Eggplant Quiche - Patlicanli Kis

Something yummy for the weekend:

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 stick chilled unsalted butter,
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon cold water

• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Filling

• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup chopped shallots
• 1/2 kg roasted eggplants 
• 5 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, divided

• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 2 large eggs
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of ground black pepper
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons finely grated cheese
• 
  

For crust:

Blend flour, salt, and sugar in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, process until coarse meal forms. Whisk 1 egg and 1 teaspoon cold water in small bowl; add to flour mixture. Using on/off turns, process just until moist clumps form. Transfer to work surface and knead gently until dough comes together, about 4 turns. Form into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour. Do ahead Dough can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.

Butter 9 1/2-inch round fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer dough to pan, pressing onto bottom and up sides of pan; trim any excess dough. Chill 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter large square of foil and press, butter side down, onto crust. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights. Using fork, pierce bottom of crust all over (about 10 times). Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Brush lightly with egg white. Cool. Do ahead Can be baked 6 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

For filling:

Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallots; sauté until soft, about 2 minutes. Add eggplant; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Increase heat to high and sauté until liquid is absorbed and mushrooms are tender, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with 2 1/2 teaspoons thyme and cook 1 minute. Transfer mixture to plate. Cool mushrooms completely.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place cooled crust in pan on baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining 2 1/2 teaspoons thyme. Drain mushrooms, if needed. Scatter mushrooms over thyme. Whisk cream, eggs, salt, and pepper in medium bowl. Pour egg mixture over mushrooms. Sprinkle with green onions and cheese.

Bake quiche until custard is set, about 25 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe: Epicurious.com with a twist for eggplant

Photographs: Nur Olcer

Enjoy,

Turkish Breakfast / Turk Kahvaltisi

In turkish culture breakfast is really important, and we enjoy it very much. Below is just an a simple example. The main ingredients are cheese, olives, tomatoes, honey, different fruit jams and bread of course...

Enjoy!

Food Styling by Melis Bilge

Sour cherry jam / Vişne reçeli

I remember from my childhood, that each summer my grandmother used to prepare jams for the winter using fresh fruit of the season. Sour cherry was one of my favorites and I recall those days. We used to go to the market in Ula, Mugla on a Friday in July to buy 5 kilos of fruit and prepare the following recipe...

Cooking time:  60 minutes

Preparation time: 2 days

Ingredients

2 kg sourcherries

2.5 kg sugar

1/2 lemon

• Wash the sour cherries and clean the pits.
• In a bowl, add the sugar and let it stand overnight.
• Next day boil the mixture on medium to high heat for 1,5 hours and add the juice of lemon 10-15 minutes before you turn the heat off. The juice of the jam should drop from the spoon as seen on the below picture.
• Let it cool.
• If you like the jam thicker than it is, cover the plate with a net and put under the sun for 2-3 days.

Mashed Potatoes for the Summer / Soguk Püre

These mashed potatoes take me back to my childhood. My mother used to make these as they are perfect to fit into moulds- especially of  Disney characters.

Needless to say they are also very easy to make.

Cooking time:  30 minutes

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

500 gr potatoes (any kind)

3 table spoons of olive oil

2 lemons

Mints/Chives/Dill- fresh herbs based on preference

Pinch of salt

• Peel all the potatoes and put in a pan to boil for 30 mins. If you cut them into smaller cubes the cooking time will decrease.
• Mash them up and set aside to cool off for 10 mins.
• Squeeze the juice out of the lemons and cut up the fresh herbs of your choice.
• Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and fresh herbs to the mashy potatoes.
• Line up your preferred containes/serving dish with stretch film and brush on some olive oil on the surface.Pour in the mashed potato, mould with a spoon, gently.
• Refregirate for 1 hour before serving.
• Alternatively you can refregirate then, use cookie moulds to make colourful animation characters or shapes of your choice.



Lemon marmalade / Limon reçeli

Ingredients:
1 kg lemon
750 gr sugar
1 cup water

Grate the lemons, and cut all of them into small pieces. Put them into a bowl and fill this
bowl with water and let them soak in water overnight so that the bitter taste of the lemons fades away.


Strain the water the next day. Put the lemons into a saucepan and add water to cover it. Let it boil. Then again strain it. After this add sugar and 1 cup water to the
lemons and let it boil until this mixture gets thicker about an hour.

Enjoy it for your breakfast!

Quick and Easy Summer Dinner - Salmon and Arugula Salad

Fresh tomatoes and peppers are from our backyard :) Tomatoes are very yummy and they smell so good. Therefore I thought of using both of them in my fish stew for dinner. Any kind of fish fillet would work. Mine was salmon this time. Just put everything into the pot. Diced onions, pepper, tomatoes, some potatoes. For seasoning I use bay leaves and black pepper. I've also added some black olives remembering that I tasted similar fish stew in Santa Margaritha Italy and having loved it... 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil,1 small cup of water and juice of 1/2 lemon are the final touches. And within 30 minutes main dish is ready.

While this was cooking, I tossed some baby arugula leaves, tomatoes and cucumber for the salad. As far as the dressing goes lemon and olive oil is my favorite as always.

Enjoy,

Summer Fruits

Just in season...  It serves as one of the main desserts for most of us!

Watermelon and melon topped with a piece of flower from our backyard.

Enjoy,

Spring Fruit Salad

I know, spring is over and summer is here, but we still have great strawberries and some juicy oranges... So the following recipe can be used as  a fresh dessert or on any brunch menu.

Preparation time: 30 mins
Serves: 10

Ingredients:
- 1 kg sliced strawberries
- 2 medium size sliced oranges
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1 water glass orange juice

- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 table spoons sugar

- Mint leaves to taste

Mix all ingredients, and thats it. Enjoy...

Recipe: Nur Olcer

Photograph: Nur Olcer

Beet&Goat Cheese Terrine / Pancar ve Keçi Peynirli Başlangıç

Beet and Goat Cheese Terrine

Preparation time: 25 mins

Cooling time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

300 gr  fresh beets

1 lemon

250 gr  fresh goat cheese

200 gr  ricotta

2 Tbsp whipping cream

1 Tbsp finely chopped chives

1 Tbsp finely chopped mint

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

salt and pepper

 Cook whole beets, untrimmed in boiling water with juice of 1 lemon (put the lemon halves in water after squeezing out juice), until tender, about 45 minutes. Drain, cool and then peel. Slice beets as thinly as possible and set aside.

Beat goat cheese and ricotta with whipping cream until smooth. Add remaining ingredients, season to taste and fill a piping bag with a large, plain tip.

To assemble, line 6 muffin tin cups or 4-oz ramekins with plastic wrap. Place a single beet slice in the bottom of each cup. Line sides of each cup with beets, bedding to fit into the edge if needed, so that each cup is entirely lined with beets. Pipe goat cheese filling into each and top with beet slices to cover goat cheese. Chill for at least 2 hours. 

 To serve, gently pull out each terrine, unwrap and turn out onto serving plate.

Source: Anna Olson's kitchens recipe adapted.

Photograph: Nur Olcer

Zucchini with Yoghurt / Yoğurtlu Kabak

Summer season here and we look for more fresh dishes on the table. The following recipe is pretty easy to do and can be a great side dish / meze.

Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins
Serves: 8

Ingredients:
- 1 kg zucchini
- 1 medium size onion
- 1/2 kg strained yoghurt (suzme yogurt)
- 1 water glass walnut (crushed)
- 1 teaspoon salt

- 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 2 table spoons olive oil

Clean the zucchinis and grate them. Cut the onion in small pieces. 

Put the olive oil in a sauce pan and heat it, then stir in the onion. Add the grated zucchinis (squeeze them to get rid of water). Mix all of them for 5 - 8 minutes so that the mixture gets thicker. Let it cool afterwards.

Mix yoghurt, garlic and walnuts, add salt and cooked zucchinis. And ready to serve...

Enjoy,

Recipe: Nese Olcer

Photograph: Nur Olcer

Asparagus with Spring Onions / Taze Soğanli Kuşkonmaz

Asparagus season is almost ending, hence a quick and easy side dish recipe...

Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
- 1 bunch fresh asparagus (almost 1/2 kg)
- 5 spring onions
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper to taste

Clean the tough ends of the asparagus with a vegetable peeler and cut them in big chunks. 

Heat the oil in a skillet and add the asparagus and spring onions. Cook for 7 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the butter, salt and pepper, and mix couple minutes. And serve...

Enjoy,

Recipe: Jaques Pepin

Photograph: Nur Olcer

Artichoke Hearts with Olive Oil / Zeytinyağlı Enginar

Artichokes are native to Meditteranean region. Since my mom is from Mugla, Agean, we always have different dishes of artichokes in spring -  peak season for artichokes. The recipe below is a delicous fit for a healthy lifestyle...

Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 40 mins
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
- 6 large artichoke hearts
- 2 medium onions
- 1 large potato
- 1 cup green peas

- 1 large carrot
- 1 lemon (squeezed)
- 1 tea spoon salt

- 1 tea spoon sugar

- 2 water glasses water

- 8 table spoons olive oil

- 1 table spoon flour

Cut the onions in round slices and place them into the pot, place the artichokes on top of them. Cut the potato and the carrot in small cubes. Add potatos, carrots and the peas.

Whisk flour and water first and then add all the other ingredients to this and pour into the pan. Let it cook for 40 minutes on medium heat until the artichokes are tender.

Transfer the artichokes to a serving platter, reserving juices.  Put the onion, potato and pea mixture in the middle to each of the artichoke. Drizzle the pan juices over them and add some fresh dill up to taste. 

Enjoy,

Sources

Recipe: Nese Olcer

Photograph: Nur Olcer

Meatballs / Kadınbudu Köfte

In Turkish these type of meatballs are known as "Women's thighs meatballs/ kadınbudu köfte" probably because of their shape.
Great for a family dinner and best served with some mashed potatoes for the mild taste palette.
This was and still is one of my favourites from my mother's cooking...
Enjoy!

Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Serves:8

Ingredients:
-1 kg lean mince meat
-2 large onions
-2 teaspoons of salt
-1 teaspoon of black pepper
-1 teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate
-200 gr of white rice (approx. 2 water glasses)
-3 eggs (for frying)

Blend together all of the ingredients except for the eggs. Churn them into individual meatballs. These meatballs are pretty large each should fit  and fill up inside of your palm.

Boil some water in a large pan. Place the meatballs in the boiled water for the rice to swell up.

In the meantime, whisk up the 3 eggs in a separate bowl. Dip in each meatball to these eggs to coat all over.
Fry the meatballs in some olive oil.Turn sides carefully as the eggs will form trimmings all around the meatballs.

Insider tip: Heating up half of the mince meat before mixing up all of the ingredients reduces the cooking time by half.

Source: Buyukada Yemekleri by Selin Kutucular.

Welcome!

Here's to new launch.

We welcome you to a journey of recipes cooked in our kitchens at Istanbul,Turkey.
They will be a fusion of the east and the west. Since we have descentants from Gaziantep (South-East Turkey), Crete and Thessoloniki (Greece), Mugla (Aegean region, Turkey) and of course Istanbul.

Enjoy!