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,