PATATESLİ BÖREK

 

BOREK WITH POTATO FILLING

Makes 14 boreks.

Ingredients:

• Turkish triangular fillo
  
• 3 large size of potatoes
• 1 small size onion (chopped )
  
• 2 tbsp of tomato paste
• 1/3 bunch of parsley
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
• salt
  

Topping:

• 1 egg yolk
• nigella seeds
• 1 cup of milk
  

Take washed potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Boil it until soft over medium heat. Peel and mash potatoes. Saute chopped onion with 3 tbsp of vegetable oil over medium heat. Add tomato paste and stir for 5 minutes. Add mashed potatoes, black pepper, and salt and stir. Turn the heat down to low and continue to cook for ten minutes. Turn the heat off and add chopped parsley. Let it cool.

Take one of the triangular fillo sheets, brush with one tbsp of vegetable oil over the surface of fillo.Place the second fillo on top of first fillo . Place two tbsp of filling on top, fold the edges and roll.Place all the rolls in a baking dish side by side ( no place between them ). Pour one cup of milk on top and let it rest in the refrigerator until rolls absorb milk completly.

Place parcmant paper on a baking sheet. Take the rolls out and place them on the baking sheet. Brush with egg yolk and sprinkle some nigella seeds on top. Preheat the oven 35OF. Bake for 30 minutes or boreks are just golden brown.

DOMATES SOSLU KÖFTE & PATATES

 

MEATBALLS WITH POTATOES & TOMATO SAUCE

Makes 12 meatballs.

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 slices of bread
• 1/2 onion ( finely chopped )
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp of ground red pepper
• 1/2 tsp of ground thyme
• 1/3 tsp of ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
  
• salt

• 2 medium size of potatoes ( peeled and sliced )
• 2 tomatoes
  

Place sliced potatoes on a baking dish no space between them.  

Take two slices of bread into the bowl of food processor and process it until finely chopped. Take ground lamb, egg, processed bread, chopped onion, black pepper, red pepper,thyme, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl and knead it until well combined. Cover with stretch film and let it rest for 4-5 hours in the refrigerator. At the end of resting time, take the mixture out and knead it one more time. Divide the mixture into 12 equal parts.Give them a shape of egg and make them flat with your palms. Put the meatballs on top of potato slices.
Take tomatoes into the bowl of food processor and process it until finely chopped.Spread it onto meatballs.
Preheat the oven 400F and bake it for 30 minutes.
Serve it with rice and salad. 

DAMLA SAKIZLI MUHALLEBİ

MASTIC GUM PUDDING

This is the second "mastic gum" recipe after the cookies. I just love the smell of mastic. It gives a regular pudding an extraordinary flavor.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp of unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp of all purpose flour
• 3 pieces of mastic gum
• 6 tbsp of granulated sugar
• 3 cups of milk

In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add flour and stir until the flour gives its raw smell. Take the pot away from the heat. Add first cup of milk and whisk it consistently until smooth. Move the pot over the heat again and add the other two cups of milk, sugar and mastic gum. Mix it with a whisk and turn the heat up to high. Keep mixing until it starts to bubble and becomes ticker.Turn the heat off. Apportion the pudding into four bowls.

FINDIKLI KURABİYE

 HAZELNUT COOKIES


I like hazelnut a lot...
I searched for a good hazelnut cookie recipe for a while and I just couldn't find a good one. Finally, I ended up making my own:)
I decided to use hazelnut meal for the dough to reach max hazelnut flavor and coated them with chopped hazelnut. With the coat, cookies became very crunchy and tasty.
If you are like me, you will just love these cookies.

Makes 18 cookies.


Ingredients:

• 2+1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of hazelnut meal
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 stick melted butter 
• 2 tbsp of plain yogurt
  
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp of vanilla sugar
  
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda

For the topping:

• 1/2 cup of chopped hazelnut
• 1 egg white
  

Whisk sugar, egg yolk,yogurt in a large mixing bowl. Add butter and whisk. Add flour,vanilla sugar, baking soda and hazelnut meal and knead. Cover with plastic wrap and rest the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Take it out and knead again. Take small parts ( about the size of an walnut ) from the dough and give them the shape of small balls and press them gently while they are still between your palms and  dip them ( just one side of the cookies )  first into egg white and then coat them with chopped hazelnut .Rest in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes. Preheat the oven 350 F. Bake the cookies for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

ZEYTİNLİ & SOĞANLI & PEYNİRLİ PİZZA

OLIVE & ONION & CHEESE PIZZA

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 1 cup of all purpose flour ( approx )
  
• 1/4 cup of warm water
• 2 tbsp of milk
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 1/2 tsp of sugar
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of yeast

For the topping:

• 1/3 cup of pitted black olives
  
• 1/2 medium size of onion
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
  
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

For the sauce:

• 1/2 cup of water
• 2 tbsp of tomato paste
• 1 tsp of ground basil
• 1/2 tsp of ground thyme
• 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
• a pinch of black pepper
• salt

In a large mixing bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients for the dough. Add olive oil, milk and warm water into this mixture and knead. The dough should be soft. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and keep it in a warm place for rising. Let the dough rises to double its size. Take the bowl and knead the dough again until it is bubble free. Give the dough a shape of ball. Take some all purpose flour in a bowl and dip  the dough ball into the flour. Dust a large, flat surface with the flour (dusting will keep the dough from sticking). Place the dough onto dusted surface and roll the dough as thin as you want it to be with a roller pin. Keep dusting the dough with flour while you are rolling. Place a parchment paper on a baking sheet and put the pizza base on the baking sheet. Pierce the dough with a fork. Let it rise for half an hour.
Meanwhile, slice onion and saute it with 2 tbsp of olive oil.
Take  all the ingredients for the sauce in a large bowl and whisk it well.
Preheat the oven 400F and place the dough in the oven and bake it for ten minutes and take it out.
First spread the sauce on the pizza base then place the olives and the sauted onion all over the sauce. Last, spread the cheese on top. Bake it until the cheese takes golden brown color.

İNCİRLİ & CEVİZLİ & ELMALI KEK

 FIG & WALNUT & APPLE CAKE


Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of chopped walnut
• 15-20 dried figs
  
• 1 large size apple ( grated )
  
• 1/2 cup of plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp of ground cinnamon
  
• 2 cups all purpose flour
  
• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
  
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• a pinch of salt
  

Soak figs in a medium bowl with warm water for 30 minutes. Drain and cut them into cubes. 
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Sift flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda together in a bowl.
Whisk eggs, granulated sugar and brown sugar in another large mixing bowl until it gets creamy. Gradually add yogurt, vegetable oil whisking consistently.
Add sifted flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda to the bowl and whisk  thoroughly. Add figs, walnut and apple to the bowl and stir.
Pour this mixture to a 8" non-stick round cake pan and bake approximately 60 minutes. Check the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center. The toothpick will come out clean when the cake is done.

SAKIZLI & LORLU KURABİYE

MASTIC GUM & RICOTTA  COOKIES

Makes 26 cookies.

The recipe belongs to Sibel who has a very nice Turkish food blog.

These cookies are so popular in Turkey. Most of the Turkish food bloggers have tried and recommended it to anyone who wants to try. I tried and liked it too. The smell of mastic gum is just perfect and it is a very healthy snack for kids too.

In order to make these cookies you should have a special Turkish cheese which is called "lor peyniri" and mastic gum. Ricotta cheese could be substituted for the cheese and the gum could be bought online.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of ricotta cheese
• 4 small pieces of mastic gum
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 2 eggs
• juice of a half lemon
• 2+1/2 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
  
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 1/2 cup of sesame seeds

Take 1 cup of ricotta cheese in a strainer and cover it with plastic wrap. Place a deep cup under the strainer to let the liquid out and let it sit in the refrigerator for two days. This way ricotta cheese become more thicker just like " lor cheese."

At the end of two days, take ricotta cheese from the refrigerator and place it in a large bowl. Add olive oil, sugar and eggs ( set one egg white aside for the topping ) in the bowl and whisk it. Dissolve the baking soda in the lemon juice and add it into the bowl. Place the mastic gum in the freezer and let it sit there for 10 minutes and then take it out. Grind it in the coffee grinder until ground to the point of flour. Add ground mastic gum into the bowl. Mix it well.

Start to add flour into this mixture and knead it. The original recipe calls just for 2 cups of flour but my dough was too juicy and I needed to add  a half cup of more flour. The dough should be so soft and a little bit sticky because of the mastic gum. If it sticks to your hands do not add any flour. Just wet your hand before giving them the shape.

Place the sesame seeds and the egg white in separated bowls. Take small parts ( about the size of walnut ) from the dough and give them the shape of small balls and dip ( just one side of the cookies ) them first into egg white and then coat them with sesame seeds. Place them on a greased baking tray. Preheat the oven 350 F. Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes.