Tag: Turkish

Quick lahmacun

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Super-tasty, super-quick. The perfect weeknight supper.

  • ½ red pepper, roughly chopped
  • 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 1 small onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • Handful parsley stalks, roughly chopped
  • 400g lamb mince
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp allspice
  • 1 tsp pul biber
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 4 lavash (or other plain, thin) flatbreads
  1. Puree the red pepper, tomatoes, onion, garlic and parsley stalks and pour into a bowl
  2. Add the lamb mince and spices and mix well until completely combined
  3. Divide the lamb mixture into 4 and press firmly onto the surface of each flatbread with your fingertips, pushing the mixture into a thin layer that covers the surface of the bread, leaving a thin ‘crust’ ring around the outside – like a pizza
  4. Heat a large frying pan over medium/high and add a touch of oil, spreading it across the surface of the pan with a paper towel
  5. Fry the flatbreads face down until crisp and golden, then flip out onto a plate
  6. Serve topped with sliced tomato, parsley salad (parsley leaves, thin-sliced red onion, salt, sumac, lemon juice and olive oil) and plain yoghurt – roll up and eat with your hands

Chicken koftas

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Succulent, fragrant and super-simple to prepare. And excellent weeknight dinner, served with a simple salad, flatbread and tzatziki. Feeds 2-4 depending on how hungry they are

  • ½ onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • ½ green pepper, roughly chopped
  • Handful of fresh parsley
  • Small bunch of chives
  • 500 g chicken mince
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Plenty of ground black pepper
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Veg oil
  1. Whizz up the onion, garlic, green pepper and fresh herbs using a mini food processor or hand blender
  2. Scrape into a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients except for the oil. Mix lightly without over-working
  3. Form the sticky mixture into flattish kofta shapes
  4. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and fry on both sides for 10 mins or so until browned on the outside and cooked through. Alternatively, use the air fryer and air fry on 200C for 15 mins

Pide

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Turkish pizza-type tastiness – and the best Sunday supper you’ll ever eat. Fillings/toppings can be whatever you like, but I love using the one from a spanakopita. The world is your oyster (but maybe don’t top with oysters?) Makes 6 pides.

  • 600g strong bread flour
  • 1 tbsp golden caster sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp dried yeast
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 350ml lukewarm water
  1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a big bowl, and the wet ingredients together in a jug
  2. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet
  3. Combine to form a dough and knead for 5 mins until smooth
  4. Form into a ball
  5. Clean the big bowl and lightly oil the inner surface
  6. Pop the dough into the bowl, cover with clingfilm and prove for at least an hour in a warm place until risen to twice the size
  7. Preheat oven to 220C fan (240C)
  8. Divide the dough into 6 and roll each one out into a thin rectangle approx 40x15cm
  9. Spread over the filling, leaving a 3cm border
  10. Fold up the sides and twist together the ends to make a boat shape
  11. Bake on a preheated baking sheet for 12-14 mins until brown and toasty

Mitite kofte

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Succulent, savoury little lamb patties, the perfect addition to a mezze platter or stuffed in a pitta with salad and tzatziki (or, since we’re Turkish today, cacik). Makes around 20.

  • 500g lamb mince
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 50g fresh white breadcrumbs
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp pul biber (or ½ tsp chilli flakes)
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp dried mint
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • Salt and pepper
  • Veg oil
  1. Add all the ingredients except the oil to a big bowl
  2. Use your hands to mix it all together thoroughly and then form into mini 4cm-diameter burger shapes. They don’t have to be perfect, slightly rough round the edges is fine!
  3. Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat and, when the oil is hot, add the koftes
  4. Cook without moving them for 4-5 mins on one side until brown and delicious, then flip and give them the same on the other side
  5. Serve warm on a platter, nestled among crisp lettuce leaves and watch as everyone falls upon them with cries of delight!

Suggested mezzes to accompany the kofte? I’d never leave you in the lurch without suggestions! I love coming up with a vivid combination of fresh and cooked elements, and a variety of textures and flavours. And it’s especially brilliant because everything can be served at room temperature. How about this?

  • Soft flatbread or toasted pittas
  • Muhammara
  • Tzatziki
  • Warm aubergine salad with mint, chilli and garlic
  • Falafels
  • Borek (spinach and feta pastries)
  • Skewers of chicken with saffron and yoghurt
  • Tomato salad with mint and parsley
  • Sliced cucumber and radishes
  • Spiced crunchy chickpeas

Turkish tomato dip

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

A recipe brought back from my parents’ holiday to Istanbul in 1997. You will 100% want to dip toasted pitta in this. And crisps. Maybe your fingers – just don’t get caught.

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced/grated
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Black pepper
  • Handful fresh coriander, finely chopped
  1. Heat the oil in a thick-bottom pan over a low heat and cook the onion for 8-10 mins until completely soft
  2. When translucent, add the garlic and chilli
  3. Cook for a further couple of mins, then add the tinned tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper
  4. Cook over a low heat until most of the moisture has evaporated
  5. Add the coriander and stir in
  6. Leave to cool to room temp and then serve

Tabbouleh

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I love this salad for its herby, zingy freshness.

  • 50g fine bulgar wheat
  • 3 tomatoes, diced (save the juice to add to the salad)
  • 3 spring onions, finely chopped
  • ½ cucumber, seeds removed then diced
  • 60g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 20g mint, finely chopped
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Rinse the bulgar wheat in a sieve, then pour boiling water over to cover by an inch or so
  2. After 15 mins, drain it and put it in a bowl with all the other ingredients
  3. Taste and adjust the seasoning, add a squeeze more lemon if you want

Kisir

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Turkish bulgar wheat salad with tomato, pomegranate and red pepper. A more-ish texture and flavour combination in beautiful tones of garnet, rust and russet.

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
  • ½ red pepper, finely chopped
  • 100ml water
  • 200g fine bulgur wheat
  • 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • Large handful fresh parsley, chopped
  • Handful fresh mint, chopped (keep a few whole leaves for garnishing)
  • 3 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp pul biber (Turkish chilli – substitute with a pinch of chilli flakes)
  • 40g walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
  • 30g hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
  • Salt and black pepper
  • Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
  • Seeds from ½ pomegranate
  1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and cook the onion for about 5 mins until it turns translucent
  2. Add the garlic and red pepper and cook for another minute
  3. Add the tomato puree and stir in, cooking for 2 mins
  4. Add the tomatoes, turn the heat down and put the lid on. Cook for 4 mins then add the water
  5. Bring to a boil, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the bulgur wheat. Put the lid back on and leave to stand off the heat for 10 mins.
  6. Tip into a bowl with the pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, parsley, mint, spring onion, chilli, cumin, pul biber and toasted nuts
  7. Season, stir and put to one side until it has cooled to room temperature
  8. Taste again (try not to eat it all with your hands) and adjust the seasoning
  9. Serve at room temperature – spoon into a wide serving dish, drizzle with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and scatter over the pomegranate seeds and a few mint leaves

Mucver

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Turkish courgette fritters, small and perfectly delicious. Good enough to convert courgette-haters and an excellent start to a Mediterranean feast

  • 2 medium courgettes
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 4 tbsp plain flour
  • 100g feta, crumbled
  • 1 tbsp dill, finely chopped
  • Salt & pepper
  • Veg oil
  1. Open out a tea towel and place a box grater in the middle of it. Grate the courgettes directly onto the tea towel, then gather up the edges around the little mountain of green gratings and squeeze as much liquid out of them as you can
  2. In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients together. It should form a stiff batter
  3. Heat veg oil in a large frying pan and drop in spoonfuls of the mixture. Flatten slightly with the back of a spoon and fry the mucver until they’re golden on each side (keep cooked ones warm on a rack in a low oven as you cook them)
  4. Serve straight away with some plain yogurt on the side

Lamb and pistachio koftas

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

This recipe makes 10-12 succulent, highly-flavoured, barbecue favourites. Equally as delightful indoors if the weather turns against you. Best stuffed into a pitta with a drizzle of yogurt, a squeeze of lemon and a crunchy salad

  • 750g minced lamb
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 red chilli
  • 1 large onion
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • Bunch of fresh parsley
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 50g breadcrumbs (would work with GF breadcrumbs if you prefer)
  • 100g pistachios, roasted and chopped
  • 80g currants/dried sour cherries/dried cranberries
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp pul biber (mild Turkish chilli flakes, substitute with a pinch of dried chilli flakes)
  • 1 tbsp ground coriander
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  1. Use a food processor (or pestle and mortar in absence of machinery) to make a rough purée of the pepper, chilli, onion, garlic and parsley
  2. Scrape into a big bowl and add the lamb
  3. Add all the rest of the ingredients and mix really well to create a uniform texture
  4. Shape into sausages around a skewer – two to a long metal skewer/one to a short wooden one
  5. Place in the fridge for at least 20 mins and up to 24 hours before cooking. This helps them hold together when you cook them
  6. Barbecue them or roast at 200C fan (220C) for about 20 min

These also make good meatballs or burgers if you don’t want to do them on skewers