ½ cup warm water. Dissolve the yeast in water, mixing with your fingers. Set aside for the yeast mixture to get frothy for 5 minutes.
Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl.
Make a well in the middle and pour in 2 tbsp. olive oil and the yeast mixture.
Pour in the remaining ½ warm water to the flour mixture. Using your hands, draw in the flour from the sides and work the mixture into a dough.
Knead for 3 -5 minutes, until you reach a soft, smooth dough. The dough gets sticky as you knead, so pour the remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil and stir in additional 2 tbsp. flour to help shape into a soft dough.
Place the dough in large bowl and cover with a cling film. Leave it in a warm place for 1 hour; it will be doubled in size.
In the meantime, prepare your filling. Heat 15ml/1tbsp. olive oil in a wide heavy pan and stir in the onions and peppers.
Sauté the onions and peppers for 2-3 minutes over medium heat, until they start to soften. Stir in the tomatoes and sauté for another 2 minutes. Pour in the lemon juice and season with salt and ground black pepper. Turn the heat off.
Place the ground meat in a bowl and combine the cooked vegetables with the ground meat, mix well. The topping is ready.
Once the dough is risen, place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for a minute then divide the dough into two pieces and roll into two balls.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough balls into 2 oval shapes of 20 cm x 40 cm (about 8”x16”), with ½ cm (0.2”) thickness.
Line a large baking tray with baking paper and place the 2 oval flat bread dough on the tray.
Spread the filling evenly over the 2 flat breads, leaving 2 cm at the edges as a border with no filling (it is easier to spread the filling while the oval flat bread is in the tray).
Fold in the sides to act as border to keep the filling intact. Squeeze the oval dough at each end to make it pointy.
Beat an egg in a small bowl and mix it with 1 tbsp. olive oil. Brush the edges of dough with this mixture.
Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, until the pides are golden brown and crispy at the edges.
Once cool, cut into slices and serve.

Manti, Turkish dumplings with ground meat, onion and spices

By Ozlem Warren on December 18, 2013 in Regional Signature Dishes; Mains, Sides and Desserts, Savory Pastries 57

These delicious tiny treasures, Manti or Mantu, dumplings with spiced ground meat and onion, is one of the all time favorite dishes in Turkey. In especially Anatolia, family members gather to prepare the dough and fill the tiny dough squares with the filling together; it is a bit of a labor of love, so it is great to get together for making it, and so worth the effort. The marriage of the melt-in-the-mouth dumplings with garlic yoghurt sauce and spice infused olive oil is simply irresistible. Tangy Sumac, red pepper flakes and dried mint infused in olive oil all add another layer of deliciousness and work greatly with garlic yoghurt as the sauce for manti.

Manti; delicious dumplings with gound meat filling, served with garlic yoghurt ans spices infused olive oil

Manti; delicious dumplings with ground meat filling, served with garlic yoghurt and spices infused olive oil

The word manti derives from mantu, meaning dumplings. It is a shared culinary heritage that the nomadic Turkish tribes brought with them when they travelled from Central Asia towards Anatolia, today’s Turkey, during the 13^th century. According to Holly Chase, “Turkic and Mongol horsemen on the move were supposed to have carried frozen or dried manti, which could be quickly boiled over a camp”; what a brilliant idea. These delicious dumplings are popular in most Turkic cuisines, as well as in Armenian, Caucasian, Central Asian, Afgan and Chinese Islamic cuisines.

These days you can get pre-made Manti in most supermarkets in Turkey and specialty & online stores abroad.

These days you can easily find these delicious dumplings, manti in every supermarket in Turkey and Turkish specialty stores as well as Middle Eastern stores abroad, but there’s nothing quite like the homemade manti. In our family we make a double batch, bake the dumplings (which gives manti a nice bite) and freeze some of it for a delicious surprise later on, I highly recommend doing it. Traditionally, the filling consists of ground meat, onion and spices, though in Eastern Anatolia the crushed chickpeas with cumin and red pepper flakes are used as filling too and it is delicious vegetarian option.

Delicious, tiny treasures, Manti; Turkish dumplings with spiced ground meat filling.

Tray bake Mantı with spiced chickpeas, Nohutlu Tepsi Mantı from SEBZE. Image credit Sam A Harris

I hope this scrumptious manti maybe a gift of good food, packed with history for your family and friends to share. I also make vegetarian manti, such as this Traybake manti boats with spiced mashed chickpea and caramalised onions filling, Nohutlu Tepsi Mantisi, a specialty from the Bilecik region in Turkiye. This vegetarian manti recipe is at my recent book SEBZE, Vegetarian recipes from my Turkish kitchen. You can get a copy here worldwide.

SEBZE, Vegetarian Recipes From My Turkish Kitchen

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

Serves 4 people

Dough ingredients:

300gr/ 2 cups/ 10 ½ oz. all-purpose plain flour (plus a little extra for rolling)
1 egg, beaten
4 fl. oz. / ¼ cup water

30ml/2 tbsp. olive oil
5ml/1 tsp sea salt

For the filling:

225gr/8oz ground beef or lean ground lamb
1 onion, grated or very finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the garlic yoghurt:

500gr/2 ¼ cups thick and creamy plain yoghurt

1 -2 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped

Salt to taste

For the sauce:

15ml/1 tbsp. Turkish hot pepper paste, biber salcasi (give link) or tomato paste

60ml/4 tbsp. olive oil

10 ml/2 tsp. dried spearmint, kuru nane

5 ml/1 tsp. (or more) ground sumac (optional)

5 ml/ 1 tsp. (or more) Turkish red pepper flakes, chili flakes, pul biber

Preheat the fan oven to 180 C / 350 F

First make the dough. Sift the flour and salt into a wide bowl and make a well in the middle. Pour in the beaten egg and the water and using your hands, draw the flour into the liquid and mix to a dough. Pour in the olive oil and knead the dough for about 5-8 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Manti dough needs to be quite hard; cover the dough with a cling film or kitchen towel and leave to rest in a cold place or in the fridge for 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting, make the filling. Grate or finely chop the onion and combine with the ground meat. Season with salt and ground black pepper and mix well.

In a separate bowl, beat the yoghurt with the garlic and season with salt to your taste.

Spoon a little of the filling, rounded at a size of half a chickpea, into the middle of each square.

Cut the dough into 3 pieces. Working one piece of dough at a time (and cover the rest of the dough pieces with a damp towel in the meantime so they don’t dry out), roll the dough as thinly as you can into a sheet, on a lightly floured surface. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into small squares (roughly 2.5cm/1in). Spoon a little of the filling, rounded at a size of half a chickpea, into the middle of each square.

Pinch the opposite corners to form a little a little pouch and press the seams together to seal firmly.

Bake uncovered for 10 minutes, until the manti, dumplings start to get light golden.

Repeat with the rest of the dough and place the stuffed dumplings in a greased oven proof dish, stacking them next to one another. Bake uncovered for 8-10 minutes, until the manti, dumplings start to get light golden. Take them out of the oven and let the manti cool. You can freeze some of this baked manti in a sealed bag for up to 3 weeks.

Pour the hot water and pinch of salt to a large pan and bring to the boil. Place the baked dumplings gently to the boiling water and simmer for about 8- 10 minutes, until they are cooked. Once cooked, drain the water and return the manti to the pan. Drizzle a little oil over them so that they don’t stick together.

While manti is cooking, prepare your sauce. Heat the oil in a wide pan and add the hot pepper paste, biber salcasi or the tomato paste. Stir in the red pepper flakes, dried mint and sumac, combine well and simmer for 1-2 minutes.

Manti; delicious Turkish dumplings with spiced ground meat, served with garlic yoghurt and spices infused olive oil.

Arrange manti on a warm serving dish and spoon the garlic yogurt over them. Then drizzle spices infused olive oil and tomato/red pepper paste sauce over the garlic yoghurt. You can decorate with extra red pepper flakes, dried mint and sumac and serve immediately.

Afiyet olsun; May you be happy and healthy with this delicious food you eat;

Ozlem