ISPANAKLI BÖREK

SPINACH BOREK

Ingredients:

• 4 Turkish pastry sheets

Filling:

• 1 large size of onion(chopped)
• 2 lb of spinach
• 1 tbsp of tomato paste
• 1 tbsp of red pepper paste
• 1/2 cup of feta cheese
• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
• salt

Sauce:

• 1 egg+1 egg white
• 1 cup of milk
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil

Glaze:

• 1 egg yolk
• sesame seeds and nigella seeds

Soak spinach in cold water and add 2 tbsp of vinegar. Leave spinach in the water for 20 minutes. Wash and drain it one more time.
In a large pot, take vegetable oil add chopped onion. Stir and cook until onion is tender. Add tomato paste and red pepper paste stir for 2-3 minutes.
Chop spinach and add it to the pot. Stir until it loses its volume. Add ground black pepper and salt. Turn the heat off when the spinach absorbs all of its juice and let it cool.
For the sauce; take eggs, milk and vegetable oil in large mixing bowl and whisk.
Brush bottom and sides of a 13 by 17-inch baking tray with vegetable oil. Layer the first sheet, spoon 1/3 of the sauce over entire surface. Layer the second sheet and spoon 1/3 of sauce over and spread the filling all over covering the whole surface. Layer the third sheet on top of the filling and spoon the remaining sauce all over and layer the last sheet.
Whisk egg yolk for the glaze and brush the last sheet with egg yolk. Sprinkle some sesame and nigella seeds.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake for about 45 minutes or until nicely brown.
When it completely cools down, cut the borek into squares.

FINDIKLI VİŞNE SOSLU KEK

HAZELNUT CAKE WITH SOUR CHERRY SAUCE

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1+1/4 cups of milk
• 3/4 cup of vegetable oil
• 1+1/2 cup of all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of finely chopped hazelnut
• 1/2 cup of cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla sugar
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1 cup of sour cherry juice ( or 1 cup of cranberry juice )

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Sift flour, cocoa powder, vanilla sugar, and baking powder together in a bowl.
Whisk eggs and sugar in another large mixing bowl until it gets creamy. Gradually add milk, vegetable oil whisking consistently.
Add sifted flour, cocoa powder,vanilla sugar, and baking powder to the bowl and whisk  thoroughly. Add  hazelnut to the bowl and stir.
Pour this mixture to a 10" non-stick round cake pan and bake it for 45 minutes. Check the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center. The toothpick will come out clean when the cake is done. Remove the pan from oven and pour the sour cherry juice all over. Let it cool on the counter top and keep it in the refrigerator. Decorate it with chocolate sauce when you serve.

FIRINDA TILAPİA BALIĞI

OVEN BAKED SPICY TILAPIA

 Ingredients:

• 6 tilapia fillets
• 1/2 tsp of ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp of chili pepper
• 4 tbsp of olive oil
• salt 

Preheat the oven 400F. Drizzle 2 tbs of olive oil on the bottom of baking dish and place the tilapia fillets side by side. Sprinkle all the spices evenly on top of the fillets. Drizzle 2 tbsp of olive oil on top. Bake it until nicely brown.

BULGURLU YEŞİL MERCİMEK SALATASI

 GREEN LENTIL & BULGUR SALAD


Ingredients:

• 1 cup of uncooked green lentil
• 1/2 cup of uncooked course bulgur
• 1 large size of onion
• 1 bunch of green onion ( chopped )
• 1 carrot ( grated )
• 1/4 bunch of parsley ( chopped )
• 3-4 tbsp of chopped fresh mint ( optional )
• 1/2 tbsp of sumac
• 4 tbsp of olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp of black pepper
• salt

Take green lentil in a medium pot and add enough cool water to cover. Cook over medium heat.
Drain excess water and set aside.
Take bulgur in a mixing bowl and add 1/2 cup of boiling water on it. Mix and cover  the lid. Let the bulgur soak the water for 15 minutes. Take green lentil and bulgur into the mixing bowl and mix.
Meanwhile, cut onion into halves and slice them thinly. Take olive oil and sliced onion into a medium size of skillet and saute it for 10 minutes over medium heat. Then add grated carrot to the skillet and saute it for another 10 minutes. Take sauteed onion and carrot to the mixing bowl.
Add chopped green onion, chopped parsley, chopped mint, sumac, lemon juice, black pepper and salt to the mixing bowl and mix.