Monday, January 28, 2013

Sesame Paste (Tahini) & Walnut Cookies (Tahinli&Cevizli Kurabiye)

1 cup sesame paste (tahini)
1 cup sugar
1 cup walnuts, crushed/ground
3 cups all purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
100 grams butter at room temperature
½ cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract/powder
1 tsp baking powder (optional)
 
Take tahini (sesame paste), canola oil, butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Mix them well and add walnuts, vanilla and baking powder (optional). Knead while adding flour slowly. Dough should be a little sticky, make sure it is not hard. Grab walnut size pieces and give them shape them in balls with your palms. Place them over a greased baking tray leaving some room in between. Bake them in a preheated 340F (175C) oven until they start getting cracks (for about 30 minutes). Take them out before they get pinkish/brownish. Let them cool and be careful while taking them from the tray, because they crumble easily.
ENJOY
P.S: This recipe makes about 35-40 pieces.
 
TURKCE
1 su bardagi tahin
1 su bardagi seker
1 su bardagi ceviz, iri kirilmis ya da ogutulmus
3 su bardagi cok amacli un
½ su bardagi tam bugday unu
½ su bardagi kanola yagi
100 gram tereyagi, oda sicakliginda
1 tatli kasigi vanilya
1 tatli kasigi kabartma tozu (istege bagli)
 
Tahin, sivi yag, oda sicakligindaki tereyagi ve sekeri genis bir kapta karistirin. Cevizi, vanilya ve kabartma tozunu (istege bagli) ilave edin. Karistirarak unu azar azar ekleyerek yogurun. Hamurun kivami sert olmamali. Hafif ele yapisir gibi yumusak bir hamur elde edin. Hamurdan ceviz buyuklugunde parcalar alin ve elinizde yuvarlayarak yaglanmis firin tepsisine araliklarla dizin. Onceden isitilmis 175C (340F) firinda kurabiyeler catlamaya baslayincaya dek, yaklasik 30 dakika pisirin. Uzerleri kizarmadan firindan cikarin. Tepsiden alirken dikkatli olun cunku cok kolay dagiliyorlar.
AFIYET OLSUN
NOT: Bu tariften yaklasik 35-40 kurabiye cikiyor.
 

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Stuffed Roasted Yellowtail Snapper (Firinda Mercan Baligi/Levrek Dolmasi)

 ½-2 lbs whole yellowtail snapper (cleaned, head and tail intact)
2-3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
½-1 cup spinach, cleaned and chopped
2-3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper  
2 Tbsp onion, julienne cut
1-2 rosemary sprigs or ½ tsp dried rosemary
 
Preheat oven to 400F (200C) and score skin of each fish with 3-4 diagonal cuts. Rub inside and outside flesh of each fish with olive oil and drizzle each fish with lemon juice. Sprinkle flesh evenly with salt and black pepper. Place fish on a greased baking sheet. Meanwhile mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl (onion, spinach and rosemary sprigs) and place them inside each fish.
Roast for 30 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. You may broil it for a couple of minutes for a brownish top as well.
ENJOY
 
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TURKCE
~1 kg butun mercan baligi/levrek (kafasi ve kuyrugu ile temizlenmis)
2-3 yemek kasigi sizma zeytinyagi
1/2-1 su bardagi ispanak, temizlenmis ve dogranmis
2-3 yemek kasigi taze limon suyu
1 tatli kasigi tuz
1 cay kasigi taze ogutulmus karabiber
2 yemek kasigi sogan, julyen dogranmis
1-2 dal biberiye/1 cay kasigi kuru biberiye
 
Firini onceden 200C (400F)’ye isitin. Temizlenmis baliklarin dis kismina enine 3-4 tane derince kesik atin. Her baligin hem icini hem disini zeytinyagi ile ovun ve limon suyu serpin. Yine her yerine tuz ve karabiber serpin. Hazirlanan baliklari yaglanmis pisirme kagidi uzerine alin. Bu sirada bir kasede geri kalan malzemeleri; ispanak, sogan ve biberiyeyi karistirin. Her baligin icini bu malzeme ile doldurun.
Firinda yaklasik 30 dakika ya da baliklar catal ile kolayca ayrilana dek pisirin. Istege bagli olarak bir kac dakika ustten kizartma da yapabilirsiniz.
AFIYET OLSUN
 
 

Monday, January 14, 2013

Sekerpare


250 grams butter (at room temperatue)
2 eggs
½ cup semolina
½ cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract/powder
3 ½ -4 cups flour
Walnut quarters or almond/hazelnut for top

Syrup:
3 cups sugar
4 cups water
1 Tbsp lemon juice

First prepare the syrup by boiling sugar and water for 3-5 minutes. Then, stir in lemon juice and leave aside to cool.
Meanwhile, mix softened butter, sugar, eggs and semolina. Then, add flour slowly and knead at the same time. Add baking powder and vanilla. The dough should be soft and non sticky as cookie dough. Take walnut size pieces and make round ball shapes using your palms. Arrange them over a greased baking tray and press gently over each one sticking a piece of walnut/almond/hazelnut. Bake them in a preheated 350F (180C) oven until they turn light brown for about 30-40 minutes.
Pour the cooled syrup over hot Sekerpares right after taking them out of the oven. Use either a spoon or ladle for uniform distribution. Leave the Sekerpares inside the syrup for at least 4-5 hours before serving. You may cover them with another tray to decrease the absorption time.
ENJOY
P.S: Makes about 35-40 pieces.

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TURKCE
250 gram tereyagi (oda sicakliginda)
½ su bardagi seker
½ su bardagi irmik
1 tatli kasigi kabartma tozu
1 tatli kasigi vanilya
3 ½ -4 su bardagi un
Uzeri icin badem/findik ya da ceviz
 
Surup icin:
3 su bardagi seker
4 su bardagi su
1 yemek kasigi limon suyu
 
Surubu hazirlamak icin genis bir tencereey seker ve suyu alin ve iyice kaynatin. Yaklasik 3-5 dakika kaynadiktan sonra limon suyunu ilave edin ve altini kapatin. Bir kenarda sogumaya birakin.
Yumusak olan tereyagi, seker, irmik ve yumurtayi karistirip birbirine yedirin. Yavas yavas unu ekleyerek yogurmaya baslayin. Kabartma tozu ve vanilyayi ilave edin. Yumusak ve ele yapismayan bir kurabiye hamuru elde edene dek yogurun.
Ceviz buyuklugunde parcalar alin ve elinizle yuvarlayip yaglanmis tepsiye uzerlerinden hafifce bastirarak aralikli olarak dizin. Her sekerparenin uzerine bir parca ceviz/findik/badem batirin. Onceden isitilmis 180C (350F) firinda  uzerleri kizarana dek pisirin (30-40 dakika).
Firindan cikan sicak sekerparelerin uzerine ilik/soguk surubu gezdirerek hepsine esit olarak dagitin. Puf noktasi, sekerpare sicak, surup ilik ya da soguk olmalidir. Servisten once en az 4-5 saat surubun cekmesini bekleyin. Isterseniz tepsinin uzerine baska bir tepsi kapatarak surubun cekmesini hizlandirabilirsiniz.
AFIYET OLSUN
NOT: Yaklasik 35-40 tane sekerpare cikiyor.

Ana Sayfaya Don

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Baked Meat Balls (Firin Kofte)

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, grated
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp sea salt to taste
½ tsp fresh ground pepper
½ tsp crushed red pepper
4 Tbsp olive oil

Mix all the ingredients, but the olive oil. Then, knead for a couple of minutes for an even distribution of the ingredients. Grab egg size or bigger pieces and make circular patties. Place them over an oven tray greased with olive oil. Brush the tops of the meat balls with olive oil.
Bake them in a preheated 400F (200C) for about 25-30 minutes or until they get lightly brown.
ENJOY

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TURKCE
½ kg kiyma
1 sogan, rendelenmis
1 tatli kasigi kimyon
1tatli kasigi deniz tuzu
1 cay kasigi taze karabiber
1 cay kasigi kirmizi pul biber
4 yemek kasigi zeytinyagi

Zeytinyagi haric butun malzemeleri genis bir kapta karistirin ve bir sure elinizle yogurarak malzemelerin kiyma ile iyice butunlesmesini saglayin. Sonra, yumurta buyuklugunde ya da daha buyuk parcalar alin ve elinizle yuvarlak ve yassi kofteler yapin. Zeytinyagi ile yagladiginiz firin tepsisine dizin. 
Uzerlerini zeytinyagi ile yaglayin ve onceden isitilmis 200C (400F) firinda yaklasik 25-30 dakika ya da uzerleri kizarana dek pisirin.
AFIYET OLSUN

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Snap Beans-Mushroom Stir Fry (Mantarli Araka Bezelye)

1 lb fresh snap beans, trimmed and washed
1 white onion, julienne cut
5-6 medium mushrooms, cut in 6 pieces
2 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
Fresh black pepper
 
Saute onions in olive oil over medium heat. Then, stir in mushrooms and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add snap beans and cook for 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally. Add salt and dill. Cook over low heat (preferably lid closed) for about 5-8 minutes.
Serve either hot or cold.
ENJOY
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TURKCE
½ kg taze araka bezelye (kabuklu), temizlenmis ve yikanmis
1 beyaz sogan, uzun kesilmis
5-6 orta boy mantar, 6’ya kesilmis
2 yemek kasigi taze dereotu, dogranmis
2 yemek kasigi zeytinyagi
1 tatli kasigi tuz
Karabiber
 
Oncelikle zeytinyagi ve sogani bir tavaya alin ve orta ateste soteleyin. Ardindan mantarlari koyun ve 1-2 dakika cevirin. Son olarak temizlenmis araka bezelyeleri ilave edin. Orta ateste 3-4 dakika cevirin. Tuzunu ve dere otunu ilave edin. Yaklasik 5-8 dakika kisik ateste, tercihen kapagi kapali olarak  pisirin.
Sicak veya soguk servis yapilabilir.
AFIYET OLSUN