Yasemin's Kitchen

Mediterranean Recipes with a Turkish Flair

Roasted Bell Peppers in Lemon Garlic Sauce – Tarator Soslu Közlenmiş Biber

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Tarator is a garlic-olive oil based sauce that is commonly used in summer salads in Western Turkey. Cooked long string beans (börülce), zucchini, peppers of all kinds are transformed into zesty salads simply by adding the tarator sauce to them. If you were to make it the old fashioned way, here’s what you do: First garlic and salt are made into a paste with a mortar and pestle. Then in a bowl, as you continuously twirl this garlic paste in the same direction, you ever so slowly add small amounts of olive oil. This mixture slowly starts to thicken and starts looking like a creamy mayonnaise. When it is “just the right consistency”, you add lemon juice and water to the sauce. Knowing when to stop adding olive oil is the tricky part. Because if you add more than you should, then the oil and garlic will separate and it will no longer look creamy. Back in the day, in our neck of the woods, this used to be a measure of how good a cook a woman is. Nowadays, one no longer has to master this craft thanks to blenders and food processors,

The sauce can be prepared in advance and can be stored in the refrigerator like any salad dressing.
If you like, you can roast fresh peppers and make it more authentic, however, roasted peppers that come in a jar work well since the sauce add plenty of flavor. Enjoy!

Roasted Bell Peppers with Walnuts in Garlic Lemon Sauce

Roasted Bell Peppers in Lemon Garlic Sauce – Taratorlu Kozlenmis Biber
Ingredients:
  • 1 19oz jar or roasted bell peppers
Dressing:
  • 6-7 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • juice of 1-2 lemons
  • ½ cup water
  • Salt to taste

Garnish:

  • ¼ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Rinse and drain the roasted bell peppers, pat dry with a paper towel, cut into bite-size pieces, arrange them in a serving dish.
To prepare the dressing, mince garlic with a garlic press. Place garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and salt into a food processor or a blender. Blend until it is smooth. It will thicken as it emulsifies. Taste to see if you need to add more lemon juice or salt. Add water and mix again.
Pour dressing over the roasted bell peppers. Garnish with chopped walnuts. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
 

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Ingredients
Roasted bell peppers cut into pieces
Roasted Bell Peppers in Lemon-Garlic Sauce




Eggplants, Peppers & Tomatoes in Olive Oil – Kırlı Kızartması

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Eggplants, Peppers & Tomatoes in Olive Oil

Literally meaning “peasant fries”, Kirli Kizartmasi is a local dish from Aydin province in the Aegean region of Turkey. It is traditionally made with summer vegetables first fried in olive oil and then simmered in a pot to blend all the tastes together. Once I tasted a healthy version of this at my friend Ayla’s house, I was not going back to frying, since it was absolutely delicious. The trick was to let it simmer for about an hour and a half to two hours over very low heat.

Ingredients:
  • 6 small to medium size Japanese eggplants
  • 2 sweet red or green bell peppers
  • 3 medium tomatoes, peeled and sliced
  • 2 large onions, sliced
  • 2 heads of garlic (yes, not cloves), peeled
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup yogurt for serving (optional)

Directions:

 
Wash and dry the eggplants. Remove tops, peel eggplants lengthwise in stripes (see the picture below). Starting at the non-stem end, cut it lengthwise until about 1 1/2 inches from the stem. Do not cut all the way through. Make another cut lengthwise at 90 degrees to the first cut. Place eggplants on the bottom of a large port.
Wash peppers, remove stems and seeds from inside. Cut the peppers lengthwise into about 1/2 inch thick strips. Put the pepper strips over the eggplants as the second layer.
Peel and cut the onions in half. Then cut each half into 1/8 inch thick slices.  Place onions over the peppers.
Peel garlic cloves. If the cloves a very big, cut them in half. Place garlic cloves evenly on the top.
Wash and peel the tomatoes. Cut them in quarters, then slice each piece into 1/4 inch slices. Place tomato slices over all the vegetables evenly.
Drizzle olive oil over the layers of vegetables. Then sprinkle salt and pepper over the tomatoes.
Turn on the heat to medium. Once it starts to simmer, lower the heat to very low and let it simmer for about an hour and a half to two hours. You won’t need to add any water to the pot since it will simmer in vegetables’ own juices.  However, if you are in a hurry, you can add a cup of boiling water and simmer on medium heat. It takes about 20 minutes to cook. Check to see if the vegetables are very tender. Once it is cooked, remove from the heat. Transfer to a serving dish.  It can be eaten hot or at room temperature. Can be served with plain yogurt on the side (optional).
Bon Appetit! Afiyet Olsun!
Garlic peeled
Sliced Onions
 
Eggplants peeled
Add peppers (red)
Add green peppers if you prefer
Add onions and garlic
Add tomatoes
Eggplants, Peppers & Tomatoes in Olive Oil

Red Beet Green Apple Salad

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Red Beet Green Apple Salad

I don’t believe there are any Turkish recipes that use raw beets. Typically in Turkish Cuisine, beets are cooked before they are added to salads or mezes. That said, when I was visiting my family in Izmir in April, one of our long time family friends, Yildiz abla made us a beet salad to die for. Simple, yet delicious, a bright colored, zesty salad made with raw beets, green apples, herbs and walnuts. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
  • 1 large or two small red beet
  • 1 large green apple (Granny Smith)
  • ¼ cup fresh dill, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup walnuts, chopped
  • 2 green onions, finely chopped (optional)
  • ½ cup fine bulgur
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 table spoon pomegranate paste/molasses (optional)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • A few sprigs of parsley or dill for garnish
Directions:

Peel the red beet, wash and grate using the fine side of the grater. Place it in a large bowl.
Wash and grate the green apple using the coarse side of the grater. Add it to the bowl.
Place bulgur in a separate bowl. Add boiling water to it. Stir with a spoon, let it sit for a couple of minutes allowing bulgur to soak the water in. Using a strainer, drain excess water. Add bulgur to the bowl, mix with a spoon.
Finely chop dill and parsley.  Add the herbs and chopped walnuts to the bowl. Mix gently with a spoon. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, pomegranate paste (optional), salt and pepper. Stir with a spoon. Cover the bowl and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes allowing all the flavors to come out.
Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with fresh parsley or dill leaves.
Bon Appetit! Afiyet Olsun!
Peeled beet, green apple, dill and parsley
Finely Grated Beets
Coarsly Grated Greeen Apples
Chopped dill and parsley
Bulgur soaked in hot water
Chopped walnuts
Red Beet Green Apple Salad

 

 

Cauliflower Tabule Salad

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Cauliflower Tabule (Tabbouleh) Salad – Karnıbahar Kısırı
 
Tabule (Tabbouleh) is a traditional Lebanese salad made with fine bulgur, finely chopped herbs, seasoned with olive oil and lemon juice. Turkish version, called “Kısır”, has less green herbs, sometimes with added chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. My friend Semra suggested that I try using cauliflowers instead of bulgur. Hesitantly I gave it a try and the result was a delicious salad with less calories and no gluten.
Enjoy!
 
Cauliflower Tabule Salad
 
Ingredients:
  • 2 cups cauliflowers
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup fresh dill, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup fresh mint, finely chopped
  • 1 cup tomatoes, chopped
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • A few sprigs of mint for garnish
Directions:
 
Remove cauliflower florets from the cauliflower head, discarding the stems. Wash and drain. Place in a food processor and chop until florets turn into small particles. Place cauliflower in a large bowl.
Finely chop all herbs. Cut tomatoes into small pieces. Add all into the bowl. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Mix well with a spoon. Cover the bowl and let it chill in the refrigerator allowing flavors to mix.
Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.
Bon Appetit! Afiyet Olsun!
 
Finely Chopped Cauliflowers
Finely Chopped Herbs
Chopped Tomatoes
All ingredients mixed
Cauliflower Tabule Salad

Spinach Purée with Cheese

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Spinach Purée with Cheese

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs fresh baby spinach
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1  cup grated romano or parmesan cheese, divided
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

 
Wash, drain and finely chop spinach. Place it in a large pot. Cook over medium heat until the water it releases evaporates, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, set aside to cool. Squeeze dry the spinach to get rid of excess moisture.
 
In a separate pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and using a whisk, continuously stir the flour-butter mixture for about 3-4 minutes. Slowly add milk while stirring the mixture with a whisk to avoid lumps. Add ¾ of the grated cheese, stir. Add spinach, stir with a spoon. Continue to cook until the mixture is hot, stirring frequently.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat, place in a serving dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top, serve hot.
 
Bon Appétit! Afiyet Olsun!
Spinach finely chopped
Spinach cooked
Spinach is added to the white sauce
Grated cheese is added to spinach purée
Spinach Purée with Cheese

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Yasemin Ari

I love cooking, especially cooking with friends and family.

I believe that some of the best conversations take place around the kitchen counter... [Read More]