Friday, June 15, 2012

Muska Boregi (Triangle Borek)

1 yufka (Turkish pastry)
¼ lb (100 gr) ricotta/feta cheese
1 egg
1tsp butter, at room temperature
1 cup canola oil for frying

Whisk the egg in a small bowl and add butter and cheese. Mix well. Cut the yufka in half and place them on top of each other. Then, starting from the wide part cut 1 ½ inch strips in width. Place one tsp of the cheese filling on the wide side of each strip. Then, fold from side to side to form a triangle. Keep folding until the end of the strip. Then, wet the edge with water and stick to the triangle. Fold all the pieces the same way.  Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry both sides of the triangle boreks.
ENJOY

********************************
TURKCE
1 yufka
100 gram lor peyniri/beyaz peynir
1 yumurta
1 tatli kasigi tereyag, oda sicakliginda
Kizartmak icin 1 su bardagi kanola yagi

Yumurtayi kucuk bir kaseye alin ve cirpin. Tereyagi ve peyniri ilave edin, guzelce karistirin.
Yufkayi  ortadan ikiye kesin ve ust uste koyun. Enine dogru yaklasik 4 parmak genisliginde seritler kesin. Her parcanin genis kismina peynirli icten yaklasik 1 tatli kasigi kadar koyun ve ucgen seklinde saga sola dogru katlayarak muska seklinde katlayin. Son kismini suya batirin ve borege yapistirin. Butun parcalari bu sekilde katlayin.
Kizgin yagda her iki taraflari kizarana kadar kizartin.
AFIYET OLSUN

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Whole Roasted Sea Bass (Firinlanmis Levrek)


2 whole sea bass, gutted and fins removed
Coarse sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
2 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped
4 fresh bay leaves
½ cup scallions, finely sliced
1 lemon’s juice

Season the cavity and exterior of fish with salt and pepper. Cover with plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 450 F (230 C). Grease a baking dish that is just large enough to hold fish without crowding.
Divide thyme, rosemary, and parsley evenly between each fish, and place inside cavity. Also add some on the exterior of fish. Place 2 bay leaves in cavity of each fish. Cut 3-4 vertical slits on both sides of the fish.Sprinkle scallions over and around fish; drizzle with olive oil.
Roast for 15-20 minutes in the oven checking if the thickest part of the fish is just firm. When it’s cooked drizzle fish with lemon and with any pan juices before serving.
ENJOY
*****************************************
 TURKCE
2 tane butun levrek, temizlenmis, yuzgecleri ve kuyrugu alinmis
Deniz tuzu ve taze ogutulmus karabiber
¼ su bardagi sizma zeytinyagi
2 dal taze kekik, dogranmis
2 dal taze biberiye, dogranmis
2 dal taze maydanoz, dogranmis
4 tane defne yapragi
½ su bardagi taze sogan, ince dogranmis
1 limonun suyu

Levreklerin icini ve disini tuz ve biberle ovalayin. Strec film ile kaplayin ve buzdolabinda 1 saat bekletin. Firini onceden 230 C (450 F)’ye isitin. Iki tane baligi koyabileceginiz bir firin tepsisini yaglayin.
Sonra, kekik, biberiye ve maydanozu ikiye bolun. Her iki levregin de hem icine hem de disina koyun. Her baligin icine 2’ser tane defne yapragi yerlestirin. Levreklerin her iki tarafina da enine 3-4 tane cizik atin. Taze soganlari baligin uzerine ve yanlarina serpistirin ve uzerlerinde zeytinyagi gezdirin.
Firinda yaklasik 15-20 dakika pisirin. Pisme suresinin bitmesine yakin levreklerin en kalin yerlerine catal ya da bicak batirarak pisip pismedigini kontrol edin. Servis yapmadan once limon suyunu ve tepsinin dibinde biriken sosu levreklerin uzerinde gezdirin.
AFIYET OLSUN

Monday, June 4, 2012

Moist Coconut Cake (Hindistan Cevizli Pasta)

3/4 cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sifted cake flour, plus more for pans
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ cup sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup sour cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ cup coconut milk
1-1 ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
1-2 cups flaked coconut
1 lb whipped cream

Heat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Line the bottom of a 10-by-2-inch buttered round cake pan with parchment paper. Dust the bottom and the sides of the cake pan with flour, and tap out any excess. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt, and set the bowl aside.
In another bowl, cream butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add sugar, and keep beating until the mixture is fluffy and light in color (about 3 minutes). Then drizzle in eggs, beating on medium speed until the batter is no longer slick. Beat until the mixture is fluffy again, about another 3 minutes.
Then, add flour mixture and sour cream alternately to the batter, a little of each at a time, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Beat in vanilla. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake cake in preheated oven until the top has turned golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40-50 minutes. Rotate the pan in the oven, if needed, for even browning. Transfer cake pan to wire rack to cool, about 15 minutes. Remove cake from the pan, and let cool completely on the rack, top up.
To assemble, remove parchment paper from the bottoms of the cake. Split the cake in half horizontally with a serrated knife. Set aside the prettier dome for the top layer. Place the other another layer, dome side down, on the serving platter. Use a fork to poke all over the top of the cake, in 1 inch intervals.
In a small bowl, stir together the coconut milk, and sweetened condensed milk. Evenly pour half of the milk mixture over the cake, then sprinkle with 3-4 tablespoons of coconut flakes over the cake. Let it absorb the liquid for 15 minutes in refrigerator. Then, spread a generous 1 cup of whipped cream over coconut flakes. Top cake with the reserved domed layer, and poke all over with a fork, in 1 inch intervals. Pour the remaining milk mixture evenly over the cake. Sprinkle with 3-4 tablespoons of coconut flakes over. Chill cake in the refrigerator until cold, about 1-2 hours. Frost outside of cake generously with whipped cream and sprinkle remaining coconut flakes all over cake including the sides while frosting is soft. Keep refrigerated.
ENJOY

TURKCE
¾ su bardagi (170 gr) tereyagi, oda sicakliginda
2 su bardagi elenmis un ve ekstra tepsi icin
1 tatli kasigi kabartma tozu
½ cay kasigi tuz
1 ½ su bardagi seker
4 yumurta, cirpilmis
2/3 su bardagi krema (eksi)
1 tatli kasigi vanilya
½ su bardagi hindistan cevizi sutu
1-1 ½ su bardagi sekerli konsantre sut
1-2 su bardagi hindistan cevizi rendesi
500 gr krem santi

Firini 180 C (350 F)’a isitin. Yaklasik 25 cm capinda ve 5 cm yuksekliginde bir yuvarlak pasta kalibinin dibini yaglayip, uzerine yagli kagit serin. Kalibin dibini ve kenarlarini unlayin. Fazla unu silkeleyip atin. Genis bir kasede un, kabartma tozu ve tuzu karistirin.
Baska bir kasede oda sicakligindaki tereyagini orta hizli mikser ile krema haline getirin. Yavas yavas sekeri ilave edin ve karisim beyazlasip, kopuksu bir kivam alana dek mikser ile cirpmaya devam edin (yaklasik 3 dakika). Sonra, yumurtalari ilave edin ve orta hizda karisim tekrar kopuk su kivama gelene dek cirpmaya devam edin (yaklasik 3 dakika).
Sonra, sirayla un karisimini ve kremayi  azar azar ilave edin. Un ile baslayip un ile bitirin. Cirmaya devam ederek vanilyayi da ekleyin ve son olarak kek karsimini pasta kalibina dokun. Kekin uzeri hafifce kizarana kadar firinda pisirin (yaklasik 40-50 dakika). Kekin pistigini anlamak icin orta kismina kurdan batirarak , kurdanin temiz ciktigindan emin olun. Eger gerekirse keki firinda cevirerek her yerinin esit kizarmasini saglayin. Pisen keki yaklasik 15 dakika sogumaya birakin. Kek kalibindan keki cikarin ve alt kismi ustte kalacak sekilde iyice sogumaya birakin.
Kekin dibinden yagli kagidi alin ve tirtikli bir buyuk bicak yardimiyla kekin tam ortasindan paralel olarak keserek iki pasta keki elde edin. Daha duzgun olan parcayi pastanin uzeri icin ayirin. Diger kek tabakasini  servis tabagina alin ve bir catal yardimiyla uzerinde yaklasik 2 cm araliklarla delikler acin.
Kucuk bir kasede, hindistan cevizi sutu ve konstantre sutu karistirin. Karisimin yarisini esit sekilde kekin uzerine yayin. Yaklasik 3-4 yemek kasigi hindistan cevizi rendesini uzerine yayin ve buzdolabina koyarak yaklasik 15 dakika kekin karisimi absorbe etmesini bekleyin. Sonra, yaklasik 1 su bardagi kadar krem santiyi bolca kekik uzerine yayin. Diger kek parcasini uzerine yerlestirin ve yine catalla 3 cm araliklarla delikler acin. Geriye kalan sut karisimini esit sekilde uzerine yayin ve yine 3-4 yemek kasigi hindistan cevizi rendesini her yerine yayin. Buzdolabinda yaklasik 1-2 saat sogumaya birakin. Sonra, pastanin uzerini ve yanlarini bolca krem santi ile kaplayin. Son olarak, pastanin her yerini, yanlari da dahil olmak uzere hindistan cevizi rendesiyle kaplayin. Hindistan cevizli pastanizi buzdolabinda saklayin.
AFIYET OLSUN

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Pickled Jalapenos (Jalapeno Tursusu)

1 lb fresh jalapenos, washed and sliced
¾ cup vinegar
1 cup water
8-10 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp black peppercorns
1-2 bay leaves (optional)

Pack the sliced jalapenos (preferably tight) into clean glass jars along with the garlic, bay leaves and black peppercorns. Leave some space (1 inch) on top. Add salt and sugar on top. Then, fill the jars with vinegar and water up to top. Close the lids tight and shake the jars up for a couple of times so that the salt and sugar will be dissolved and evenly distributed.
Age several weeks at room temperature (preferably in dark) before using or keep refrigerated up to 2 months if you are not planning to use them earlier.
ENJOY

************************************
TURKCE
½ kg taze jalapeno biberi, yikanmis ve ince dilimlenmis
¾ su bardagi sirke
1 su bardagi su
8-10 dis sarimsak
1 yemek kasigi tuz
2 yemek kasigi seker
1 tatli kasigi tane karabiber
1-2 tane defne yapragi

Dilimlenmis jalapeno biberlerini sarimsak, karabiber ve defne yapraklari ile birlikte cam kavanozlara doldurun (tercihen siki sekilde). Ust kisminda yaklasik 2 cm kadar bosluk birakin. Sonra, tuz ve sekeri ilave edin. Ardindan kavanozlarin agzina kadar sirke ve suyu ekleyerek kapaklarini sikica kapatin. Bir kac defa kavanozlari alt ust ederek tuz ve sekerin esit olarak karismasi icin nazikce calkalayin.
Oda sicakliginda (tercihen karanlik bir ortamda) 1-2 hafta fermente olmaya birakin veya eger tursuyu hemen tuketmeyecekseniz buzdolabinda 2 aya kadar saklayabilirsiniz.
AFIYET OLSUN

Friday, May 18, 2012

Turkish Hash Browns (Patates Mucveri)

3-4 medium size potatoes
1 onion
1 egg
¼ tsp baking soda (optional)
4-5 sprigs fresh parsley
Mint
Salt to taste
Black pepper
½ cup flour
Canola oil for frying

Peel the potatoes and shred. If desired rinse the starch and drain. Otherwise drain the excess starch liquid in the bottom. Shred the onion and garlic or just use the food processor. Chop the parsley finely and combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. If you prefer crispy hash browns skip the baking soda otherwise add the baking soda for fluffy and soft hash browns.
Heat the canola oil in a frying pan and add a spoonful mixture and give any shape you like (preferably as in the picture) by pressing gently on top. Fry both sides evenly and take over a serving plate. Serve warm.
ENJOY

 ******************************
TURKCE
3-4 orta boy patates
1 sogan
1 yumurta
1-2 dis sarimsak
½ cay kasigi karbonat (istege bagli)
4-5 dal maydanoz
Nane
Tuz
Karabiber
½ su bardagi un
Kizartmak icin kanola yagi

Patatesleri soyun ve rendeleyin. Isterseniz sudan gecirerek biriken nisastayi yikayabilir ya da yikamadan sadece biriken suyu suzebilirsiniz. Sogan ve sarimsaklari rendeleyin yada mutfak robotundan gecirin. Maydanozu ince ince dograyin. Butun malzemeleri genis bir kapta karistirin.
Eger mucverlerin yumusak olmasini tercih ederseniz karbonat ilave edin, eger kitir kitir severseniz karbonat ilave etmeyin.
Kizartma tavasina kanola yagini alin ve iyice kizdirin. Yaklasik bir yemek kasigi dolusu malzemeyi kizgin yaga yavasca birakarak uzerinden hafifce bastirarak yuvarlak ya da oval sekil verin. Her iki tarafini da guzelce kizartin. Servis tabagina alin ve sicak servis yapin.
AFIYET OLSUN


Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Leeks with Chicken Liver (Tavuk Cigerli Pirasa)


1 lb chicken liver
1 lb leeks
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup tomatoes, petite diced
¼ cup hot water
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp salt to taste
½ tsp fresh black pepper

Wash and drain chicken livers and cut them in bite sizes. Heat the olive oil in a pot and then add the chicken livers. Saute over medium heat until they turn brown. Meanwhile clean and chop the leeks. Add the leeks and continue sautéing over medium heat for about 3-4 minutes. Then, add the tomatoes, crushed red pepper and salt to taste. Add the hot water, give a stir and cook over low medium heat with the lid on. After 20-30 minutes add black pepper and turn the heat off.
ENJOY

***********************************
TURKCE
½ kg tavuk cigeri
½ kg pirasa
2 yemek kasigi zeytinyagi
1 su bardagi domates, kucuk dogranmis
¼ su bardagi sicak su
½ cay kasigi aci pul biber
1 tatli kasigi tuz
1 cay kasigi taze ogutulmus karabiber

Cigerleri yikayin ve suyu suzulunce irice dograyin. Zeytinyagini tencereye alin ve dogranmis cigerleri tencereye ilave edin. Orta ateste cigerler kahverengi olana dek sote edin. Bu sirada pirasalari yikayin ve dograyin. Tencereye ilave edin ve yaklasik 3-4 dakika daha sote edin. Sonra, domates, pul biber ve tuzu ilave edin. Sicak suyu ilave edin, karistirin ve kapagi kapali olarak yaklasik 20-30 dakika kisik ateste pisirin. Uzerine karabiber serpin ve sicak servis yapin.
AFIYET OLSUN

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Homemade Mediterranean Olives (Evde Sele Zeytini Yapimi)


2 kg (~4 lb) ripe uncured black olives
750 (~1 ½ lb) gr pickling salt/kosher salt
1/3 cup canola/vegetable oil

Wash and drain the ripe uncured black olives. Preferably use a glass jar (3 liter volume will work) and layer with olives and salt till fitting all the olives in the jar. Place in a dark and cool place. Turn the jar upside down every day to help the salt pieces to move around evenly for about 25 days. Drain if there is water collected in the bottom. After doing this for 25 days curing will be completed. Transfer the olives over a wide big bowl and take the olives and leave the salt. You can either take the olives into the same jar or use another container. Add some canola/vegetable oil and mix all olives. Keep the olives in the refrigerator or a cool place.
ENJOY
******************************** 
TURKCE
2 kg taze zeytin
750 gram iri tuz/kaya tuzu
100 ml zeytinyagi/kanola yagi

Zeytinleri yıkayıp suyunu suzun. Tercihen cam kavanoza (3 litrelik yeterli) bir kat zeytin bir kat tuz olarak dizin. Tercihen karanlik ve serin  bir yerde saklayin. Her gun kavanozu alt ust ederek calkalayin. Tuzların yer deÄŸiÅŸtirmesini saÄŸlayarak bu iÅŸlemi 25 gün boyunca tekrarlayin. Biriken suyu varsa surekli suzulur. Sonra geniÅŸ bir kaba bosaltin ve zeytinleri tuzun içinden alarak tekrar cam kavanoza veya baÅŸka bir kaba alın. Uzerine kanola yaÄŸi dokun ve zeytinlerin her tarafına esit olarak yayılması saÄŸlayin. Serin bir yerde veya buz dolabında saklayin.
Zeytinler afiyetle yemeye hazirdir.
AFIYET OLSUN