Chocolate Pudding with Tea Biscuits & Coconuts

Chocolate Pudding with Tea Biscuits and Coconuts

This is one of my mother in law Nevzat Ari's signature desserts. She added a twist to the good ol' chocolate pudding by letting the pudding set on tea biscuits. She has a version of this dessert in her refrigerator almost all the time. Although she would mostly garnish it with coconuts, occasionally she would use grated pistachio nuts or walnuts as garnish on top. Sometimes she would make it in individual pudding dishes, but she would mostly make it in a large Pyrex dish as described below. Regardless, with so many grandchildren around, it moves quickly and before you know it, she is in the kitchen making some more. It is a very light dessert, especially if you use non-fat milk. You can experiment with using a bit less sugar if you like. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 5 cups milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 heaping table spoons corn starch
• 2 heaping table spoons cocoa powder
• 8 oz (about 35) Tea Biscuits or Petit Beurres
• 1 cup coconut flakes

You would need a heat resistant dish (Pyrex) approximately 14 in x 10 in. 

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine sugar, starch and cocoa powder. Slowly add 1 cup of milk, stirring with a whisk to make it a smooth mixture. Set aside.

Milk, starch and cocoa mixture

Break tea biscuits into pieces, place them in the Pyrex or other heat resistant dish, making sure pieces are evenly spread.

Tea biscuit pieces placed in a heat resistant dish

In a large pot heat 4 cups of milk, stirring occasionally over medium heat. When it starts to boil, slowly add the chocolate mixture. Continue to stir until it starts to bubble. Remove from heat.

Slowly pour 3/4 of the pudding over the tea biscuit pieces in the Pyrex dish. Gently stir with a spoon making sure pieces are submerged in the pudding. 

3/4 of the chocolate pudding poured over biscuit pieces

 Then add the rest of the pudding to the top, making sure the surface is even and smooth. 

Chocolate pudding is spread over the biscuit pieces

 Let it cool to room temperature. Sprinkle coconut flakes over the set pudding. Chill in the refrigerator for at least ½ hour before serving.

Coconut flakes are sprinkled over the chocolate pudding

Cut into squares to serve on individual plates.

Chocolate Pudding with tea biscuits and coconuts

 Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Fava Beans in Olive Oil – Zeytinyagli Bakla

Fava Beans in Olive Oil – Zeytinyagli Bakla

Fava Beans in Olive Oil - Zeytinyagli Bakla

Ingredients:

• 1 lb fresh fava beans
• 4 cups water
• 1 heaping table spoon flour + 1 teaspoon flour
• Juice of 1 lemon
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
• 1 ½ cups boiling water
• Salt to taste
• 1/3 cup fresh dills, chopped
• Yogurt to serve

Directions:

Remove the strings of fava beans by cutting out the strings on each side or pulling the strings out. If a piece of bean is too big, remove the beans from inside, discarding the outside. Wash and drain.

Place 1 table spoon flour in a large bowl, slowly add water, dissolving the flour at first, then add the rest of the water and lemon juice. Put the beans into this water, set aside. Lemon and flour in the water will preserve the fresh color of the beans, avoiding darkening of the color.

In a large pot, sauté onions in olive oil for about 3-4 minutes. Drain the beans, discard the flour water. Add beans to the pot. In a small bowl combine 1 teaspoon of flour with 1 1/2 cup boiling water, stirring to dissolved the flour. Add the flour water to the pot. Add sugar and salt to taste. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Then reduce the heat to slow, let it simmer until the beans are tender, about 30-45 minutes depending on the size and freshness of the beans. When cooked, remove from heat, sprinkle fresh dill on it. Serve at room temperature with yogurt.

Fresh Fava Beans

Fava beans with strings removed

Fava beans in water with flour and lemon juice

Fava beans in olive oil served with fresh dills and yogurt

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Yogurt Dip with Walnuts & Herbs - Haydari

Haydari - Yogurt Dip with Walnuts and Herbs

Haydari - Yogurt Dip with Walnuts & Herbs

Haydari is a typical meze (appetizer) made with strained (thick) yogurt.  You can strain regular yogurt and keep it in the refrigerator to be used for dips and mezes. To make strained yogurt, first place a cheese cloth or muslin on a sieve. Place the sieve over a large bowl.  Put a tub of yogurt into the sieve. Let it drain in the refrigerator for at about 12 hours. If you let it drain for 24 hours, yogurt will be very thick, a bit softer than cream cheese. I started with 2 cups of yogurt, after leaving it in the fridge overnight, I ended up with 1 1/2 cups of strained yogurt. If you don't want to wait, then substitute Greek style yogurt for this dip.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups strained yogurt (or Greek style thick yogurt)
• 3 tablespoons feta cheese, grated
• 2 table spoons fresh dill, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup walnuts, finely chopped
• 1 table spoon lemon juice
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil for garnish
• 1 teaspoon paprika for garnish

Directions:
Mix all ingredients with a spoon until well blended. Place in a serving dish. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with paprika. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint or dills.

Strained Yogurt

Strained yogurt and grated feta cheese

Walnuts, mint, dill and minced garlic

Haydari - Yogurt Dip with Walnuts and Herbs

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Apricot Jam – Kayisi Reçeli

Apricot Jam

With their velvety skin, “melts in your mouth” taste and fantastic aroma, apricots are undoubtedly one of the delicacies of summer.

Apricot jam is great on bread for breakfast, but you can also use it as a refreshing fruit sauce over ice cream. Recipe below calls for 2 cups of sugar, but depending on how ripe or tart the fruit is, you may need to add more sugar to it.

Apricots

Ingredients:

• 1 lb apricots
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:

Wash apricots, remove pits and cut each one into 4 pieces. Place apricot in a bowl. Pour sugar over apricot. Leave for about 2 hours or overnight. Apricots will release their juices, forming a syrup. Place apricots with the syrup in a pot. Add lemon juice and bring to a boil over medium heat. When it starts to boil, reduce heat to low and let it simmer. Remove any foam that might form on the top with a spoon. Take a small spoonful of the cooking mixture, place on a plate, let it cool and taste to see if it is sweet enough. Add sugar if necessary, stir gently. Cook until apricots are translucent and the syrup thickens, about 20 minutes. Let it cool to room temperature. Place in a glass jar and keep in the refrigerator.

Apricots cut into pieces

Apricots covered with sugar

Apricots release their juices

Apricots cooking in their syrup

Apricot jam

 Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Purslane with Ground Beef – Kiymali Semiz Otu

Here we go, two purslane recipes backt o back! Spring and summer are the time a lot of olive oil based vegetable dishes are cooked in Western Turkey. Though most of them are vegetarian dishes, some have meat in them. This recipe has ground beef, but you can modify the recipe by deleting the meat or adding ground turkey instead.

Purslane with Ground Beef

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup olive oil
•  1 medium onion, sliced
•  3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 4 oz extra lean ground beef
• ½ cup chopped fresh (or canned) tomatoes
• 4 bunches of purslane
• salt & pepper to taste

For the garlicky yogurt sauce:

• 1 cup yogurt
• 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed

Directions:

Nip tender portions with the stem (top 1 inch) and pick the leaves on the bottom portion without the stems. Wash thoroughly and drain in a colander.

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and ground beef, sauté for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, sauté for another 5 minutes. Add purslane and black pepper. Cover the lid and let it simmer over low heat until purslane is tender, about 10-12 minutes. Add salt and remove from heat. Serve hot with plain yogurt or with garlicky yogurt.

Purslane

Purslane pieces, slices onions and garlic and ground beef

Sauted ground beef, onions, garlic and tomatoes

Purslane cooked, ready to be served

Purslane with ground beef

Purslane Salad with Garlic Yogurt

Purslane Salad with Garlic Yogurt

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch purslane (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup yogurt
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• Salt to taste

Directions:

Nip tender portions of the purslane with the stem (top 1 inch) and pick the leaves on the bottom portion without the stems. Wash thoroughly and drain in a colander.

Arrange purslane greens on a shallow serving dish.

In a bowl, mix yogurt and crushed garlic very well. Add salt and mix until it is smooth.

Pour garlic yogurt over purslane leaves. It will cover most of it. Garnish with a sprig or two of purslane. Serve chilled.

Purslane pieces

Purslane pieces arranged on a serving dish

Yogurt and garlic to be mixed

Purslane salad with garlic yogurt

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Swiss Chards with Bulgur in Olive Oil – Zeytinyagli Bulgurlu Pazi

Swiss Chards with Bulgur in Olive Oil

This dish is a sort of "West meets East" version of the traditional Swiss Chard dish from Turkey. Swiss chard in olive oil is usually cooked with rice in it. I changed the rice with bulgur (mostly used in Eastern Turkish cuisine) to enhance the taste and to make it healthier. Hope you like this version.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 bunches of Swiss Chards (about 6 large leaves)
• 2 table spoons No 2 or No 3 bulgur
• pinch of crushed red peppers (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

For the garlicky yogurt sauce:

• 1 cup yogurt
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

Wash Swiss chards. Remove the toughest parts of the stalk, discard. Cut the rest into pieces about ½ “ thick. It will make about 4 cups of cut chards.

Place bulgur in a strainer and wash it, set aside. It will absorb some water and will cook easily.

Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and crushed red pepper (optional) and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add Swiss chards, bulgur, and black pepper. Cover the lid and let it simmer over low heat. The idea of cooking it over low heat is to let the chard release its juices so that you won't have to add any water to cook it. It will take about 15 minutes to cook. Add salt and remove from heat. Serve hot or at room temperature with plain yogurt or with garlicky yogurt.

Swiss Chards

Sliced onions and garlic with rinsed bulgur

Swiss chards cooked, ready to be served

Swiss chards with bulgur in olive oil

 

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!