Pasta and Feta Cheese Börek (Yalancı Su Boreği)

Makes 5-6 servings

3 phyllo pastry sheets (yufka) * 250 g pasta (like this one or similar) * 4 eggs * 125 g margarine * 2 cups milk * 70 cl oil * 500 g feta cheese * 100 g parsley * 50 g dill

Cook the pasta, filter and place it on a bowl. Add the crumbled cheese, the margarine (at room temperature), the minced parsley and dill and mix everything very well. In another bowl beat 3 eggs. Add the oil and the milk and mix. Grease an oven tray or a big round oven pan. Cover it with one phyllo pastry sheet. Make the phyllo pastry humid with part of the oil mixture. Then, cover with half of the cheese mixture. Close with the extremities of the phyllo pastry that were out of the pan or tray. With the oil mixture, make that part of the phyllo pastry humid. Cover with another phyllo pastry sheet. This sheet must be totally inside the pan or tray. Make it humid with the oil mixture. Cover with the rest of the filling and then cover with the third phyllo pastry sheet. Beat one egg and brush the surface of the last phyllo pastry sheet. Bake on a 200º preheated oven until the surface of the börek gets brown.

Eggplant Börek (Patlıcanlı Börek)

2 tbsp olive oil * 3 eggplants * 1 onion * 2 green peppers * 2 tomatoes * salt * black pepper * 4 phyllo pastry sheets (yufka) * 2 cups milk * 1/2 cup olive oil * 2 egg whites * 1 egg yolk

To garnish:


1 egg yolk

Peel the eggplants and cut them in small cubes. Place them on a bowl with water and salt for 10 minutes. In the meantime, sauté the minced onion and peppers in 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add the eggplant. Peel the tomatoes, cut in cubes and add them to the other vegetables. Let it cook until all the juice evaporates. Let it cool down and reserve. Prepare a liquid mixture with the olive oil, the milk and the eggs. Place two phylo pastry sheets on a greased oven tray. Make the phylo pastry wet by pouring half of the liquid mixture over it. Cover with the eggplant filling. Then, cover the filling with two phylo pastry sheets and pour on the rest of the liquid. Brush with the egg yolk. Bake on a 200º preheated oven until the surface is brown and crusty. Let it cool down and then cut into squares. You can put on the fridge and heat before serving.

Because today is Kandil: Kandil Rings (Kandil Simidi)

Today is celebrated in Turkey one of the five holy nights, according to the Muslim calendar: the Berat Kandili.
In the kandil days you can find kandil simidi in all the patisseries and bakeries in Turkey.

Makes 10 servings

250 g margarine * 2 coffee cups yogurt * 2 tbsp sugar * 2 tbsp salt * 1 egg yolk * 4 1/2 cups flour * 1 tsp baking powder * 2 tsp mahleb

To garnish:

1 cup sesame seeds * 1 tbsp nigella seeds * 1 egg white

Sift the flour and place in the center the margarine, at room temperature, the sugar, the salt, the egg yolk, the yogurt, the baking powder and the mahleb and knead well. Let it ferment for 30 minutes. Separate portions of dough in the amount of walnuts and make rings. Place them on a greased oven tray. Brush each one with egg white and sprinkle with sesame and black cumin. Bake on a 170º preheated oven until they become brown.

It is also tradition to make helva in the kandil days.

Chocolate and Hazelnut Rolls (Çikolatalı Fındıklı Lokum)

For the dough:

500 g flour * 1 cup warm milk * 3 tbsp butter * 4-5 tbsp sugar * 1 tsp salt * 40 g powder yeast

For the filling:

5 tbsp raspberry jam * 50 g sugar * 50 g crumbled hazelnuts * 1 cup corn flakes * 160 g dark chocolate flakes

To garnish:

1 tbsp butter * 1 tbsp powdered sugar

Beat the sugar with the butter until it becomes creamy. Add the yeast, the milk, the flour and the salt and mix well. Let it wait for 20 minutes with the bowl covered. Open the dough on a surface sprinkled with flour. Cover the dough with the raspberry jam, then the sugar, the crumbled hazelnuts, the corn flakes and the chocolate flakes. Divide the dough in 3-4 parts, make rolls and place them on a greased round cake mold. Put a little butter on each roll. Bake on a 190º pre-heated oven for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with powder sugar and serve.

A delicious dessert: Baklava and Padişah

I had already published a baklava recipe here. Soon I will publish the padişah recipe.

Turkish Molasses Pudding (Harire)

This is a traditional recipe from Mardin, a city located in the southeast of Turkey.

Makes 6 servings

1 cup pekmez (grape, carob, or mulberry molasses) * 1 cup of flour * 5 cups water * 1/2 cup sugar * cinnamon powder

To garnish:

Cinnamon sticks * walnuts

Mix the molasses with the sugar, the flour and the water. Bring to low heat and let it boil for some minutes. Add some cinnamon powder. Take from the fire and pour in small bowls or in a big pyrex tray. Put in the fridge and serve cold. Garnish with cinnamon sticks and some walnuts.

Pekmez is a kind of syrup or molasses, available in Turkey in three varieties: grape, carob or mulberry. These are the most common, but the pekmez is also produced with other fruits. The pekmez doesn’t have any addition of sugar and is a very healthy sugar substitute. When it is mixed with tahini becomes very similar to chocolate.

You can find more details about pekmez here.

Rice Pilaf with Lamb, Mushrooms and Walnuts (Mantarlı Pilav)

Makes 10-12 servings

2 cups rice * 5 tbsp butter * 3 onions *100 g walnuts * 8 cups water * 500 g lamb meat * 2 tsp thyme * 200 g mushrooms * 3 tomatoes * 100 g fresh dill * 2 tsp sugar * 1 tsp black pepper * salt

Wash the rice and place it inside a bowl with warm water and salt for one hour. Then rinse it with cold water, filter and drain very well. Bring the onions and the meat, finely chopped, to fire with half of the butter. Sauté on low heat until the meat looses all the juice. Add the mushrooms and the tomatoes finely chopped and go on sautéing for some minutes. Add the water and let it cook for 30 minutes on low heat. When the meat is almost cooked add the rice, the salt, the black pepper and the sugar. First let it boil and then cook for 15 minutes on low fire. Melt the rest of the butter and add it to the rice. Close the pan and turn off the fire. Garnish with the dill and the thyme finely minced and the walnuts.

Fried Mussels with Dipping Sauce (Midye Tava)

Makes 4 servings

30 mussels * 4 tbsp flour * 1 egg * 1/2 cup beer * salt * black pepper * 1 cup oil for frying

For the dipping sauce:

2 tbsp pine-nuts * 2 tbsp milk * 1 tbsp cream * 2 garlic cloves * 1 tbsp lemon juice * salt * black pepper

Mix the flour with the egg, the beer, the salt and the black pepper. Put each mussel in this mixture and fry in hot oil. When the mussels become cooked place them on a paper towel.
Prepare the sauce. Beat the milk with the cream and the minced garlic. Add the lemon, the salt, the black pepper and the pine-nuts.
Serve the mussels with the dipping sauce in different plates. Each person can cover the mussels with the desired amount of sauce. These mussels can also be eaten inside the bread. In that case, they can be also covered with the sauce.