Lamb Shanks with Broad Beans - Baklalı Kuzu İncik

On the 18th of April is Passover, Pesach or Korban Pesach.  While we wont be killing a lamb we will hopefully be celebrating well.  I dont know what I will be serving yet but this is one of the hopefuls.  I like lamb shanks and this is a very easy dish to make.  It includes broadbeans. Now broadbeans and I have a dark past but I have put our issues aside and have learnt to appreciate this lovely bean. 6 lamb shanks 250gr small fresh broad beans 15 very small onions 4 normal sized onions cut in halves 1tbsp tomato paste 2 cups water salt oil Take some oil and heat up in a pan, place in the shanks and brown all over.  Put all the other ingredients into the pan and cook for 5 minutes then add in the tomato paste and mix well.   Add in the water and cover.  Cook on a low-medium heat for about 1 hour-until the meat is very soft. (check water levels as you dont want it to dry out and burn) I would serve this with either a bulgur pilav with added chopped parsley (1 cup) or a couscous with added added parsley. This dish would work well in a crock pot or pressure cooker.

Stuffed Pide, Kapalı Pide

This is what we had for breakfast on a lazy Sunday.  I make the cheese mixture then my husband gives it to the firin (bakery),the guys there did a great job. I was at home setting the table and brewing the tea.  It was delicous as usual.  


500gr soft white cheese(feta) (continental cottage) (ricotta)
1 small bunch of chopped parsley
2 tbsp sweet pepper paste/tomato paste

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Urban Foraging, Wild Greens and More

Who dosnt like getting stuff for free! Urban Foraging is a great term that just means getting stuff for free and either eating it or reusing it.  I am a great believer in recycling also.  Recycling and Urban foraging are really quite similar.  In my other life, in my native country I used to seperate my plastics from the paper and deposit in the appropriate bins.  I bought a paper making kit to make my own paper from used envelopes etc then moved into selling that product at the local markets.  I grew my own veggies and used discarded car tyres to grow herbs in.  Used an old tractor tyre for a sandpit for my kids.  Used old carpet to kill weeds. Harvested fruit off trees in parks, picked up unwanted furniture off the side of the road and used it. Gone to recyling depots to get craft supplies for my kids and had many more urban foraging/recycling adventures.

Since coming to Turkey I have found out the value of weeds, learnt how to identify them cook them and even know the best places to buy cultivated and source out wild ones if necessary. I have gone to castles and picked capers and caper berries, gone to an ancient city and picked pepper corns off  huge pepper trees, visited the local park and got my not so willing husband to pick a few kilos of beautiful black figs which I then turned into fig jam. Watched my son harvest mussels off the pier for the locals, harvested olives out of a very old garden, picked stinging nettles, threaded orange blossom chains and given them to the old ladies, stayed in an old orchard and picked chamomiles from the beautiful carpet that comes in the spring, gotten the seeds from red poppies to use as a mild pain killer plus many more.  My lounge at the moment came off someones roof after they used it for the summer, my dining table and wall cabinets were free after being discarded and various other bits and pieces have all been foraged.

My favorite weed here has to be the stinging nettle.  It tastes fantastic, can be found if you know where to look or bought very cheaply at the local bazaars.  It also has a wealth of health benefits, good for your hair and they say if drunk everyday will help you overcome cancer and loose weight. I have dried some and will be making a shampoo bar very soon with that.  In regards to eating it the locals seem to cook it with onion and tomato paste and use it as a filling for böreks(filled savory pastries)To take the sting out of it for cooking all you have to do is give it a good shake(yes it does work) and when you cook it the sting goes so there is no problem.

This was bought from the local bazaar

BÖREK FILLİNG  

500gr stinging nettle

2 onions, chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste

salt

chili powder

oil

You need to give it a good wash first and if the stems are fairly woody using kitchen gloves take the leaves off the tough stems.  If it is younger you can just cut the stems up with the leaves. Chop it up.

Fry the onion in a pan until clear then add in the nettle and sautee for about 5 minutes.  Add in your salt and chili then taste.  İf you need to add more salt, add now.  Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another minute.

You could aslo add in about a cup of fetta cheese for a variation.

This filling can be used for any börek from filo pastry triangles to a layered pastry in a baking dish.

Baked Spinach and Eggs - Ispanklı Yumurta

I enjoy cooking for other people so I must enjoy cooking. But I also like quick and easy meals and this is one of them. I also love spinach and here it is very cheap usually 1lira for a kilo. That is enough to crush my spinach cravings for the week.

1 kilo of spinach
4 onions
8 eggs
2 tbsp tomato paste
salt and pepper
oil


Wash the spinach very well as you dont want to end up with any sand or dirt. Cut finely and place in a large saucepan. At this stage I dont add oil, I usually put about a quater of a cup of water in and put the lid on and let it cook down. This takes about 10 minutes and during the cooking time you need to check it to make sure it hasnt stuck to the pan. After it is cooked drain all liquid and put the spinach in a smaller bowl. Now I finely chop the onions and fry them in a small amount of oil for a few mintues until done, if you want you can add garlic to it at this stage and cook. Take off the heat and add the spinach with the tomato paste and salt and pepper. Stir well. In a good size baking pan or large frying pan add the spinach. Spread it out so it evenly covers the pan. Now you get a spoon and make little holes where you will place the eggs. After doing that crack an egg into each well. You can sprinkle a bit of salt over the whole thing now if you like or do it at the table. Place the baking pan into a moderate oven until the eggs are cooked.


If you want to do this in a frying pan just spread the spinach mixture over the base of the pan and make wells in the spinach, cracking the eggs again into the wells. Place on a moderate heat on your stove and cover. When the eggs are ready take off heat and serve.


I serve this with ayran and lavash(my preferred bread) and then I drizzle pomegrante syrup over the top.

FOOD FROM GAZİANTEP

Look at this great video showing all the wonderful dishes from Gaziantep.

Eggplant Kebab

I really like eggplant and am thinking about writing a book something along the lines of '101 things to do with an eggplant' or 'Have your way with me' from the eggplant diaries.  There are soooo many things you can make with this wonderful vegetable from a simple salad mixed in with garlic yogurt to making meatballs to wrapping delicate morsels up in grilled slices.  Eggplant sellers at the local bazaars are out in full force too, yelling and screaming out the benifits of thier wares.  Last time we went to the bazaar I bought a kilo and decided to make this very easy and very impressive looking dish.

250gr minced meat

1 cup dried breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
3 or 4 average long eggplants
3 or 4 sliced tomatoes
2 tbsp sweet chilli or tomato paste
1 cup of water
1tsp dried mint
chilli powder
oil


This dish has eggplant slices, tomato slices and meatballs lined up alternatively in your baking tray and for that reason looks great served up for a special dinner.


First make the meatballs by taking the minced meat, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper and knead very well until it  has a nice paste consistency or you could do that in your food processor if preferred.   Roll the meat mixture into balls about the size of a walnut.  Keep to one side.


Take the eggplants and slice, I usually cut mine at about 2 fingers width, some do it a bit thicker I prefer mine a bit thinner.  Do the same with the tomatoes.  Now get a slice of eggplant and put into your baking tray vertically.   Then take a tomato slice and do the same, then add a meatball.  REPEAT until your tray if full.  Add the tomato paste, 1 cup of water, mint, chilli if desired and a splash of oil into a small bowl and mix well. Pour over the eggplants in the tray .  Bake in a hot oven until the eggplant and meat are cooked.


This is nice served with salad, bread and ayran.

You can also have this cooked on skewers and you will find this on most restaurant menus in Gaziantep.  İt is also nice like that.  So you would cut the eggplant slices a bit thicker and put eggplant on the skewer then a meatball and alternate.  Cook over coals.

Poached Eggs with Garlic Yogurt - Çılbır

This is a very easy and quick breakfast, lunch or brunch dish. It is composed of garlic yogurt and poached eggs, served with either toast or turkish pide and some strong tea.

2 cups of yogurt
4 eggs
4 cloves of garlic, or more
salt and pepper
tomato paste
oil

First put the yogurt into a small bowl and stir well.  Add in the crushed garlic cloves and stir well.  Put to one side and then crack your eggs into a frying pan half filled with simmering water.  Cover with a lid and gently simmer until the eggs are cooked.  I like mine fully cooked whilst some prefer thiers runny so the cooking time will vary.  Using a spatula, take out the eggs and put onto individual plates, either one or two per person.  Then cover with some of the garlic yogurt.  Taking a good slosh of oil and some tomato paste mix together then gently heat in a small pan.  Once this mixture has joined to become a sauce pour over the top of the yogurt and serve.  If you dont want to use the oil sauce you can sprinkle over some dill and or chili flakes instead.