KUSADASI/TURKEY

Here is a picture of streets and houses from Kusadasi old town. It is full of old Turkish character with history taking us back in time.

KABAK CORBASI ( COURGETTE SOUP )

This an unusual but very good soup that I discovered recently. I wasn't a big fan of courgettes but I have changed my mind now. Hope you enjoy it too.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 courgettes
• 3 cups of water
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp yogurt
• 1 tbsp flour
• 2 tsp dried mint
• 1 tbsp olive oil or butter
• 1 tsp paprika or chili pepper

First wash and peel the courgettes and grate them. Place the grated courgettes into a pan with the water and the salt. Bring it to boil then simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes until courgettes are cooked. While still simmering, mix egg, yogurt and flour in a bowl and mix it well. Transfer  this mixture into the pan of courgettes and stir. Cook it all together for  further 5- 7 minutes. Add more water if needed. Sprinkle the dried mint and take the soup of the heat. Melt the butter in a small frying pan, add paprika or hot pepper flakes and drizzle over the soup. Serve with crusty bread.

MERCIMEKLI VE NOHUTLU PILAV ( PILAV WITH LENTILS AND CHICK PEAS )

HI ALL,  this again a very tasty complete vegetarian meal which is very quick to make. Hope you enjoy...

YOU NEED

• 1 onion, chopped,
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp pepper or tomato paste( puree)
• 1 clove of garlic ( optional )
• 1 tsp chili pepper (optional )
• 1 cup red lentils
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped peppers
• 1/2 a cup bulgur wheat or rice
• 1 cup cooked chick peas
• 3- 4 cups hot water.
• fresh or dried herbs of your choose
• salt and black pepper

METHOD

First prepare all the vegetables and chop them finely. Wash the lentils,  rice, chick peas and set aside. Fry the onion in the oil for 5 minutes, then add the garlic, tomato paste, tomatoes and peppers. Cook for couple of minutes. Add the lentils, rice and chick peas together with herbs, water, salt and chili pepper. Use 3 cups of water first then add the rest of the water as it cooks. Add more or less to suit your taste. I like to serve this dish  with the constancy like risotto or even more mushier but you can cook and serve it more like a rice dish if you like by using  less water.

Add more herbs and ground black pepper just before serving.

KAPUSKA ( RICE WITH TOMATOES AND CABBAGE )

This vegetarian dish of rice, tomatoes, cabbage, onion and peppers  is good on its own or as a side dish to accompany any meal.

YOU NEED

• 1 onion, chopped finely
• 2 -3 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 cup rice, washed
• 2 cups  finely chopped cabbage,
• 2-4 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup finely diced  peppers, 
• 3 cups  vegetable stock or hot water
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• salt and black pepper
• fresh dill and parsley, chopped finely
• Fresh lemon juice

METHOD

First  heat the oil in the pan, add the onion and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add washed rice, tomatoes, peppers and stir. Add the tomato paste and stock and boil for 2 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper and fresh herbs, turn the heat down to low and let it cook for 10-15 minutes until the rice is cooked. Add more water if necessary as it is nicer with the juice of the dish.

Garnish with fresh parsley and lemon juice just before serving.

TURKISH TEA

The real Turkish tea  ( CAY )is made by brewing it on the stove with 2 teapots. Large pot at the bottom is for only water and has to be well boiled, second one on the top is smaller in size and it is for tea leaves. We boil the water and pour it in the little pot and let the tea brew for 10-15 minutes minimum in the low heat. Making sure the pot at the bottom is half full with water  at all times. After 20 minutes or so, tea is ready for serving. It is served black in small glass cups. It is full  flavored strong black tea which you can adjust the strength to suit your taste. Pour some strong tea in the cup first about 1/3 full then top it up with hot water for a perfect cup of tea.

Most of the  tea plantations are in Rize and Trabzon in the black sea region. First tea factory was built in Rize in 1947.

Also, one of the common sights in Turkey is 'Tea Houses' where you can see people sitting and enjoying the fresh brew and catching up with daily news. Also good  place for the community to exchange ideas,  find out what is going on and to talk about  future events in town.

NARLI GULLAC ( GULLAC WITH POMEGRANATES )

Hi all, gullac is a very light and delicious desert, especially popular during Ramazan. It is made from starch, flour,  milk and poured over a large  hot pan (sac ) thinly and cooked dry, then packed away for later use. It is wafer like, fine, dry and round pastry leaves are the basis for  this delicate desert. Gullac dates back to ottoman period of Sultans and Pasa's, as favorite in the palaces. It gets its name gul, meaning rose. So using the rose water for this desert is a must.

YOU NEED

• 10 gullac leaves
• 1 litre of milk
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 cup pistachio nuts, chopped
• 2 tbsp rose water
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 pomegranate, seeded

First heat the milk with sugar, rose water and vanilla. It has to be just warm enough to touch not very hot. Pour 1 cup of  milk into a large tray. Then place a gullac leaf in the tray making sure the leaf is completely soaked. Place the second leaf and some more milk to soak. Do the same with the third, forth and fifth leaf. Then spread the walnuts over it generously. Then continue to layer the milk and the remaining 5 leaves as above. Pour the rest of the milk mixture over the leaves to make sure no dry bits left. Then sprinkle the desert with chopped pistachios. Finally cut  the desert into diamond or square shapes and leave it in the tray for the milk to be absorbed totally for about  30-45 minutes.

Decorate with pomegranate seeds just before serving.

COOKS NOTE: It is best to use full fat milk for a special treat but it is just as nice with semi skimmed milk and less sugar to make it low calorie desert.

MEAT AND RICE FILLED PEPPERS ( kiymali dolma )

YOU NEED

• 1/2 kg peppers
• 250 g lean steak mince
• 1 -2 tbsp oil
• 1 cup  of rice
• 2 onion
• bunch of fresh parsley
• salt, black pepper
• 2-3 tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• some water
• little oil 
• extra tomatoes, sliced,  to use them as lids  for  the peppers.

First wash the peppers and take the stalks out by cutting around them and pushing them inwards with your thumb. Then prepare the filling. Place the mince into a dip dish, add the washed rice, oil. Chop the onions finely and dice the tomatoes, adding the  chopped parsley in to the mince and rice mixture.  Some salt and black pepper to taste and then mix it all together to bind it. 

Stuff each pepper loosely with the mixture( about 1 -2 table spoonful each pepper) making sure to leave room for  rice to expand. if we stuff the peppers too much the rice wont cook through. Cut the tomatoes into small round shapes to cover the peppers like a lid. Then transfer the peppers to a dip pan and add some water to cover up to half way of the peppers. Mix the tomato puree in some water and pour it over the peppers making sure the water covers the peppers at this stage.  Drizzle some oil over the peppers then, put the pan on a high heat and bring it to boil. Then turn the heat to low and let it cook slowly for 25-30 minutes until it is cooked. When cooked, transfer it to a serving plate  and use the juices as sauce for the peppers. Afiyet olsun...

COOK'S NOTE

In Turkey we prefer the small, thin skinned  peppers  for  this dish. The measurements above are for small peppers. If you are using larger, firm flesh capsicums you need to use more stuffing per pepper.

Please see my post for ETLI DOLMA, on 18- Nov- 08. made with CAPSICUM PEPPERS.