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




Savory Kataifi Balls with Cheese

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Savory Kataifi Balls with Cheese – Peynirli Çıtır Kadayıf
Couple of years ago we were in the small Greek Island of Leros. We enjoyed many delicacies at Mylos restaurant by the windmill. Most of the appetizers were familiar tastes of the Aegean, however, this one was a pleasant surprise. Typically kataifi (shredded dough) is used for desserts in the Turkish cuisine, very few savory versions exist. This one was quick fried, very light, savory with a drizzle of honey on top. My award winning friend Oya (www.oyascuisine.com) has successfully deciphered the recipe when the owner refused to share his secret with her. She has the recipe on her blog. I’ve tried it at home in California with fresh mozzarella cheese and we loved it. Then, I tried a baked version. Although it was delicious, by the time the dough was baked to golden brown, some of the cheese oozed out of the dough and hardened on the tray. I decided to try it in a different format and came up with this recipe where I rolled the dough into a ball not allowing the cheese to melt and ooze out. It turned out great. Enjoy!

Variation: If you like kunefe, a kataifi dessert with cheese in the middle, you can place the cooked balls in a deep dish and pour over hot sugar syrup (1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, boiled for 5 minutes) over the balls and this will be a dessert very similar to kunefe.

Ingredients:
  • 24 small balls of fresh mozzarella, drained
  • 8 oz kataifi dough (shredded fillo), about half a box. You can buy this at Middle Eastern Markets where you can find regular fillo dough.
  • 2 Table spoons butter, melted
  • 1-2 table spoons honey to drizzle on top (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Melt butter. Using a brush, grease a mini muffin tray with melted butter.
Take out the kataifi dough. On a clean, flat surface, loosen the strand of dough. You may need to cut the strands in half. If the dough is very dry, you may need to sprinkle some water on it to soften it. This will make it easy to work with. Take a few strands, place 2 small balls of fresh mozzarella on one end of the dough. Start wrapping the dough around the cheese by rolling it. Form it into a ball in your palm. Wet your fingers to make sure the ends of the dough will stick to the ball. Place the ball in a mini muffin hole. Repeat making balls until you full the mini muffin tray.
Bake until golden brown. About 20 minutes. Remove from the muffin tray, place on a serving dish. Drizzle some honey on the balls (optional). Serve hot or warm.

 

Bon Appetit! Afiyet Olsun!

Kataifi dough out of the box
Loosen up the dough on a flat surface
Place cheese on the dough
Start rolling into a ball
Kataifi ball
Place balls into a mini muffin tray greased with butter
Ready to be baked
Baked until golden brown
Serve them hot or warm
Honey drizzled over the savory balls

Roasted Eggplant Salad with Almonds and Mint – Nazuktan

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Roasted Eggplant Salad with Almonds and Mint – Nazuktan

Roasted Eggplant Salad with Almonds and Mint – Nazuktan

Nazuktan is a Central Anatolian recipe. I have first tasted it in my friend Nesli’s house and loved it. There’s a similar meze with roasted eggplants and yogurt, however, what makes this one a special delicacy is the toasted almonds and a little drizzle of molasses on top. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

  • 2 large eggplants or a 23 oz jar of fire roasted eggplants
  • 1 cup thick, Greek style yogurt
  • juice of 1 lemon, about 1 1/2 tablespoons
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, mashed
  • 3 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds
  • 3 tablespoons of fresh mint, roughly chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Garnish: 
  • A few sprigs of fresh mint
  •  1 tablespoon of toasted sliced almonds
  • 1 teaspoon grape molasses
Directions:
If you are using fire roasted eggplants from a jar, skip this paragraph. If you are using fresh eggplants, first wash the eggplants. Poke into the eggplants with a skewer or a small knife at 3-4 places for even cooking. Roast them on the barbecue, approximately 15 minutes on each side. Turn to make sure all sides are evenly cooked. The skin will look dark, almost charred, but when you press on it with a fork, the inside will feel soft. Remove from heat, set aside to cool. Peel the outer skin, place on a board and gently chop to small pieces.

If you are using eggplants from a jar, drain the juices by placing the contents in a strainer for about 15 minutes. In a bowl, combine eggplants, yogurt, lemon juice and mashed garlic. Mix well with a spoon. Add almonds, fresh mint, salt and pepper to taste and gently mix with a spoon. Place on a serving dish. Garnish with a few sprigs of fresh mint leaves and toasted sliced almonds. Drizzle molasses over the plate and serve.
Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Fire Roasted Eggplant in a Jar
Eggplant in Strainer
Nazuktan Ingredients
Salad Mixture
Roasted Eggplant Salad with Grape Molasses Drizzled


Roasted Eggplant Salad with Almonds and Mint – Nazuktan



Yogurt Dip with Walnuts & Herbs – Haydari

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Haydari – Yogurt Dip with Walnuts and Herbs
Haydari – Yogurt Dip with Walnuts & Herbs

Haydari is a typical meze (appetizer) made with strained (thick) yogurt.  You can strain regular yogurt and keep it in the refrigerator to be used for dips and mezes. To make strained yogurt, first place a cheese cloth or muslin on a sieve. Place the sieve over a large bowl.  Put a tub of yogurt into the sieve. Let it drain in the refrigerator for at about 12 hours. If you let it drain for 24 hours, yogurt will be very thick, a bit softer than cream cheese. I started with 2 cups of yogurt, after leaving it in the fridge overnight, I ended up with 1 1/2 cups of strained yogurt. If you don’t want to wait, then substitute Greek style yogurt for this dip.
 
Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 cups strained yogurt (or Greek style thick yogurt)
  • 3 tablespoons feta cheese, grated
  • 2 table spoons fresh dill, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh mint, finely chopped
  • 1/3 cup walnuts, finely chopped
  • 1 table spoon lemon juice
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil for garnish
  • 1 teaspoon paprika for garnish
Directions:
Mix all ingredients with a spoon until well blended. Place in a serving dish. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with paprika. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint or dills.
Strained Yogurt
Strained yogurt and grated feta cheese
Walnuts, mint, dill and minced garlic
Haydari – Yogurt Dip with Walnuts and Herbs
Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!

Circassian Chicken Salad – Cerkez Tavugu

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Circassian Chicken Salad – Cerkez Tavugu

This is one of classical mezes (appetizers) of the Ottoman Cuisine. It originates from the Caucasus Mountains where the Circassians live. It is an excellent alternative to mayonnaise based chicken salads.

Ingredients:

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 3 slices of day-old bread, crusts removed
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 cup walnuts, crushed
  • 4 tablespoons (2 + 2) extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon red chili powder (optional)
  • A few sprigs of parsley
  • Handful of walnut halves for garnishing (optional)

Directions:

In a pot combine chicken breasts with 4 cups of water, bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, skim the broth to get rid of the foam that forms on top. Simmer until chicken is cooked, about 40-45 minutes.

Transfer chicken to a platter and let it cool. Continue to cook the chicken broth until it is reduced to one third. Save broth. When chicken is cool enough to handle, tear the meat into shreds.

Cut bread slices into pieces. In a shallow bowl, pour 1 cup of water over the bread to soften it. Then squeeze dry.

In a food processor, coarsely crush 1 cup of walnuts.

In a large bowl, combine crushed walnuts, crushed garlic, softened bread, 2 table spoons of olive oil, 1/2 cup of chicken broth, red chili powder (optional). Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir with a spoon until it is well mixed into a puree. Add up to 1/2 cup more chicken broth to obtain desired consistency. Transfer into a serving dish. You can refrigerate at this stage until ready to use.

In a small saucepan, heat remaining 2 table spoons of olive oil over low heat. Add paprika, gently cook until it starts foaming, about 1 minute. Drizzle the paprika infused hot oil over the chicken salad. Garnish with walnut halves and parsley sprigs. Serve at room temperature.

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!
Pulled chicken and crushed walnuts
Chicken, walnuts, bread mixed into a paste
Circassian Chicken Salad – Cerkez Tavugu

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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]