ZEYTİNLİ & KEKİKLİ & BİBERLİ POĞAÇA

THYME & PEPPER POGACAS WITH BLACK OLIVE FILLING

Makes 20 pogacas.

Ingredients:

• 1+1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 egg white
• 2 tbsp of butter (softened )
• 1/4 cup of vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup of plain yogurt
• 1 tsp of red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp of thyme
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of vinegar
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda

 Filling:

• 20 pitted black olives
  

Glaze:

• 1 egg yolk 

In a big mixing bowl, take egg white and whisk. Add vegetable oil,butter, yogurt, baking soda, thyme, pepper flakes, vinegar,salt, and mix. Add flour slowly and knead. Continue adding flour until the dough reaches soft consistency.
Take a small piece of dough ( about the half size of an egg ) and make it flat with your palms. Place 1 black olive in the middle of the dough and close it up. Place a parchment paper on a baking tray an put the pogacas on the tray. Brush all of the pogacas with egg yolk.
Preheat the oven 350F and bake until pogacas are light brown.

KURU ÜZÜMLÜ & CEVİZLİ KURABİYE

RAISINS & WALNUT COOKIES  

My son and I made these cookies together. He loves chocolate chip cookies.
That day I was out of chocolate chips and we decided to make our cookies with raisins and walnut instead. He loved it this way too...

Makes 26 cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1+ 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup of light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of raisins
• 1/2 cup of finely diced walnuts
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup of plain yogurt
  
• 1 stick butter ( softened )
• 1/3 tsp of baking soda
• 1/3 tsp of vanilla sugar
  
• a pinch of salt
  

Sift flour, baking soda, vanilla sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. In another bowl, whisk egg, melted butter, yogurt, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Add sifted mixing and mix it with a spatula. Add raisins and walnut to the bowl and mix. Take one tablespoon of cookie dough and place it on a greased baking tray. Leave some room between the cookies. Preheat the oven 400 F. Bake for 5 minute at this tempature then turn it down to 350F. Bake the cookies for 10 more minutes or until light brown. 

İMAMBAYILDI

  






























 BABY EGGPLANTS WITH OLIVE OIL
I remembered this summer dish as soon as I saw these teeny-tiny eggplants in our local Indian store. I usually follow the seasons for buying vegetables and fruit but I just couldn't resist.

Tomatoes which were used in this recipe are from summer. When they are so fresh and much more cheaper in the summer time I buy some more for coming winter. I just chop and place them in small freezer bags and store in the freezer.


Serves for 4-6

Ingredients

• 20 of baby eggplants
• 1 large size of onions
• 20 baby chilli peppers 
• 10 cloves of garlic ( chopped)
  
• 3 medium size of tomatoes
• 1 tbsp of tomato paste
  
• 1/3 cup of olive oil
• a pinch black pepper
  
• salt

Wash and trim eggplants. Cut them "+" shape that go almost halfway from the bottom. Take 1/3 cup of olive oil in large pot and heat over medium-high heat. Take all 20 eggplants in the pot at the same time and cover the lid. Do not open the lid just shake the pot gently every two minutes until they are nicely brown. Turn the heat off and take eggplants to a dish. Chop the onion and take them to the same pot. Saute with the remaining olive oil. Wash and trim chilli peppers and add them with garlic to the pot and stir .Peel and grate tomatoes. Add them to the pot with tomato paste and stir. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat.Add salt and black pepper to the pot and stir.Place  eggplants to the pot and cover the lid. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

BROKOLİ MUSAKKA

BROCCOLI MOUSSAKA

Serves 6.

There is no traditional broccoli dish in Turkish cuisine, as far as I know. This is my idea to make moussaka with it and it turned out very well.


Ingredients:

• 1/3 lb of ground beef
• 2 lb of fresh broccoli
  
• 1 large onion (chopped )
  
• 10 cloves of garlic (chopped )
  
• 1 fresh green pepper ( chopped )
  
• 2 large size of tomatoes
• 1 tbsp of tomato paste
• 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
  

• 1/3 tsp of black pepper
• salt

Take ground beef and vegetable oil in a large pot and cook it until the beef absorbs all of its juice, stirring occasionally . Add chopped onion, chopped pepper, and garlic into the pot. Saute them on medium heat for 10 minutes then add tomato paste and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cut broccoli florets, wash, and  drain.  Take them into the pot. Add black pepper and salt. Stir them all together. Peel the tomatoes and cut them into cubes. Place tomatoes on top of other vegetables and turn the heat down to low. Put the lid on and cook for 30 minutes.

ÇEDAR PEYNİRLİ MİLFÖY BÖREK

PUFF PASTRY BOREK WITH CHEDDAR CHEESE

I found this easy borek recipe on one of my favorite Turkish Food Blogs, "Hayat Binbircesni".Thank you Saliha, this is a brilliant idea.

It is a well know fact that the best borek is made from scratch but it takes too much time just like this one.

However this puff pastry borek is an exception. It almost tastes like somebody just made it from scratch.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet of puff pastry
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 bunch of chopped parsley

Topping:

• 1 egg yolk
• nigella and sesame seeds

Take the puff pastry sheet out of the freezer and let it thaw. Cut the pastry three equal parts. Dust a large, flat surface with  flour (dusting will keep the dough from sticking). Place one of the pastry part onto flat surface and sprinkle some more flour on top of it. Roll the pastry as thin as you can with a long roller pin. Keep dusting the dough with flour while you are rolling.
Take cheddar cheese and chopped parsley in a large bowl and mix it. Place 1/3  of filling along on the widest part of the pastry sheet and roll it up tightly to make a long cigar. Swirl this long cigar in the middle of a round tray. Repeat this step for the other two. Brush with egg yolk and sprinkle sesame and nigella seeds