Friday, August 24, 2012

Sopska Salata (Bulgaria)

2 tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped in cubes
1 small onion, chopped
1-2 green or red peppers, roasted or raw, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup Bulgarian sirene cheese or feta cheese, shredded/crumbled
2-3 Tbsp oil (traditional: sunflower, lux: extra virgin olive oil)
1-2 Tbsp vinegar (traditional: red wine vinegar, lux: balsamic)
Salt to taste
 
Place tomatoes, cucumber, peppers and onion in a large bowl and toss. Mix oil, vinegar and salt to taste in a small bowl until blended. Toss dressing with vegetables, transfer into a serving bowl. Top with crumbled cheese. Serve fresh.
ENJOY
 
TURKCE
2 domates, dogranmis
1 salatalik, dogranmis
1 kucuk boy sogan, dogranmis
1-2 yesil ya da kirmizi biber, kozlenmis ya da cig, dogranmis (istege bagli)
1 cay bardagi Bulgaristan sirene peyniri/beyaz peynir, rendelenmis
2-3 yemek kasigi sivi yag (geleneksel: aycicek yagi, luks: sizma zeytinyagi)
1-2 yemek kasigi sirke (geleneksel: uzum sirkesi, luks: balsamic sirke)
Tuz
 
Domates, salatalik, sogan ve biberleri genis bir kasede harmanlayin. Kucuk bir kasede; tuz, sirke ve siviyagi iyice karisana dek karistirin. Salata sosunu sebzelerin uzerine dokun ve nazikce karistirin. Servis tabagina alin ve uzerine rendelenmis sirene/beyaz peyniri koyun. Bekletmeden servis yapin.
AFIYET OLSUN
 

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Banitsa (Bulgarian Cheese Pie)

Banitsa (banica and banitza) is a traditional Bulgarian pastry. Traditionally, some lucky charms are put into the pastry on some of the national holidays or other occasions including; Christmas Eve, the first day of Christmas, New Year's Eve, etc.

1 package phyllo (filo) dough (1 lb)
3 eggs

1 lb Bulgarian(sirene) cheese/ feta cheese
5-6 Tbsp butter
1 cup of milk or yogurt

Beat the eggs in a bowl and combine the crumbled cheese, yogurt/milk and eggs together. Cheese should be lumpy so don't over mix. Melt the butter in a cup. Butter the bottom of a Pyrex or oven tray. Lay one sheet of filo dough and spread some melted butter with a brush all over. Then continue layering and spreading butter until 5-6 sheets one after another. Spread some of the cheese mixture on top, and distribute evenly. Then repeat layering and spreading butter in between for another 3-4 sheets. Pour some cheese mixture and repeat layering until all mixture is used. Lay the last 3-4 sheets on the top with no butter in between. Spread the rest of the butter on top. Cut in portion sized pie slices or squares and bake in the preheated 400 F (200 C) oven until golden (for about 30 minutes).
ENJOY

Banitsa is served for breakfast, brunch or any time with plain yogurt, ayran or boza. I would recommend Turkish tea with Banitsa. Served hot or cold, it is always tasty.
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TURKCE
Banitsa (banica and banitza) geleneksel bir Bulgaristan hamur isidir. Banitsa yapilirken geleneksel olarak icine bazi kismetler koyulur ve Noel ve Yeni yil gibi ozel gunlerde ya da  bayramlarda servis edilir.

1 paket filo dough (hazir yufka)
3 yumurta
½ kg Bulgaristan peyniri (sirene)/ feta peyniri
5-6 yemek kasigi tereyagi
1 su bardagi yogurt ya da sut

Yumurtalari bir kasede cirpin ve uzerine yogurt/sut ve ufalanmis peyniri ilave edin. Peynir parcalarini cok dagitmadan nazikce karistirin.Tereyagini eritin ve bir kaseye alin. Borcam ya da firin tepsisinin dibini yaglayin. Bir parca yufkayi tepsiye yayin ve uzerini erimis tereyagi ile fircalayin. Sonra, ust uste 5-6 yufka olana dek yaglama islemine devam edin. Peynirli karisimin bir miktarini uzerine esit olarak dagitin. Tekrar tek tek yufkalari 3-4 tane olana dek tereyag ile yaglamaya devam edin. Yine peynirli karisimdan biraz koyun ve dagitin. Butun peynirli karisim bitene dek ayni islemi tekrarlayin. Son 3-4 parca yufkayi aralarina tereyegi surmeden en uste yerlestirin ve kalan tereyagini uzerine guzelce surun. Arzuya gore kare veya ucgen dilimler kesin ve onceden isitilmis 200 C (400 F) firinda yaklasik 30 dakika ya da uzeri kizarana dek pisirin.
AFIYET OLSUN

Banitsa kahvalti, cay saati ve gunun her ani sade yogurt, ayran veya boza ile ikram edilir. Benim tavsiyem yaninda Turk cayidir. Her turlu cok lezzetli oldugu icin sicak ya da soguk servis edilebilir.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Roasted Jalapenos with Sauce (Kozlenmis Soslu Jalapeno Biberi)

1 lb fresh jalapeno pepper, washed
3-4 Tbsp vinegar
5 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt to
taste
1 tsp sugar (optional)
6 medium cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped (optional)
1 tsp peppercorns (optional)

Lightly roast the jalapenos either over a grill or a stove until they get a couple of dark spots on each side. Make sure not to over roast, we would not want the skins to be removable. Let them cool for a while. Then, preferably remove the stems or you may keep them on. In a bowl, combine vinegar, olive oil, sugar, parsley and
salt. Add the roasted jalapenos and mix them all. Either use glass jars or other storage containers to store the jalapenos.
Divide the garlic cloves and peppercorns evenly between the containers. I usually prefer glass jars with tight caps if I am going to store them for a long time. Place some peppercorns and garlic in the bottom of the container and add a thick layer of roasted japalenos. Then continue layering with garlic, peppercorns and jalapenos until the container is full to the top. Try not to leave much space in between the jalapenos by pushing from the top.
Pack all the containers the same way and then distribute the remaining olive oil-vinegar sauce between the containers. All the jalapenos do not need to be covered with the sauce, so just use what you have. Close the lids tight. Keep the jars/containers in the refrigerator and you may serve these roasted jalapenos with any kind of dish.
ENJOY

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TURKCE
½ kg jalapeno (Meksika) biberi, yikanip kurulanmis
3-4 yemek kasigi sirke
5 yemek kasigi zeytinyagi
1 tatli kasigi tuz
1 tatli kasigi seker (istege bagli)
6 dis orta boy sarimsak, soyulmus ve dilimlenmis
½ cay bardagi taze maydanoz (istege bagli)
1 tatli kasigi tane karabiber (istege bagli)

Jalapeno biberlerini izgara ya da ocagin uzerinde her taraflarinda esit kucuk siyah kabarciklar olana dek hafifce kozleyin dek pisirin. Biberlerin kabuklarinin ayrilmasini istemedigimizden dolayi fazla kozlememeye dikkat edin. Kozlediginiz jalapenolari sogumaya birakin. Tercihen saplarini koparin ya da saplariyla birlikte de kullanabilirsiniz. Bir kasede, sirke, zeytinyagi, seker, maydanoz ve tuzu guzelce karistirin. Kozlenmis biberleri ilave edin ve harmanlayip karistirin.
Hazirladiginiz biberleri sster cam kavanoz isterseniz de saklama kaplarinda koruyabilirsiniz. Ben genelde uzun sureli saklayacagim zamanlar agzi guzel kapanan cam kavanozlari tercih ediyorum. Sarimsaklari ve tane biberleri kullanacaginiz kaplar arasinda esit paylastirin. Once kaplarin dibine biraz karabiber ve sarimsak koyun sonra bir miktar kozlenmis jalapeno ilave edin, sonra tekrar sarimsak ve karabiber, jalapeno olamk uzere tabakalar halinde kaplari agzina kadar doldurun. Arada bosluk kalmamasi icin uzerinden biberleri hafifce bastirabilirsiniz. Butun jalapenolari kaplara yerlestirdikten sonra geriye kalan zeytinyagli sirkeli sosu esit olarak bitin kaplara paylastirin. Biberlerin tamamen sos ile kaplanmasina gerek olmadigi icin elinizde ne kadar sos varsa onu kullanin. Kapaklarini sikica kapatin ve buzdolabinda saklayin.
Kozlenmis soslu jalapenolari her turlu yemek cesidi ile birlikte servis yapabilirsiniz.
AFIYET OLSUN

Ana Sayfaya Don

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Panera's Broccoli Cheese Soup (Panera Brokoli Corbasi)

3 Tbsp butter
½ medium onion, chopped
¼ cup flour
2 cups milk
2 cups chicken stock
½ lb fresh broccoli, chopped
1 cup carrot, shredded
¼ tsp nutmeg
1-2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
 ½ cup corn starch
Salt and pepper

Sauté onion in butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and add chicken stock and milk. Add broccoli and carrots. Simmer for 20-25 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Dissolve starch in water and add into the soup. Stir frequently until the soup thickens. If desired, can be puréed in a blender. Return to heat and add cheese. Stir in nutmeg.
Serve hot with bread.
ENJOY
 
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TURKCE
3 yemek kasigi tereyagi
½ orta boy sogan, dogranmis
¼ su bardagi un
2 su bardagi sut
2 su bardagi tavuk suyu
250 gram brokoli, dogranmis
1 su bardagi havuc, rendelenmis
½ cay kasigi muskat (kucuk hindistan cevizi)
1-2 su bardagi cedar peyniri, rendelenmis
½ su bardagi misir nisastasi
Tuz ve karabiber

Tereyagini tencerede eritin ve sogani orta ateste pembelesene kadar soteleyin. Unu ilave edin ve 3-5 dakika pisirin. Surekli karistirarak tavuk suyu ve sutu ilave edin. Brokoli ve havuclari ilave edin. Yaklasik 20-25 dakika kisik ateste pisirin. Tuz ve karabiber ilave edin. Bir miktar su icinde nisastayi cozun ve corbaya yavasca ilave edin. Corba koyulasana kadar surekli karistirin. Arzu ederseniz blendir ile pure haline getirin. Ocaga alin ve cedar peynirini ilave edin. Son olarak muskati ilave edin ve ocaktan alin. Yaninda ekmek ile sicak servis edin.
AFIYET OLSUN

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

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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
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 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