Plum Preserves - Erik Reçeli

Plum Preserves

At the peak of summer, local farmers markets are bursting with colorful fruits and vegetables. I bought two different kinds of plums. One had deep purple skin, yellowish meat inside. It was very juicy and sweet. The other kind had greenish skin and bright red meat inside. As mouth watering as it looked, it was very tart. I thought it would make great preserves, and it did indeed!

This is good with cream cheese over toast, but, you can also use it over ice cream or cakes as you would use raspberry sauce. Recipe calls for 2 cups of sugar, however, depending on how tart the fruit is, you may need to add more sugar.

Ingredients:

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

Directions:

Wash plums, remove pits and cut each one into slices. Place plums in a bowl. Pour sugar over them. Leave for about 4 hours or overnight (in the refrigerator). Plums will release their juices, forming a syrup. Place plums 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 plums are translucent and the syrup thickens, about 20-30 minutes. Skins of plums will be floating in the sauce. Let the preserves cool to room temperature. Place in a food processor or a blender. Blend for a few seconds until the plum skins are blended into the sauce forming a fairly smooth texture. Pour preserves in glass jars and keep in the refrigerator.

Plums

Sugar poured over sliced plums

Plums start releasing their juices

Plums in syrup formed by sugar & released juices

Plum preserves

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Arugula Salad with Tuna and Roasted Eggplants - Ton Balıklı Roka Salatası

Tuna Salad with Arugula and Roasted Eggplants

Ingredients:

• 1 5 oz can of Solid Tuna in water
• 1+3 table spoons extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of ½ lemon
• ½ cup cooked garbanzo beans
• ·         2 small to medium Japanese eggplants
• 1-2 cups fresh Arugula leaves
• 1 slice of goat cheese or feta cheese
• Crushed red pepper (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

If you use canned garbanzo beans, drain well. In a non-stick pan sauté garbanzo beans in 1 table spoon of olive oil for 3 minutes, set aside.

Drain tuna well. In a small bowl, mix remaining 3 table spoons of olive oil and lemon juice.  Add 1 table spoon of this dressing to tuna, mix well. Add black pepper (optional) to your taste. Set aside.

Wash and dry eggplants. Peel  portions of the skin lengthwise, leaving it with a striped look. Cut the eggplants in half and cut each peace into thin slices. Roast eggplant slices on a grill until they are tender.

Wash arugula leaves. Cut them into bite size pieces. Place the leaves on a serving plate. Drizzle the olive oil-lemon juice dressing over the arugula leaves. Put tuna on top of it. Add garbanzo beans and the slice of cheese to the plate. Sprinkle crushed red pepper (optional), salt and pepper to your taste.

Peeled and sliced eggplants

Roased eggplant slices

Roasted garbanzo beans

Tuna Salad with Arugula and Roasted Eggplants

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Walnut Stuffed Figs – Cevizli Kuru İncir Tatlısı

Walnut Stuffed Figs – Cevizli Kuru İncir Tatlısı

I grew up in the Western part of Turkey. The region we lived in (Aydin) is famous for its figs. When I was a kid, figs were never sold in the market or stores. Most everybody in our town had fig groves. For those families like mine who were not farmers, your neighbors would send you baskets full of fresh figs almost every morning. They were huge baskets (or maybe I was little), lined with grape leaves at the bottom to serve as a cushion for the fruits, a layer of grapes on the leaves and figs on the top. They only pick the very ripe ones and so early in the morning that there would still be dew on the fruit. 

Figs are very rich in fiber. For this reason I guess, adults used to warn us kids that if we drink too much water after eating figs, we would have diarrhea. Luckyly nobody ever listened to the advise. We did eat figs and drank water to our hearts' desire, and of course, nothing happened.

Come winter, we had dried figs. Most evenings, for dessert, people used to eat dried figs with walnuts stuffed in them. I call them fig bombs. They are delicious though not exactly your low calorie snack. 

Figs stuffed with walnuts: Fig Bombs!

My grandmother used to make this dessert with dry figs at least a couple of times every winter.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb dried figs
• 2 cups warm water to soak the figs
• 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 table spoon unsalted butter
• Handful of walnuts for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Wash and drain the figs. In a bowl, let the figs soak in warm water for 30 minutes.

Put butter in a shallow pot. Heat the pot until butter melts. Spread the butter to the bottom as evenly as possible. Turn off heat.

Remove figs from water. Cut the tops. Open up a hole at the top. Fill each fig with walnuts. Place them in the shallow pot with the openings at the top.

In a separate pot, combine milk, water and sugar. Warm it, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Add the milk mixture to the figs. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat, let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat. Let it cool to room temperature. Transfer to a serving plate. Garnish with walnuts.

Dry Figs

Tops removed, ready to be stuffed

Coarsly chopped walnuts

Figs stuffed with walnuts

Stuffed figs cooking in milk-sugar mixture

Walnut Stuffed Figs – Cevizli Kuru İncir Tatlısı

 Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Shepherd's Salad - Çoban Salatası

Shepherd's Salad -  Çoban Salatası

Especially popular during summer, Shepherd's Salad (Çoban Salatası) is light, refreshing and easy to make. It is a combination of finely chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, onions and flat leaf parsley (optional) dressed in lemon juice and, of course, extra virgin olive oil.

Shepherds take their food with them every morning as they take the herd to the hills and valleys. They would take whole tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and onions with them. When they get hungry, they would chop all the vegetables, mix them together and the result is a delicious, light meal. The olive oil - lemon juice dressing mixed with the juices of cut tomatoes is delicious and perfect to dip your bread in.

This salad is similar to the Greek Salad. When I visited Greek Island, I saw that the difference between Greek Salad and Turkish Shepherd's Salad is that in the Turkish version, the vegetables are finely chopped whereas the Greeks cut them in larger pieces. Greeks top the salad with a big, thick slice of feta cheese. Turkish version does not have any cheese in it.

Ingredients:

• 2 large tomatoes, finely chopped (preferably skinned)
• 2-4 small sweet green peppers, cored, seeds removed, finely sliced
• 2-3 Persian cucumbers, skinned, finely sliced
• 1 small onion, cut in quarters, finely sliced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley (optional)
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
In a large bowl combine all ingredients, mix gently with a spoon. Transfer to a serving dish. Serve chilled.

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Cucumber Salad with Yogurt

Cucumber Salad with Yogurt

Here's a refreshing salad for hot summer days that is easy to make. I use small cucumbers that are sold as Persian cucumbers. They have very thin skin, so if you wash them well, you can eat them without peeling the skin. Real authentic Turkish version of this salad is called CACIK, which is more like a cold soup than a salad. It has the same ingredients, but water is added to the yogurt to make it thinner. You eat "cacik" with a spoon. It accompanies many main dishes like kebabs, stuffed eggplants, cooked dry beans, etc. The recipe below is thicker than traditional "cacik". Since it is thicker, you don't have to have a separate dish to serve it and a side salad suits the Western taste better than a cold soup. Hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients:

• 3 Small Persian cucumbers (about 2 cups)
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed (optional)
• 1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
• Salt to taste
• Sprigs of fresh dill or parsley for garnishing

Directions:
Clean and peel cucumbers. Cut in quarters lengthwise. Cut long pieces into thin slices. Combine yogurt, garlic(optional), dill and salt in a large bowl. Mix well with a spoon until smooth. Add cucumber and gently mix with a spoon making sure the yogurt mixture is well blended with cucumber. Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with fresh dill. Serve chilled.

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Garbanzo Bean Dip with Cumin and Dill

Garbanzo Bean Dip with Cumin and Dills

This is a dip similar to hummus, except that it does not have tahini (sesame paste) in it. Not having sesame paste in it, this version is lighter than hummus. Cumin and fresh dill gives its special taste. It goes great with pita bread wedges.

Ingredients:

• 1 15 oz can organic garbanzo beans
• 2 table spoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 table spoons lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1/2 cup fresh dill
• 1 teaspoon paprika or hot chili powder, or a mixture of the two
• Salt to taste
• Olives, slices of tomoto and a few sprigs of dill or parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Drain garbanzo beans. In a food processor combine all ingredients, puree well until it is a smooth paste. Add 1/4 cup more water if necessary. Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with olives, slices of tomotoes and sprigs of fresh dill or parsley.

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Poğaça - Savory Pastry with Cheese Filling

Poğaça - Savory Pastry with Cheese Filling

Poğaça is a delicious little pasty which usually accompanies tea coffee in the morning or in afternoon. It is unresistable especially when it is hot out of the oven. Simple savory dough is filled with cheese and herbs or with sauted ground beef and onions, sometimes with olives or mashed potatoes. Regardless, it is a favorite with most, children in particular.

There are two versions of the dough, one with yeast, one without. This recipe does not use yeast. Yeast version (recipe to follow in the future) is a bit softer.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs (separate and set aside 1 yolk for glazing)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 1/2-3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

Filling:

• 1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup mozzarella, grated
• 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped (optional)

Directions:
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Separate one yolk, place it in a small bowl, add a tablespoonful of water, mix with a spoon and set aside for glazing.

In a large bowl, mix olive oil, butter, milk, baking powder, salt and the rest of eggs with a whisk. Add 2 cups of flour and continue mixing with a spoon. Slowly add more flour and knead the dough until the dough has the consistency of an ear lobe. Yes, an ear lobe! This description is commonly used in Turkish recipes. When making dough, one is always instructed to "add flour and knead until the dough is soft like an ear lobe". Soft, yet firm enough that it can be shaped and will keep its shape. Cover the bowl with a wet towel and chill in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. It will be easier to handle when it is chilled.

Take a golf ball sized piece from the dough. Shape it into a ball by rolling it between your palms. The flatten the dough on a clean, flat surface. Press a small cup upside down, cutting a perfect circle out of the dough. Place a teaspoon full of cheese/parsley mix filling in the middle of the circle shaped dough. Fold it in half, giving it the half-moon shape, gently press the edges with your fingers to close the sides. Repeat this until all of the dough is used to make poğaças. Place the half circle shaped pieces on the lined cookie sheet. These pastry pieces will rise and expand in the oven, therefore, when placing on the cookie sheet make sure they don't touch each other. Brush egg yolk over the poğaça pieces.

Place the cookie sheet in the oven. Let it bake until poğaças are golden brown.
They taste great fresh out of the oven, but, they can be served at room temperature. Great with tea, coffee or lemonade.

Start with 2 cups of flour in the dough first

Dough is ready

Dough coverered with a wet towel before put in the refrigerator

The Filling: Grated cheeses and chopped parsley mixture

Golfball size dough will be flattened by hand

By pressing a glass cup upside down, dough is cut in a circular shape

Filling is placed in the middle of the dough

Fold the dough in half, press to close the sides

Pogacas are place on a cookie sheet

Brush egg yolk on the poğaças, sprinkle caraway seeds or sesame seeds

Poğaças fresh out of the oven

Tea Time!

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!