ETLİ BEZELYE

GREEN PEAS WITH BEEF CUBES

Ingredients:

• 1 lb beef cubes
• 1 lb frozen peas
• 1 large onion
  
• 2 carrots
  
• 2 small size of potatoes
• 1 tbsp of tomato paste
• 1tsp of red pepper paste
• 1/2 tsp of black pepper
• 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
• salt
  

Take the peas of the freezer and let it defrost. Wash and peel the carrots and potatoes and cut them into small cubes. Chop onion.
In a large pot, saute beef cubes with 2 tbsp of vegetable oil over medium heat. When the meat gets tender add chopped onion, tomato paste, and pepper paste. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add carrot and potato cubes to the pot and stir it for 2-3 minutes. Add the peas to the pot. Stir and add enough boiling water just to cover.Add salt and black pepper. Bring it to the boil and turn the heat down to low. Simmer it for 20 minutes.

HASANPAŞA KÖFTE

HASANPASA MEATBALLS

This is one of my favorite Turkish-Ottoman dish. Recipe is from this site. I used this recipe several times and all of them are successful.

Ingredients:

For the meatball:

• 2 lb of ground beef
• 1 small size of onion ( finely chopped )
  
• 1 tsp of black pepper
• 1/2 cup of dry bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• salt

For the puree:

• 6 small size potatoes
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella
• 1 egg
• 3/4 stick butter
• salt
  

Sauce:

• 1 tbsp of ground red pepper
• 1 tbsp of vegetable oil
  

Combine well all of the meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl and leave in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Meanwhile boil the potatoes with their skin on and peel them just after they are cooked. Mash them with a masher. Add mozzarella cheese, butter, egg, and salt and knead it very well.

Take the meatball mixing from refrigerator and take small parts ( about the size of lime ) from the dough and give them the shape of small balls. Press an indentation into each ball with your finger. Place them on a baking tray. Preheat the oven 400 F. Bake them for 10 minutes.


Fill each meatball with 1 tbsp of puree. Bake them again for 10-15 minutes.
Take vegetable oil in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add ground red pepper to the pan. Stir until pepper give their color to the oil ( around 30 seconds). Drizzle the sauce on top of the meatballs.
Serve warm with rice, yogurt, and salad.

PORTAKALLI KURABİYE

ORANGE COOKIES

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks salted butter ( melted )
  
• 4 tbsp of sugar
• Juice and zest of 1 orange
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 1 egg yolk
• all purpose flour
  

Topping:

• 1/2 cup of finely chopped blanched almonds
• 1 egg white
• orange jam
  

Take melted butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl an stir. Add egg yolk, orange zest, orange juice, and baking soda. Gradually add the flour and knead the dough until the dough reaches a soft consistency. Take small parts ( about the size of walnut ) from the dough and give them the shape of small balls. Press an indentation into each ball with your finger. Dip ( just one side of the cookies ) them first into egg white and then coat with almonds. Place them on a greased baking tray. Preheat the oven 350 F. Bake the cookies for 15 to 20 minutes. When it is completly cool fill the indentations with orange jam.

YAYLA ÇORBASI

YOGURT&RICE SOUP

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup rice
  
• 1+1/2 cups plain yogurt
• 1 egg
• 4 tbsp of vegetable oil
  
• 1 tbsp of dried mint
• 1/2 tsp of ground red pepper
• 2 tbsp of flour
• 5 cups of water
• salt

Wash and drain rice. Take it in a medium pot and add 5 cups of water. Bring it to the boil over medium heat. Cook the rice until it is soft. Turn the heat off and set a side until it is completly cool. Then add yogurt, egg, and flour. Stir well. Turn the heat on high and stir consistently until it starts to boil. Turn the heat down to low and continue to stir for 5 minutes then turn the heat off. Add salt.
Take vegetable oil in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add mint and ground red pepper to the pan. Stir until mint and pepper give their colors to the oil ( around 30 seconds). Add the sauce to the soup.
Enjoy.