Celery Root Salad - Kereviz Salatası

Celery Root Salad - Kereviz Salatası

Here's very health salad that you can also serve as a dip or as a topping for crackers or pita wedges for an appetizer plate. Raw celery root and yogurt make the base of this delicious dish, garlic and walnuts jazz it up. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/2 celery root, peeled, grated (about 2 cups)
1-2 cloves garlic, mashed
1/2 cup strained (or Greek style) yogurt
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped + a couple of walnut halves for garnish (optional)
1 table spoon orange juice
Salt and pepper to taste
A few sprigs of fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Mix all ingredients well. Transfer to a serving plate. Garnish with walnut halves and chopped fresh parsley or other herbs (optional).

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Celery Root

Celery Root Peeled

Celery Root Grated

Chopped Walnuts

Celery Root Salad - Kereviz Salatası

Spinach and Mushrooms in Olive Oil - Zeytinyağlı Mantarlı Ispanak

Spinach and Mushrooms in Olive Oil - Zeytinyağlı Mantarlı Ispanak

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 small or 1/2 medium onion, sliced
• 1 lb baby spinach
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1 table spoons No 1 or No 2 size bulgur (cracked wheat)
• 1 medium tomato, finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Wash and drain spinach and mushrooms separately. Cut onion in 4 pieces and slice.

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 and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, tomatoes, and bulgur, continue to sauté for about 5 more minutes over slow heat. Add spinach, salt and pepper. Cover the lid and let it simmer over low heat until spinach is tender but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Spinach and tomato juices will allow you to cook it without adding any water to the pot. Serve hot or at room temperature with plain yogurt.

Onion, mushrooms and tomatoes sautéed, bulgur added

Spinach added to the sautéed vegetables, cooked, ready to be served

Served with a spoonful of yogurt on the side

Lemonade - Limonata

Lemonade - Limonata

Lemonade, simplest of beverages, yet, still the favorite on a hot summer day for people of all ages all around the world. I will share my sister Nuvit's recipe; pure, simple and perfect... Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 6 lemons - you'll use the zest and the juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 cups chilled water

For Garnish (optional):

• A few slices of lemon
• Sprigs of fresh mint

Directions:

Using a fine grater or a lemon zester, remove the outer skin of the lemon, place the zest in a bowl. Add sugar to it and mix it well by rubbing the zest against the sugar to get the lemon scent and oils onto the sugar. You can use a pestle for this, but if you don't have one, simply mix the two together with a spoon, place the mixture in a large bowl and set aside for 15 minutes to let the flavors mix.

Squeeze the juice of 6 lemons. Add the lemon juice and the water to the large bowl.

Strain it into a pitcher through a cheese cloth lined mesh strainer. Chill before serving.
Garnish (optional) with slices of lemon or sprigs of mint.

Start with 6 lemons

Lemon zest

Lemonade - Limonata

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Layered Cauliflower-Broccoli Salad - Katlı Karnıbahar-Brokoli Salatası

Cauliflower-Broccoli Salad - Karnıbahar-Brokoli Salatası

Ingredients:
1 medium cauliflower
1 lb broccoli
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Wash and cut the vegetables into florets. Boil or steam the vegetables seperately until they are tender. Strain and set aside to cool.

Place the vegetables into the bowl in layers. For the first layer, put the broccoli florets with the green sides down, stems up since the bottom will be top layer when you turn the bowl upside down to serve the salad. Use cauliflower for the second layer. Place in a way that the flowers face the side of the bowl with stems facing inside. Repeat the layering again; one more layer of broccoli, another of cauliflower. When you are done with vegetables, place plastic wrap on the bowl, gently press on the vegetables.

Prepare the dressing in a small bowl by mixing the lemon juice, oil, mustard, salt and pepper together. Add the dressing to the vegetables. At first it will look very juicy on top, but slowly vegetables will absorb the dressing. Chill the covered bowl in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. When ready to serve, place a flat serving plate over the bowl and turn it upside down transferring the salad onto the serving dish. Your green and white striped salad is ready!

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Broccoli and cauliflower cut into florets

First layer: Broccoli with green side down, stems up

Second layer: Couliflower, flowers facing out, stems in

Top layer - flowers facing out, stems in

Cover the top with plastic wrap, gently press

Salad Dressing

Dressing added to the salad bowl

Side view right after adding the salad dressing

30 minutes later: vegetables are absorbing the salad dressing

2 Hours later: Salad is ready to be served

Layered Cauliflower-Broccoli Salad

Uzbek Pilaf with Chicken - Tavuklu Özbek Pilavı

Uzbek Pilaf with Chicken - Tavuklu Özbek Pilavı

Uzbek Pilaf is traditionally prepared with lamb browned in butter or lamb fat. I've modified the recipe by using chicken instead of lamb and by olive oil with a touch of butter instead of using butter or lamb fat. Simmered in a rich stew of chicken, vegetables and spices, rice absorbs all the flavors, making this pilaf a favorite main dish by itself.


Ingredients:

• 2 cups rice
• 1 small or medium onion, chopped
• 1 lb chicken, cut into byte size pieces (about 4 small thighs or breasts)
• 2 medium carrots, julienne cut
• 2 table spoons olive oil
• 1 table spoon butter
• 2 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 table spoon currants
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Soak rice in hot tap water for about 15 minutes. Sauté chicken in olive oil for 2 minutes. Add onions, saute for 2 more minutes, add carrots, saute for another 3 minutes. Add boiling water, butter, cumin, currants and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer for about 2-3 minutes. Drain rice and add to the pot. Simmer over low heat until rice is cooked, about 10 minutes.

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Julienne cut carrots, chopped onions and currants

Boneless, skinless chicken cut into small pieces

Chicken and onions sautéed

Carrots are added

All ingredients are in ...cooking

Uzbek Pilaf cooked, ready to be served

Uzbek Pilaf with Chicken - Tavuklu Özbek Pilavı

Mom's Chicken Soup - Tavuklu Şehriye Çorbası

Chicken Soup - Tavuklu Şehriye Çorbası

Oh, the comfort of mom's chicken soup on a cold day! Whether it is a cold day, or you  have a cold, or even when you just don't feel good, I believe chicken soup has a way of soothing your senses...

This version made with orzo, a form of pasta shaped like a large grain of rice. Kids of all ages love it. Try it!

Ingredients:

• 1 small chicken, boiled
• 4 cups chicken broth (home made by boiling the chicken)
• 1 medium tomato, finely chopped
• 1 heaping teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 cup orzo (rice shaped pasta)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tea spoon butter (optional)
• A few wedges of lemon (optional)

Directions:
In a large pot, boil chicken with plenty of water and a dash of salt. I use smallest organic chicken I can find. Smaller the chicken, more tenter the meat. After it starts to boil, foam will form on top of the broth. Remove the foam, discard it. Boil the chicken until it is fully cooked and the meat comes out easily when you insert a fork into it. Remove the chicken and set it aside to cool.

Using a strainer, take 4 cups of the boiling chicken broth and put it in a pot. Add tomatoes, orzo, butter(optional) and salt and peper to the boiling broth. Cook over low to medium heat until orzo is tender, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Remove skin and bones from the chicken. Take desired amount of meat. Cut it into small pieces and add the chicken to the soup. Gently mix with a spoon. Some like it with a touch of lemon juice, so, serve hot with a wedge of lemon (optional) on the side.

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit 

Orzo- rice shaped pasta

Chopped tomatoes and tomato paste

Chicken soup cooking

Boiled chicken cut into small pieces

Chicken added to the soup

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Eggplants Stuffed with Tomatoes, Onions and Garlic in Olive Oil - Imam Bayıldı

Eggplants Stuffed with Onions and Garlic in Olive Oil - Imam Bayıldı

The name of this famous dish  "Imam Bayıldı" means "Priest Fainted", supposedly with pleasure after eating this dish. The original recipe calls for frying the eggplants first, before cooking them with the rest of the ingredients. Based on my friend Fatos' recipe, I've tried roasting them instead. It turned out delicious, so my recipe was modified forever.

It has simple ingredients, yet is a very tasty eggplant dish. Traditionally served at room temperature as a side dish or as meze/appetizer. I hope you enjoy it as much as "imam" did.

Ingredients:

• 6 medium eggplants
  ( I use light purple Japanese eggplants since they have less seeds in them)
• 4 table spoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, each cut in 2-3 pieces
• 3 large tomatoes, skinned and chopped
• 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped

Directions:

Wash and roast the eggplants on barbecue. Put aside, let them cool down, peel the skins, set aside.

Cut onions in half and thinly slice. In a pan, sauté onions in olive oil over medium heat for about 4 minutes. Add garlic and tomatoes. Add sugar (optional), salt and pepper to your taste. Cover and let it simmer over low-medium heat until all vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. If the tomatoes are juicy, you won't need to add any water. If not, add a glass of boiling water to the pot to let the vegetables simmer in the sauce. Right after removing it from heat, add chopped parsley, gently stir.  This will be the filling for the eggplants.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange eggplants in an oven safe dish. Gently open the middle part of the eggplants lengthwise. Using a spoon, place vegetable filling in the middle of each eggplant. Try to take the vegetables only, leaving most of the sauce in the pot. Using a spoon, pour some of the sauce left in the pot around the eggplants. Place the dish in the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes. Let it cool to room temperature. Transfer to a serving dish, enjoy!

Onions, garlic and tomatoes cooked in olive oil

Add chooped parsley to the filling

Arrange roasted eggplants in an oven-safe dish

Middle of the eggplants are gently opened to put the filling in

Eggplants are filled with cooked vegetables

Fresh out of the oven

Imam Bayildi - Eggplants Stuffed with Onions, Garlic and Tomatoes

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!