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Mediterranean Recipes with a Turkish Flair

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Stuffed Dates

May 14, 2018 by Yasemin Ari Leave a Comment

                           Stuffed Dates

Here’s a sinfully decadent vegan dessert that is healthy at the same time.
Looks delicious and is always a party favorite as an appetizer.
It is very easy to make, no baking or cooking involved.

Ingredients:

  • 25 Medjool dates, pitted, halved
  • ½ cup almond butter (cashew butter, hazelnut butter, peanut butter, or any combination of mixed nut butter can be used in place of almond butter)
  • 1/3 cup pistachio meat, coarsely chopped

Directions:

  1. Cut pitted dates in half, set on a clean surface.
  2. Using a knife, spread almond butter on the dates, mostly filling the small crevice in the middle, about ½ teaspoon on each piece.
  3. Sprinkle chopped pistachios on stuffed dates
  4. Place stuffed dates on a serving plate, enjoy!

You can store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to a week. For best flavor, make sure you let it come to room temperature before serving.

Dates halved and pitted

 

Dates stuffed with almond butter

 

Sprinkle pistachio meat on stuffed dates

Variation: Dates stuffed with sesame paste (tahini) and topped with walnuts:

Dates Stuffed with Sesame Paste and Walnuts

Ingredients:

  • 25 Medjool dates, pitted, halved
  • 1/4 cup sesame paste (Tahini). This is sold in Middle Eastern grocery stores. It is most commonly used for making hummus.
  • 25 pieces of walnut halves or quarters

Directions:

  1. Cut dates in half, remove the pits, set on a clean surface.
  2. Using a knife, spread sesame paste (tahini) on the dates, mostly filling the small crevice in the middle. Do not use too much for it will run on the sides of the dates
  3. Place walnut halves (or quarters) on stuffed dates
  4. Place stuffed dates on a serving plate. Cover with plastic wrap, place in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes allowing it to set.
  5. Remove from the refrigerator when ready to serve. Enjoy!

Dates stuffed with sesame paste (Tahini)

Top the stuffed dates with walnut halves

Assorted Stuffed Dates

Filed Under: Appetizers/Starters, Desserts, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: Almond Butter, Appetizer, Dates, Gluten Free, Pistachios, Vegan, Vegan Desserts, Vegetarian, Vegetarian Desserts

Cauliflower Rice with Lentils

July 8, 2016 by Yasemin Ari Leave a Comment

1 cauliflower rice with lentils IMG_2160

Cauliflower Rice with Lentils

This is a healthy, gluten free variation of a classic bulgur (cracked wheat) pilaf with green or brown lentils. Cauliflower rice is substituted for bulgur, giving the pilaf similar texture with a rich taste.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dry green or brown lentils (or 2 cups cooked lentils)
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 2 cups cauliflower rice
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 teaspoon dry chili peppers (optional)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a medium sized bowl, soak lentils in cold water and vinegar overnight or at least for 1 hour. Overnight soaking is recommended since lentils will be more nutritious when sprouted by overnight soaking.

Wash and cut cauliflower into florets. Feel free to use the stems as well. Using a food processor prepare cauliflower rice by pulsing the processor. If overdone, cauliflower will become very fine like snow, which will not give the desired texture to the pilaf. You can buy cauliflower rice (Trader Joe’s) if you don’t want to prepare it yourself.

Drain lentils. You can also use precooked green or brown lentils for a shortcut (Trader Joe’s). If you are using cooked lentils rinse them to separate the lentils properly and drain.

In a medium size pot, sauté onions in olive oil until onions are golden brown, 5-7 minutes. If you are using uncooked lentils, add them into the pot. Add 1 cup of boiling water, peppers and salt . Cover the pot, bring to a boil on medium heat. Reduce heat to low, let it simmer until lentils are cooked, about 7-10 minutes. Add the cauliflower rice, let it cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Transfer to serving plate. Serve hot.

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

2 cauliflower rice IMG_2131

Cauliflower Rice

Caulifower Rice Ingredients
Caulifower Rice Ingredients

Sautéed onions

Sautéed onions

Lentils added

Lentils added

Cauliflower Rice with Lentils cooking

Cauliflower Rice with Lentils cooking

Cauliflower Rice with Lentils

Cauliflower Rice with Lentils

Filed Under: Gluten Free, Main Courses, Side dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: Cauliflower, Gluten Free, Lentils, Vegan, Vegetarian

Artichokes Stuffed with Avocados

July 2, 2016 by Yasemin Ari 6 Comments

Artichokes with Avocados IMG_2111

Artichokes Stuffed with Avocados

Here’s a perfect example of an Aegean-California fusion dish, if there is such a thing. Although the Mediterranean climate is perfect for growing avocados, they are fairly new in the Aegean region. As people get more familiar with avocados, they are creatively integrating them into their local cuisine. Artichokes, however are widely used in the Mediterranean as main courses, appetizers or salads. This is a fairly easy recipe that adds the creamy texture of the avocados to the tangy delicate flavor of the artichokes. The main thing that takes time in this recipe is the avocado filling which has to be marinated at least 2-3 hours.

Ingredients:

  • 12-15 frozen artichoke bottoms
  • 1 cup lemon juice, divided
  • 1 clove garlic, mashed
  • 1 table spoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • Salt to taste
  • 3-4 medium avocados
  • 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped, or sliced
  • 3/4 cup olive oil, divided
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • Salt to taste
  • Fresh dill weed for garnish, finely chopped

Directions:

Fill a large bowl with tap water, add 1/2 cup lemon juice. Remove frozen artichoke bottoms from the package, place them in the lemon water, set aside to let them thaw.

To prepare the marinade sauce for the avocados, in a medium size bowl mix lemon juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, mashed garlic, mustard, honey and salt with a whisk until it slightly thickens. Peel the avocados, remove seeds, and cut them in small cubes (about ½ inch in size). Place avocados in the sauce. Gently stir with a spoon, making sure the sauce covers the avocado pieces well. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator overnight or at least for 2-3 hours.

Cut a small slice from the bottom of each artichoke to make sure the bottoms are flat, not pointy. This is needed to properly stuff them with avocados later. In a large sauce pan, place remaining olive oil and coarsely chopped onions. Spread the onions in an even layer. Place artichokes over the onions in the pan. Sprinkle with sugar and salt. Drizzle the remaining lemon juice ½ cup) evenly over the artichokes. Lemon juice will prevent the color of artichokes from darkening. Add the hot water to the pan and cover with a lid. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, let it simmer until artichokes are tender, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from heat, let it cool to room temperature. Remove artichokes from the pan and place them on a serving plate. Discard the remaining onions. Using a spoon, carefully fill the artichokes with avocados. Sprinkle chopped fresh dill over the avocados. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Bon Appetit! Afiyet Olsun!

Artichokes in lemon water

Artichokes in lemon water

 

Cut the bottom of the artichoke

Cut the bottom of the artichokes

 

Chopped dill

Chopped dill

 

Olive oil and onions in pan

Olive oil and onions in pan

 

Artichokes cooking

Artichokes cooking

 

Cooked Artichokes

Cooked Artichokes

 

Artichokes ready to be served

Artichokes ready to be served

Filed Under: Appetizers/Starters, Gluten Free, Side dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: Appetizer, artichokes, Avocado, side dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Rainbow Fruit Tower

March 20, 2015 by Yasemin Ari Leave a Comment

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Rainbow Fruit Tower

 

Here’s a refreshing fruit dessert that looks appetizing and tastes heavenly.
It is easy to make, easy to serve. It makes a great breakfast/brunch dessert as well.
I’m very thankful to Gonul hanim for this wonderful recipe. Enjoy!
…

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Filed Under: Breakfast, Desserts, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: blueberries, Fresh fruit dessert, kiwi, orange pudding, oranges, pineapple, strawberry, Vegan Desserts, Vegetarian Desserts

Carrots Braised in Olive Oil

January 10, 2015 by Yasemin Ari 1 Comment

 

Carrots Braised in Olive Oil (Zeytinyağlı Havuç)

 

Carrots and onions sautéed in olive oil is a simple dish. Easy to prepare and takes less than 15 minutes to cook. Typically a table spoon full of rice is also added to the dish, however, I always omit the rice. This recipe calls for fresh dill for garnish, parsley would work just as well.

…

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Filed Under: Gluten Free, Side dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: Carrots, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

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Yasemin Ari

I love cooking, especially cooking with friends and family.

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