Carrots Braised in Olive Oil - Zeytinyağlı Havuç

Carrots Braised in Olive Oil

Carrots and onions sautéed in olive oil is a simple dish. Easy to prepare and takes less than 15 minutes to cook. Typically a table spoon full of rice is also added to the dish, however, I always omit the rice. This recipe calls for fresh dill for garnish, parsley would work just as well. 

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs (about 8 medium) carrots, peeled
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped (optional) for garnish

Directions:
Wash and peel the carrots. Diagonally cut them in 1/4 inch thick slices. Peel and chop the onion. In a large pan, saute onions in olive oil over medium heat, about 3 minutes. Add carrots, salt and pepper and stir. Add boiling water. Cover the pot and reduce heat to slow. Let it cook until all vegetables are tender, about 7-8 minutes.

Transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle chopped fresh dill as garnish (optional). This could be served hot or at room temperature like most Turkish style olive-oil based vegetable dishes.

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Carrots chopped diagonally

Chopped onions

Carrots braised in olive oil ready to serve

Carrots braised in olive oil

Quinoa Pilaf with Garbanzo Beans - Nohutlu Kinoa Pilavı

Quinoa Pilaf with Garbanzo Beans

OK, I admit I did not know what quinoa was until just a few years ago. But then, who did? I was trying to stay away from white rice and was very proud to use bulgur (cracked wheat) as an alternative for pilafs. After all, bulgur is whole wheat and has low glycemic index, it was all good. Since I add vegetables and garbanzo beans to it, I was very happy to cook nutritious bulgur pilafs. That is until we all learned about gluten and what it could do to our bodies, our brains. Naturally, I got myself a bag of "organic quinoa" and cooked it exactly per the directions on the bag. It was soggy and pretty much tasteless. My husband's comment was "this is bird food, why did you cook it?". I had to experiment with the way I cooked it. First lesson to learn was "not to follow the instructions" on the bag. You actually need less water than they tell you to cook with. I wanted enhance the taste, so I added lots of onions, bell peppers and garbanzo beans, black pepper and turmeric and voila! The result was a delicious alternative to rice and bulgur pilafs. Now all of my family (including the hubby) are not only used to it, but they actually like it a lot. This is a very simple recipe, but it will make quinoa an everyday dish on your table. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups quinoa
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 3 cups boiling water
• 1 15 oz can garbanzo beans
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne or crushed red pepper (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Wash and drain quinoa. Saute onions in olive oil in a pan over medium high heat for about 2 minutes. Add chopped bell peppers, continue to saute until vegetables are wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Add boiling water and the rest of the ingredients, cover the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let it simmer until the water is absorbed. Remove and serve hot.

Note: This dish freezes very well. You can make a big batch and freeze some in small containers to be used later. It does not lose it taste or texture by freezing.

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Quinoa Pilaf Ingredients

Quinoa Pilaf sauteed onions

Quinoa Pilaf sauteed onions and peppers

Quinoa Pilaf cooking

Quinoa Pilaf cooked

Quinoa Pilaf with Garbanzo Beans

Simple and Delicious Green Lentil Salad with Herbs - Maydanozlu Yeşil Mercimek Salatası

 Green Lentil Salad with Herbs

My friend Zinnur, ever so busy, somehow always finds time to get the friends together at her house. This salad was everybody's favorite at the last dinner party she had. Simple, yet delicious lentil salad. Cumin gives the salad its authentic Middle Eastern flavor and of course as a natural remedy for gas and indigestion, it goes very well with lentils as it does with beans. Cumin also has antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-diabetic properties. So, enjoy the flavor and feel good about eating this salad.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup green lentils
• 1 tea spoon salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 table spoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
• 45-5 green onions (about 1/2 cup), finely chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Bring water to a boil in a pot over medium high heat. Add rinsed lentils and a teaspoon of salt, stir. When it starts to boil, reduce heat to low and let it simmer until lentils are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain, do NOT rinse lentils; place them in a bowl. Add olive oil while lentils are still hot. This allows lentils absorb the flavor. Wait until lentils cool down to room temperature. Taste the lentils, if they need salt, add salt to your taste. Add all other ingredients, gently stir with a spoon. Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with a few sprigs of parsley. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Afiyet olsun! Bon Appetit!

Dry Green Lentils

Green onions, parsley and cumin

Green Lentil Salad ready to be tossed

Green Lentil Salad with Herbs

Roasted Bell Peppers in Lemon Garlic Sauce - Tarator Soslu Közlenmiş Patlıcan

Tarator is a garlic-olive oil based sauce that is commonly used in summer salads in Western Turkey. Cooked long string beans (börülce), zucchini, peppers of all kinds are transformed into zesty salads simply by adding the tarator sauce to them. If you were to make it the old fashioned way, here's what you do: First garlic and salt are made into a paste with a mortar and pestle. Then in a bowl, as you continuously twirl this garlic paste in the same direction, you ever so slowly add small amounts of olive oil. This mixture slowly starts to thicken and starts looking like a creamy mayonnaise. When it is "just the right consistency", you add lemon juice and water to the sauce. Knowing when to stop adding olive oil is the tricky part. Because if you add more than you should, then the oil and garlic will separate and it will no longer look creamy. Back in the day, in our neck of the woods, this used to be a measure of how good a cook a woman is. Nowadays, one no longer has to master this craft thanks to blenders and food processors,

The sauce can be prepared in advance and can be stored in the refrigerator like any salad dressing.

If you like, you can roast fresh peppers and make it more authentic, however, roasted peppers that come in a jar work well since the sauce add plenty of flavor. Enjoy!

Roasted Bell Peppers in Lemon Garlic Sauce - Taratorlu Kozlenmis Patlican

Ingredients:

• 1 19oz jar or roasted bell peppers

Dressing:

• 6-7 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• juice of 1-2 lemons
• ½ cup water
• Salt to taste

Garnish:

• ¼ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Rinse and drain the roasted bell peppers, pat dry with a paper towel, cut into bite-size pieces, arrange them in a serving dish.

To prepare the dressing, mince garlic with a garlic press. Place garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and salt into a food processor or a blender. Blend until it is smooth. It will thicken as it emulsifies. Taste to see if you need to add more lemon juice or salt. Add water and mix again.

Pour dressing over the roasted bell peppers. Garnish with chopped walnuts. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Ingredients

Roasted bell peppers cut into pieces

Roasted Bell Peppers in Lemon-Garlic Sauce

Red Beet Green Apple Salad

Red Beet Green Apple Salad

I don't believe there are any Turkish recipes that use raw beets. Typically in Turkish Cuisine, beets are cooked before they are added to salads or mezes. That said, when I was visiting my family in Izmir in April, one of our long time family friends, Yildiz abla made us a beet salad to die for. Simple, yet delicious, a bright colored, zesty salad made with raw beets, green apples, herbs and walnuts. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 large or two small red beet
• 1 large green apple (Granny Smith)
• ¼ cup fresh dill, finely chopped
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• ¼ cup walnuts, chopped
• 2 green onions, finely chopped (optional)
• ½ cup fine bulgur
• 1 cup boiling water
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 table spoon pomegranate paste/molasses (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A few sprigs of parsley or dill for garnish

Directions:

Peel the red beet, wash and grate using the fine side of the grater. Place it in a large bowl.

Wash and grate the green apple using the coarse side of the grater. Add it to the bowl. 

Place bulgur in a separate bowl. Add boiling water to it. Stir with a spoon, let it sit for a couple of minutes allowing bulgur to soak the water in. Using a strainer, drain excess water. Add bulgur to the bowl, mix with a spoon.

Finely chop dill and parsley.  Add the herbs and chopped walnuts to the bowl. Mix gently with a spoon. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, pomegranate paste (optional), salt and pepper. Stir with a spoon. Cover the bowl and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes allowing all the flavors to come out.

Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with fresh parsley or dill leaves.

Bon Appetit! Afiyet Olsun!

Peeled beet, green apple, dill and parsley

Finely Grated Beets

Coarsly Grated Greeen Apples

Chopped dill and parsley

Bulgur soaked in hot water

Chopped walnuts

Red Beet Green Apple Salad

 

Cauliflower Tabule Salad

Cauliflower Tabule (Tabbouleh) Salad - Karnıbahar Kısırı

Tabule (Tabbouleh) is a traditional Lebanese salad made with fine bulgur, finely chopped herbs, seasoned with olive oil and lemon juice. Turkish version, called “Kısır”, has less green herbs, sometimes with added chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. My friend Semra suggested that I try using cauliflowers instead of bulgur. Hesitantly I gave it a try and the result was a delicious salad with less calories and no gluten.

Enjoy!

Cauliflower Tabule Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cauliflowers
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• ¼ cup fresh dill, finely chopped
• ¼ cup fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1 cup tomatoes, chopped
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A few sprigs of mint for garnish

Directions:

Remove cauliflower florets from the cauliflower head, discarding the stems. Wash and drain. Place in a food processor and chop until florets turn into small particles. Place cauliflower in a large bowl.

Finely chop all herbs. Cut tomatoes into small pieces. Add all into the bowl. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Mix well with a spoon. Cover the bowl and let it chill in the refrigerator allowing flavors to mix. 

Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Bon Appetit! Afiyet Olsun!

Finely Chopped Cauliflowers

Finely Chopped Herbs

Chopped Tomatoes

All ingredients mixed

Cauliflower Tabule Salad

Spinach Purée with Cheese

Spinach Purée with Cheese

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs fresh baby spinach
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1  cup grated romano or parmesan cheese, divided
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Wash, drain and finely chop spinach. Place it in a large pot. Cook over medium heat until the water it releases evaporates, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, set aside to cool. Squeeze dry the spinach to get rid of excess moisture.

In a separate pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and using a whisk, continuously stir the flour-butter mixture for about 3-4 minutes. Slowly add milk while stirring the mixture with a whisk to avoid lumps. Add ¾ of the grated cheese, stir. Add spinach, stir with a spoon. Continue to cook until the mixture is hot, stirring frequently.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat, place in a serving dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top, serve hot.

Bon Appétit! Afiyet Olsun!

Spinach finely chopped

Spinach cooked

Spinach is added to the white sauce

Grated cheese is added to spinach purée

Spinach Purée with Cheese

Kale Salad with Tahini Dressing

Kale Salad with Tahini Dressing

Ingredients:

• 6 cups baby kale
• 1 medium green apple, sliced
• 1 medium orange, peeled
• 1 small avocado, diced
• 2  Tbsp hemp seeds (optional)
• 2-3 Tbsp raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 1/2 cup oranges
• 1/2 small sweet onion, thinly sliced (optional)
• black pepper to taste

Dressing:

• 2 1/2 Tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
• 3 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon avocado or grape seed oil
• 1 tsp pomegranate molasses

Directions:
For dressing, mix together all ingredients with a whisk or by shaking in a bottle. Taste and make adjustments to your taste. I usually at least quadruple the recipe and save the left over dressing in the fridge for future use with other salads. Set aside the dressing.

Wash and drain kale. Remove any stems that are sticking out. 

Cut apple into slices and then cut each slice across in thin triangles.

Peel oranges with a knife, exposing the juicy orange part. Cut oranges in half lengthwise. Place on the flat side. Cut each half again lengthwise, then slice across.

Combine kale, apples and oranges in a large bowl. Add thinly sliced onions (optional). Add enough dressing to cover the leaves. Toss well to make sure the dressing is evenly distributed. Add hemp (optional) and pumpkin seeds, avocados and gently toss again. Transfer to a serving dish, serve chilled.

Bon Appetit! Afiyet Olsun!

Baby kale

Baby kale stems removed

Kale Salad ingredients

Kale Salad ready for tossing

Kale Salad with Tahini Dressing

Savory Dill and Cheese Pastry

Savory Dill and Cheese pastry

Savory treats are my favorites for tea time. My friend Nur served these to us with coffee and they were an istant hit with everyone. They are very easy to make and freeze very well. If you freeze, when ready to serve, take them out of the freezer, put them in a preheated oven for 5 minutes. They will taste like they just came fresh out of the oven. You can use olive oil, as well as any other healthy oil like walnut or avocado oil.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup yogurt
• ½ cup oil
• 2 eggs (one yolk separated for glazing)
• 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Black caraway seeds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Separate one egg yolk, save it for glazing the top of the pastry later. In a large bowl, mix yogurt, oil, and eggs with a whisk. Add crumbled feta cheese and dill, mix with a spoon. Add flour and baking powder. Mix well with a spoon. Cover the dough and let it chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.

Grease a cookie sheet. Take a walnut size piece of the dough, roll it between your palms into a ball and place on the cookie sheet. Repeat until all dough is used. Dough will yield about 40 pieces. Add a table spoon of water into the egg yolk, mix well. Brush the egg yolk over the pastry balls. Sprinkle black caraway seeds over the pastry. Bake in the oven until golden brown (about 30-45 minutes). Serve hot or at room temperature. 

Bon Appetit! Afiyet Olsun!

Yogurt, oil, feta cheese and fresh dill

Dough is ready to go in the refrigerator

Chilled dough

Pasty balls ready for glazing

Pastry balls glazed, ready for baking

Savory dill and cheese pastry fresh out of the oven

Savory dill and cheese pastry

Savory dill and cheese pastry