AUBERGINE AND CHICKPEA RICE (nohut ve patlicanli pilav)

Hi all, today I made this delicious rice dish with chickpeas, aubergine and sun dried tomatoes. I served it for lunch with green salad. This is also good warmed up to accompany the main meals or cold as a party dish.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups basmati rice
• 4 cups hot vegetable stock or hot water
• 2-3 tbsp oil or butter
• 1 large onion chopped finely
• 1 aubergine, diced finely
• 2-3 tbsp diced sun dried tomatoes
• 1 cup cooked and drained chickpeas
• 1 level tsp mixed spice
• salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh, chopped parsley and dill

1) Fry the onion in a pan until well browned. Add the aubergines and cook together for 5 minutes coating and mixing well.

2) Add the sun dried tomatoes, chick peas and mix spice, mix.

3) Toss in the washed rice coating it well in the spice. Pour the stock into the pan, season with salt and pepper and bring it to boil.

4) Lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer for 12-15 minutes until all of the water has been absorbed. Turn of the heat and place a 2-3 pieces of kitchen paper on top of rice and place the lid back on tightly. Let the rice rest for 10 minutes.

5) Fluff the rice with fork and sprinkle some dill and parsley over it just before serving.

CHILLI BEEF WITH BEANS (acili kiymali fasulye)

This is simple yet tasty supper dish to be enjoyed with family and friends and it can be prepared in advance. Serves 2.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 medium potatoes, diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 150-200 g minced beef
• 1 glove of garlic, diced
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 3 tbsp kidney or white beans, canned
• Little cold water
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• salt and hot chilli pepper to garnish.

METHOD

Dice and fry the potatoes in oil for about 10 minutes on a medium heat, until they are golden. Transfer the potatoes to the serving plate. Add the chopped onion to the pan, add more oil if needed and stir fry onion for 5 minutes. Then add the mince, garlic, stir. Mix the mince with a wooden spoon during cooking to break up any lumps in the meat. Cook for 7-10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, drained and washed beans and salt. At this stage add a little water to the pan to prevent it sticking. Stir and cook for further 5 minutes. Bring the potatoes and mix them in the pan with the mince mixture. Turn the heat off. Add the parsley and some flakes of red chilli pepper just before serving. Afiyet olsun.

SMOKED SALMON WITH TREAD EGG NOODLE( sehriyeli somon)

This is a light yet filling dish so I served it for lunch . Can be served as a STARTER. Serves 2

YOU NEED

• 4 slices of smoked salmon
• Juice of half a lemon
• 150 g low fat cottage cheese
• 50 g brie cheese, diced finely
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp fresh dill and parsley
• Pinch of chilli powder
• 150 g cooked tread noodle
• 1 shallot or spring onion, chopped finely
• 2 medium mushroom, diced finely
• 1 egg, whisked
• salt and black pepper
• Some olive oil for frying
  

METHOD

Squeeze the lemon juice and pour over the salmon slices. Set aside. Combine the cottage cheese, brie, garlic, herbs and chilli powder in a small bowl, mix well. Set aside. Mix chopped onion, mushrooms and whisked egg with the noodles. Season with salt and pepper and mix it well to combine. Heat some olive oil in a large non stick frying pan. Place 4 portions of the noodle mixture and flatten them with a spatula. Fry the noodle patties on medium heat for about 5-6 minutes each side or until they are browned and crispy. Then drain them on absorbent paper.

Divide the patties on two serving plates, top with the cottage and herb mixture. Finally top with the salmon slices. ENJOY...

TOMATO SOUP ( Domates corbasi )

YOU NEED

• 1 kg tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 100 leeks, chopped
• 100 peppers, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 small chilli ( optional )
• Handful of parsley and dill, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste.

METHOD

First wash the tomatoes and chop them roughly. Fry the leeks in the oil until they go brown, then add the tomatoes together with the rest of the ingredients and bring the soup to boil. Turn the heat to medium and simmer for 20- 30 minutes until it is cooked. Let it cool. Now pour the soup into a liquidiser and blend until smooth. Sprinkle with parsley, season with salt and pepper just before serving.

Serve with crusty bread or pitta bread. Serves 4-6

NOTE

You can sieve the soup before liquidising it, if you don't like tomato skins.

This soup can be served hot and cold.

The ingredients are easily halved to serve 2.

TURKISH STYLE HUMUS

Hi, this is the spicy version of Turkish humus, but if you are not keen on chillies, use cumin powder instead.

INGREDIENTS

• 100 g cooked chickpeas
• 2 fat cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp hot chilli powder
• 200 ml runny tahini ( sesame seeds paste )
• 100 ml olive oil
• Juice of 2 lemons, about 100 ml
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sweet paprika or chilli powder

METHOD

First put chickpeas, garlic, and chilli powder in a blender or food processor and pulse it several times. Then add tahini, lemon jucice, olive oil and salt. Let it turn until the mixture becomes creamy. Transfer humus on a serving plate. Sprinkle with sesame seeds , set aside.

Heat 1 tsp of olive oil in a small frying pan, add the paprika and pour over humus. Decorate with olives or pickles and parsley leaves just before serving.

COOK'S TIP

If you think the texture is too thick for you, add more olive oil .

To use drained can chickpeas is fine for humus.

You can add some natural yogurt or creme fraiche if the humus too thick for dipping.

FRESH TOMATOES WITH EGG ( Menemen )

This is great as a vegetarian meal or served as a side dish. It is a very popular summer dish in Turkey when fresh tomatoes are plentiful. Some people even serve it for breakfast when cooked without the onions. Serves 2

YOU NEED

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 shallot or small red onion, chopped
• 300-350 g beef tomatoes, diced
• 1 small pepper, - 50 g, chopped
• 1 chilli pepper ( optional )
• 150 ml water
• Salt and coarse ground black pepper
• 2 eggs
• handful of fresh parsley, chopped

METHOD

First cook the onion in oil until it is just going brown. Add tomatoes, pepper, chili, parsley, water, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low heat for 7 minutes. Add the eggs and mix gently, cook for further 2 minutes. Add more parsley and black pepper just before serving.

COOK'S NOTE

If the tomatoes have not much colour, add 1 tsp of tomato paste just before adding water.

This dish is also nice if you add some black olives to it just before serving.