WALNUT, OLIVE, CHEESE AND POTOTO CIABATTA BREAD

Last week, when it was my baking day, i thought of making ciabatta bread with different flavours in them. I usually bake at least 3-4 to freeze for future use. So I made one loaf with mashed potatoes in, the other with chopped walnuts ( my favorite ), the third Butch was with black olives and the forth one with grated cheese. I used the no knead method that I love and found it so easy to do. Just make four batches of the master recipe of ciabatta bread then mix handful of walnuts, olives, cheese and boiled grated potato in each batch.

MASTER RECIPE FOR CIABATTA BREAD by chef of foodwishes.

• 3 1/2 cup white flour
• 1/2 cup wholemeal flour
• 1/4 tsp yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups of lukwarm water
• chopped walnuts, cooked and grated potatoes,
• chopped black olives, grated cheese.

1) Mix flour, yeast, salt with the water, mix to make a sticky dough. Add the walnuts.Cover with cling film or foil and set aside for 16-18 hours. ( Make 3 more batches of the dough using measurements above to use for olives, potato and cheese ciabatta bread.)

2) After 18 hours punch down the dough with a spatula to take the air out.

3) Lay a cling film on the work top. Sprinkle flour on the cling film, scrape the dough on the cling film and make it long, flat dough with your hand.

4) Grease baking sheet with oil and sprinkle with cornmeal generously.

5) Flip the dough over in the baking tray. Sprinkle some flour on top. Cover with floured tea towel and let it rest for 2 hours.

6) Preheat the oven to 220 c, 200Fan setting. Cook 2 ciabatta together on the same shelf for 35-45 minutes. Cool on wire rack before cutting for serving.

VEGETARIAN BULGAR WHEAT KOFTE ( etsiz cig kofte )

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups fine bulgur ( bulgar ) wheat
• 1 onion
• 4- 6 cloves of garlic
• 5-6 sun dried tomatoes, diced finely
• 2 cooked potatoes, mashed
• 2-4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp pepper paste ( optional )
• bunch of parsley, chopped
• cumin, chilli pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

METHOD

1) Wash the bulgur in cold water and drain. Set aside.

2) Place onion, garlic, sun dried tomatoes in a food processor and pulse it a few times. (or grate onion, garlic and tomatoes by hand and mix everything well to make this dish.)

3) Add the oil, mashed potatoes, bulgur wheat into the food processor. Mix in the tomato paste, pepper paste, parsley, cumin, chilli, salt and pepper. Pulse it several times until it all bind together. Add sprinkle of cold water if needed to form a stiff mixture.

4) Shape them into little sausages by hand and serve them on bed of lettuce leaves.

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.

WARM POTATO SALAD WITH AVOCADO & MOZZARELLA

INGREDIENTS

• 2 medium potatoes, diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt to taste.
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh pepper, chopped
• 1tsp oil.
• Half an avocado, mashed
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 75g, 1 small ball of mozzarella, sliced
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 10-15 black olives
• Sprinkle of ground black pepper.

METHOD

Heat a non stick pan and fry the diced potatoes with the oil and salt. Lower the heat to medium and cook the potatoes for about 10 minutes until they turn golden and crispy. Transfer them on a serving plate. Chop spring onion and the pepper. Add to the frying pan and saute for 5 minutes with 1 tsp olive oil. Remove from the pan and tip into the serving plate over the potatoes.

Scoop out the avocado and mash with some lemon juice. Slice the cheese.

To make the salad

Add cheese, avocado, olives to the potato and pepper mixture in the serving plate. Scatter over the parsley, then toss all the ingredients together. Add more lemon juice, salt and black pepper just before serving to adjust the seasoning. Serves 2

POTATOES WITH EGG AND MUSHROOMS ( mantarli, yumurtali patates)

YOU NEED

• 350-400 g new potatoes, diced
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion or 50 g leeks, chopped
• 50 g peppers, diced
• 50 g mushrooms, sliced
• 2-3 eggs
• Salt, pepper.

METHOD

First stir fry the onions on high heat for 5 minutes. Add potatoes, pepper and cook on medium heat with the lid on until the potatoes are cooked and golden for about 1o minutes stirring and mixing occasionally. Add mushrooms , cook for 5 more minutes. Add eggs, salt and pepper and cook for couple of minutes more until the eggs are to your taste. Serves 2-3.

LEEKS WITH CARROTS ( Havuclu pirasa)

INGREDIENTS

• 300 g leeks, about 3 medium size
• 100 g carrots, 2 medium
• 1 medium potato
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp mix spice
• Dash of soy sauce
• Juice of half a lemon
• Handful of parsley, chopped
• 300 ml water or vegetable stock
• Salt and black pepper

METHOD

First wash and chop leeks, carrots and the potato into small cubes. Heat the oil in the pan and add the leeks. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Tip in the carrots, potatoes and garlic. Add tomato puree, sugar, spice, soy and lemon juice. Pour stock or water and bring it to boil. Add parsley, salt and simmer gently for 10- 15 minutes until the vegetables cooked but still crunchy. Serve it with more parsley and lemon wedges. Serves 2.

TURKISH LAMB WITH ROSEMARY & THYME ( Biberiye ve kekikli kuzu)

Hi ALL , this is an all in one dish which is filling and nutritious. It is best cooked slowly but you can achieve equal results using the pressure cooker if you are in a hurry.

The above pictures show 2 versions of the dish. One with added beans, the other with new potatoes. My family love them both.

Serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS

300 g lean lamb chunks

1 tbsp olive oil

400 g fresh tomatoes, about 6-7 medium, cut in large chunks

200 g onions, about 2 large, chopped

2 fat cloves of garlic, left whole

75 g leeks, green bits, chopped

100 fresh peppers ( i used yellow ones )

200 g white beans or new potatoes,

2 tbsp Rosemary and thyme, chopped finely

Salt and black course pepper to taste.

METHOD

Heat the oil in the pan and brown the meat, add tomatoes onions, garlic, cover and cook very slowly for about an hour or until the meat is soft. Then add the beans, leeks, peppers and herbs and cook further 5-7 minutes or until the vegetables cook to your taste. Season with salt and black pepper, sprinkle more herbs just before serving.

COOK'S TIP

Cooking time with pressure cooker is 15 minutes for the meat then 5 more minutes to finish it off with the vegetables.

You can also cook this dish with chicken or beef rather than lamb to suit your taste.