ISKOCYA KUKISI ( SHORTBREAD )

Bu gun sizlere shortbread tarifini sunuyorum. Iskocya'ya ait olan bu kuki cok lezzetli ve kolay yapilan bir biskuvi turu. Burada tek deginecegim konu tereyagi yerine baska yag kullanmayin. Bu kukinin ozelligi tereyagi ile yapilmis olmasi. Benim gibi, shortbread yaptiginizda ailenizle, arkadaslarinizla hemen paylasin ve bitsin, ha ha!!Umarim begenirsiniz.

MALZEME

• 1 su bardagi un
• 1 yemek kasigi ince irmik
• 1 cay kasigi kabartma tozu
• 100 gr oda sicakliginda tereyagi
• 50 gram seker ( 4 yemek kasigi )

1) Unu irmikle eleyin ve kabartma tozunu ilave edip karistirin.

2) Elde veya robotla tereyagi ve sekeri, beyazlasincaya kadar cirpin.

3) Unlanmis bir zemine aktarip elle az yugurun.

4) Sonra tepsiye gore acarak, hamurun kenarlarini bicakla ufak ufak hafif kesin, suslemek icin. Hamurun uzerini catalla batirip hafif delikler olusturun. Sonra bicakla hafifce 8 parca isaret yapin, yukarda goruldugu gibi.

5) Onceden isitilmis  180C, 160 fan ayarli firnda 25- 35 dakika acik sari renk oluncaya kadar pisirin.

6) Firindan alinca uzerine seker serpin ve ucgenleri bicakla kesin.

7) Servis yapmadan once shortbreadi tepside sogumaya birakin. Sonra hava girmeyen kaplarda saklayin. Afiyet olsun.

HELVA WITH HONEY AND PINE NUTS ( BALLI VE FISTIKLI HELVA )

Hi All, today I enjoyed making this sweet dish with semolina, honey and ground nut. It is different from the traditional helva and not so fluffy because of the honey but I loved the combination and it is a lot lighter than traditional helva. Serve it on its own or with whipped cream.

YOU NEED

• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 tbsp pine nuts
• 4 tbsp fine semolina
• 2 tsp sugar
• 3 tbsp ground almond or ground nut
• 250 ml half and half water, milk
• 1 good heaped tbsp runny honey
• ground cinnamon for sprinkling

1) Place butter and pine nuts in a non stick frying pan. Cook the nuts over a medium heat until lightly browned.

2) Add the semolina and sugar, ground nut and cook further 3-4 minutes stirring all the time until the semolina is browned lightly.

3) Add  water and milk mixture and and honey. Stir and mix until all the liquid is absorbed, for further 5  minutes on low heat.  Turn the heat off. Cover the helva with 3 sheets of kitchen paper. Place a lid and let the helva stand for 25-30 minutes.

4) Take the cover and the lid off, spoon helva  into a serving plate and fluff it with a fork. Sprinkle with cinnamon before serving. Serve it warm or cold.

LEMON ROAST CHICKEN( Firinda limonlu tavuk )

Hi all. this is one of my Sunday roasts i enjoy doing. I love the sharp lemon taste and lovely fragrance while it is cooking.

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 - 1.8  kg chicken
  
• 1 lemon ( cut into quarters )
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 shallot
• 100 g butter ( softened )
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp tomato puree
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• salt and ground black pepper.

First pre-heat the oven to 200C, 180Fan.  Wash the chicken and dry with paper towel. Place lemon pieces, garlic and shallot inside the bird. Mix butter, lemon juice, tomato paste, parsley, salt and pepper in a bowl. Then spread this mixture evenly  all over the chicken. Place the chicken in a roasting tin and cover the breast with foil. Roast 1 1/2 hours basting it often with buttery juices. Remove the foil and cook for further 30-45  minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Leave to rest 10 minutes before serving. Serves 4.

SEMOLINA HELVA ( irmik helvasi )

This is a one of the Turkish speciality for deserts called HELVA. The main ingredients are semolina, butter, nuts and sugar. The other type of helva ,made with flour which is called un helvasi. I will give the recipe on later dates  for un helvasi which is quite different in texture to the semolina helva.

YOU NEED

• 1 and a half cup course semolina
• 125g butter
• handful of pistachio nuts
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup milk
• sugar, cinnamon for sprinkling

First melt the butter in a non stick pan, add the semolina and nuts and mix it well. Turn the heat down and cook the semolina slowly,with butter, stirring it constantly, until it turns golden brown. This will take about 20 minutes or so. We have to make sure it doesn't burn by stirring it constantly. When it is the right colour, prepare the sugar syrup. Mix the sugar with water and milk and bring it to boil. Pour the hot syrup over the semolina and let it simmer for a minute or two until all the liquid has absorbed. Turn the heat off, sprinkle the helva with sugar and cinnamon mixture,  place the lid and let the helva rest for another 20 minutes. Stir and make it fluffy before serving or just cut it into slices before serving. Hope you enjoy...

NOTE : In Turkey people tend to  use water drinking glass, as cup  measurements. 

 1 cup of  sugar = 250 g  

1 cup of water= 300 ml

COOK'S NOTE : Please see my post  HELVA WITH HONEY AND PINE NUTS   posted on 14/ Jan/09.