Thursday, July 5, 2007

In the Market...

Tarhana (ready powder used to make a typical turkish soup with the same name) and phyllo pastry (yufka) special for baklava.

Phyllo pastry sheets (yufka)

Different kinds of pasta and tarhana.

A kind of Turkish bread called bazlama.


Green beans (yeşil fasuliye)

Apricots (kayısı)

Purslane (semizotu)

Cherries (kiraz)

Potatoes (patates)

Mushrooms (mantar) and white mulberries (beyaz dut)

Wine leaves (asma yaprağı) for sarma

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Cheese Crepes with Sugar Syrup (Tava Katmeri)


For 6 crepes

250 g Urfa cheese (a traditional Turkish cheese from the city of Urfa in the southeast Anatolia) without salt (can be replaced by feta cheese) * 4 coffee cups flour * 1 egg * 10 g butter * 50 ml water * 100 g cornstarch * 1 coffee cup sunflower oil * salt

For the syrup:

1 cup sugar * 1 cup water * 2 tsp lemon juice

Place the flour and salt in a bowl and open a hole in the center. Put inside the egg, water and the butter and knead well. Cover with a cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes. Divide the dough in three equal portions. Sprinkle each one with cornstarch and open with a pin roll. Then cut each in half. Dobre e polvilhe com o queijo. Fold in and sprinkle with cheese. Fold again forming a triangle. Prepare the syrup. Put in a cooking pot the sugar, water and lemon and cook over low fire until boiling. Remove from fire and reserve keeping it warm. Grease a frying pan with 1 teaspoon of oil. Cook each crepe on both sides. Go on greasing the pan with more oil as you fry the crepes. Put them in a serving plate and pour on the warm syrup.

The katmer are very common in the Turkish breakfast, here in Turkey, with or without the sugar syrup. They are very delicious hot or warm with jam, kaymak or cream.