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1 1/2 pound (app. 700 gr.) spinach, fresh, chopped into bite sizes- baby spinach would be good, too!
1 big onion, finely chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 tbsp tomato or pepper paste (or half/half)
2-3 tbsp olive oil or for a tastier spinach 3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup rice, definitely white
1/3 cup milk or yogurt (milk helps with that weird taste on your teeth after eating spinach) [half&half or even heavy cream could be nice and creamy as well]
1 cup hot water
1/2 tsp (or as much as you want) black pepper
salt
pepper flakes

-Heat the oil in a pot and add onion and garlic. Stir for 10 minutes or until they're cooked and add tomato/pepper paste. Stir on medium heat for an other 3-4 minutes.
-If it's fresh, add spinach in small batches, and as they wilt, keep adding more. Stir for approximately 10 minutes until spinach changes into a darker green.
-Add rice and cook stirring for a minute or two.
-Pour first milk,yogurt, half&half or whatever you decided to use, cook for a minute or two.
-Add hot water, black pepper and salt to your taste. (This spinach dish is great with some heat, so feel free to add pepper flakes)
-Cook on low heat until rice is cooked (approximately for 30 minutes).
-Serve with yogurt on the side. Spinach means nothing to me if I don't mix it with yogurt, yet again there are a lot of people who like it plain.

PS: To digress from the Turkish recipe towards an Indian touch, replace tomato/pepper paste with curry.

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Leeks in Olive Oil (Zeytinyağlı Pırasa) 

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Leeks in Olive Oil (Zeytinyağlı Pırasa) 

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Ingredients

4 leeks, washed well and chopped in 1/3 inch rounds
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, chopped in rounds or half moons
1/4 cup rice
1/3 cup olive oil
Juice of half lemon
2/3 - 1 cup hot water
1 tsp sugar
Salt

-Heat olive oil in a pot and add onions, stir for 4 minutes
-Add carrots and stir for 3 more minutes
-Add sugar and stir for another minute
-Add leeks and stir for a couple of minutes
-Add water, sugar, and salt (black pepper and crushed pepper)
-when the water boils add rice and lemon juice
-Cover and cook on low heat until rice is cooked

Pırasa is best when it’s served cold with a little lemon juice on top.

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Ingredients

2 large celeriac (with stalks and leaves)

1 large carrot (peeled and sliced)

1 small onion

1/2 lemon (juiced)

1 orange (juiced)

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 cup olive oil (extra virgin)

Steps to Make It

1. First cut the stalks from your celeriac and sort them, saving the fresh, green stalks and some leaves. Next, peel the celeriac using a sturdy paring knife.

2. Cut each peeled celeriac in half, then slice the halves about ½ inch thick. Line the bottom of a large, covered sauce pan with the sliced celeriac and drizzle the lemon juice and orange juice over the top. This will keep them from turning dark while you work.

3. Peel the carrot and cut in slices about ¼ inch thick and arrange them on top of the celeriac. Peel the onion and cut it in quarters. Coarsely slice each quarter and separate the rings. Arrange the onion over the top.

4. Coarsely chop the green stalks and leaves you've set aside and add them to the pan. Add the salt, pepper, sugar and ¼ cup of the olive oil.

5. Add about 1/2 cup water. Turn the heat on high and bring the pan to a boil. Turn the heat to low, cover the pan and let the vegetables simmer until all are tender and the liquid is reduced.

6. If the liquid seems too much, remove the lid and turn up the heat to evaporate the extra liquid quickly. Let the vegetables cool down to room temperature in the pan.

7. Gently remove the vegetables from the pan and arrange them on your serving plate. Drizzle the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil over the top.

8. Garnish with a few more chopped celery leaves just before serving.

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Stuffed Artichokes (Zeytinyağlı Enginar Dolması)

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Stuffed Artichokes (Zeytinyağlı Enginar Dolması)

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1 pack of peeled artichokes. Since I don't know, or rather don't want to know, how to peel artichokes, I usually buy them peeled and frozen from international or middle eastern stores. What you should be looking for is something like this:
1/2 pound green peas
2 big carrots, diced petite (or you can use a 1 pound mixed peas and carrots, frozen)
1 onion, chopped finely
1/2 cup olive oil (if it's an olive oil dish, you cannot be stingy with olive oil)
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups of water
1/2 bunch dill, chopped
This is such a fancy looking dish, yet soo easy to cook.

-Mix onions, peas, carrots, sugar, salt, and 1/4 bunch of dill (we're saving the other half to garnish) in a bowl
-Place the artichokes facing up in a broad pot, preferably a shallow one.
-Cover the artichokes with stuffing. Do not actually try to stuff them, just put the stuffing in the pot and cover the artichokes
-Add olive oil and water
-If you will use a pressure cooker, do everything the same. It doesn't matter if you put the artichokes on top of each other. The pressure cooker will not probably be broad enough. Then cook artichokes for 20 minutes first on high, then on low heat
-If it's a regular broad pot, cover and cook on high heat for 5 minutes (or until it starts boiling), then on low for another 30-35 minutes
-Garnish with dill and do the finishing "stuffing" touches with a scoop on the plate

Just like all Turkish olive oil dishes, stuffed artichokes are best when they're served cold. Even better the next day!

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ingredients
1​/2 cup uncooked rice
4 3/4 cups whole​ milk, divided
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 egg yolk beaten with 3 tablespoons milk
Steps to Make It
Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).

Wash the rice and place it in a large saucepan with enough water to cover it by about 1/2 inch. Bring it to a boil and reduce the heat. Let the rice simmer gently until the rice is soft, about 5 minutes.

Add 3 3/4 cups milk, the sugar, and vanilla extract to the rice. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it boil very gently for about 10 minutes.

Using a whisk, mix together the remaining 1 cup milk and the cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth. While stirring, gradually pour this mixture into the rice. Turn up the heat and continue stirring the pudding until scalding.

When the pudding thickens, continue to stir and cook for about 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat and fill small, ovenproof dessert cups, clay cups, or disposable aluminum pudding cups with the hot mixture.

Using a spoon, drizzle a small amount of the egg yolk and milk mixture into the center of each dessert cup. With the back of the spoon, use a light, circular motion to swirl the egg yolk from the center to the edges so it spreads evenly over the top of each cup.

Bake the pudding cups until the tops are nicely browned, about 20 minutes. Let the cups cool at room temperature and then refrigerate for several hours before serving.

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Ingredients

1 whole chicken leg or ½ lb chicken breast
1/2 cup vermicelli
1 medium carrot, grated
3 gloves of garlic, sliced
1 tbsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
Sauce:
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp lemon juice

Made

Place the chicken in a pot and add 6-8 cups of water. Add 1 tsp salt and boil until the chicken is cooked. Then, cool the chicken and cut into small bite sizes.
Add carrot, garlic, 1 tsp salt to the chicken broth you got before and cook over medium heat. When it boils, add vermicelli and chicken pieces. Simmer for 8-10 minutes. Let it cool for a while. Mix the beaten egg and lemon juice in a bowl and slowly stir in to the Chicken Soup with Vermicelli. Finally sprinkle black pepper on top and serve warm.

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RED LENTIL SOUPIngredientsmedium onion, chopped1 large potato, chopped1 carrot, chopped2 tbsp oil1 tbsp tomato paste1 cup red lentil, washed and drained6-7 cups hot water ( you can add 1 cube of beef bouillon)1 tbsp saltA pinch of dry mint(optional)Garnish:2 tbsp butter1 tbsp red pepperA pinch of saltYou can use hot red pepper if you like.Made In a medium sized pot place the oil and chopped onion. At medium heat, sauté them and add the tomato paste, chopped carrots and potatoes and sauté them for about extra 2-3 minutes. Add the washed and drained red lentils, salt and hot water. Stir well.Cook until the carrots and potatoes are soft. (Approximately 10-15 minutes in medium-low heat) With a blender mix the soup thoroughly (see the picture). If it is too thick, you can add some more water and adjust according to your sense of taste.For the garnish in a small frying pan, place the butter and melt over low-medium heat. When it starts spitting, stir in the red pepper and salt. Then, pour the melted butter and pepper mixture over the soup. You can add some dry mint on top if you like mint.Serve the red lentil soup while still hot, and also add a few drops of lemon juice for a better taste.

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RED LENTIL SOUPIngredientsmedium onion, chopped1 large potato, chopped1 carrot, chopped2 tbsp oil1 tbsp tomato paste1 cup red lentil, washed and drained6-7 cups hot water ( you can add 1 cube of beef bouillon)1 tbsp saltA pinch of dry mint(optional)Garnish:2 tbsp butter1 tbsp red pepperA pinch of saltYou can use hot red pepper if you like.Made In a medium sized pot place the oil and chopped onion. At medium heat, sauté them and add the tomato paste, chopped carrots and potatoes and sauté them for about extra 2-3 minutes. Add the washed and drained red lentils, salt and hot water. Stir well.Cook until the carrots and potatoes are soft. (Approximately 10-15 minutes in medium-low heat) With a blender mix the soup thoroughly (see the picture). If it is too thick, you can add some more water and adjust according to your sense of taste.For the garnish in a small frying pan, place the butter and melt over low-medium heat. When it starts spitting, stir in the red pepper and salt. Then, pour the melted butter and pepper mixture over the soup. You can add some dry mint on top if you like mint.Serve the red lentil soup while still hot, and also add a few drops of lemon juice for a better taste.

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YOGURT SOUP
 
Ingredients

2/3 cup yogurt, whisked
3 tbsp flour, heaping
6-7 cups chicken stock/water and chicken bouillon
3 tbsp oil/butter
1 tbsp salt to taste
Mint/paprika/black pepper
 
Made
 
In a pot, sauté flour and oil/butter over medium heat, till the mixture turns to a light brown color. Then add chicken stock or water and chicken bouillon. Stir continuously and before it boils, stir in yogurt and salt. Simmer over low heat for 5-8 minutes.
For the garnish in a small frying pan, melt butter or place oil over low-medium heat. When it starts spitting, stir in the paprika and turn the heat off. Pour over the soup. Also another alternative is to sprinkle dried mint or black pepper on top.
Serve Yogurt Soup warm.

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YOGURT SOUP
 
Ingredients

2/3 cup yogurt, whisked
3 tbsp flour, heaping
6-7 cups chicken stock/water and chicken bouillon
3 tbsp oil/butter
1 tbsp salt to taste
Mint/paprika/black pepper
 
Made
 
In a pot, sauté flour and oil/butter over medium heat, till the mixture turns to a light brown color. Then add chicken stock or water and chicken bouillon. Stir continuously and before it boils, stir in yogurt and salt. Simmer over low heat for 5-8 minutes.
For the garnish in a small frying pan, melt butter or place oil over low-medium heat. When it starts spitting, stir in the paprika and turn the heat off. Pour over the soup. Also another alternative is to sprinkle dried mint or black pepper on top.
Serve Yogurt Soup warm.

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Ingredients

2 cup cherry tomatoes — diced

1 yellow bell pepper — diced

1 cup red onions — sliced

1/2 cup black olives — sliced

1 medium cucumber — diced

3 tablespoons feta — crumble (don't use it if you are doing Whole30)

3 tablespoon sun dried tomatoes —  julienne cut

3 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon garlic — minced

1 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon fresh parsley — chopped

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, toss together cherry tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, red onions, black olives, cucumber, feta, and sundried tomato.

2. In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

3. Pour dressing over salad mixture and toss.

4. Top with fresh parsley

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Ingredients
4 sheets of filo pastry, thawed (each sheet about 30 cm x 27 cm – 11 in x 12 in)
30 ml / 2 tbsp. melted unsalted butter
55 gr / 2 oz. clotted cream, Turkish kaymak or mascarpone cheese
60 gr / 4 tbsp. finely crushed, unsalted pistachios
30 ml / 2 tbsp. sugar (brown sugar works well too)
Honey and fresh fruit to serve (optional)
Instructions
Take the filo sheets out of the fridge 30 minutes prior using to bring to room temperature. If filo sheets are frozen, it is best to thaw in the fridge overnight and take out 1 hour prior using to bring to room temperature. Alternatively, you can take out the frozen filo sheets 2 hours prior using to bring to room temperature.
Place two filo sheets on top of another on a dry surface (keep the rest of the filo sheets under damp towel so that they won’t dry out).
Leave a margin of about 4 cm (1.5 in) around the edges and place little dabs of the clotted cream, mascarpone cheese or Turkish kaymak, all around the filo sheet.
Sprinkle the finely crushed pistachios and sugar evenly over the cream.
Place the remaining 2 filo sheets on top. Brush the edges of the top filo sheet with 1 tbsp. of melted butter. Wet your hands and fold over each side of the pasty (about 2 cm / 1 in) to make a parcel. Seal the edges with your wet hands and the brushed melted butter.
Coat the remaining 1 tbsp. melted butter around a large, non-stick frying pan, over medium heat.
Place the filo parcel into the pan (with the wrapped edges down) and cook for 2 minutes, as it will get golden.
Turn the pancake over gently (large spatulas help) and cook for another 1,5 minutes or until golden.
Serve katmer warm, drizzled with a little honey (if you wish) and crushed pistachios over. Bowl of fresh fruit aside complements katmer beautifully too.

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We all have pumpkins in our minds at this time of the year; I love its natural sweetness and comforting, luscious flavor. This scrumptious candied pumpkin dessert is popular in Turkey and it is so very easy to make. Pumpkin is baked here in its very own juice with sugar and the result is an exquisite dessert with the full flavor of pumpkin, also fancy enough to share with family and friends.

This lovely light dessert, Kabak Tatlisi, is wonderful served with crushed walnuts. In Turkey, it is also served with our thick clotted cream, kaymak. If you can’t get kaymak, clotted cream also complements this dessert well. You can also add a few cloves or cinnamon sticks to its juice before baking, if you’d like to spice up this dessert.

Luscious candied pumpkin dessert, Kabak Tatlisi; great for entertaining
Luscious candied pumpkin dessert, Kabak Tatlisi; great for entertaining

I hope you can give this delicious, glistening pumpkin dessert a try; it may also be a lovely addition for your holiday entertaining and a pleasant surprise for Halloween, if you are celebrating.

Serves 6 – 8

1kg/2 ¼ lb. pumpkin flesh, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunky cubes or rectangular blocks (about 3” long)

250gr/9 oz. / 1 ½ cup sugar

225gr/1 cup crushed walnuts to serve

Turkish clotted cream, Kaymak or clotted cream to serve (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F

Sprinkle sugar over the pumpkin pieces evenly.
Sprinkle sugar over the pumpkin pieces evenly.

Line the bottom of a large baking dish with the prepared pumpkin pieces and sprinkle sugar over them evenly. Then layer the rest of the pumpkin chunks and pour the remaining sugar evenly over them. Cover the dish and let it rest overnight.

Let the sugar coated pupmkin pieces rest overnight; even after 30 minutes, you notice the juices coming up.
Let the sugar coated pumpkin pieces rest overnight; even after 30 minutes, you notice the juices coming up.

The next day, you will notice that the pumpkin has released all its juices and that the pieces are nearly covered with all that wonderful juice. This liquid is all you need to bake the pumpkin, no need to add any extra water.

Baked, candied pumpkin, utterly delicious.
Baked, candied pumpkin, utterly delicious.

Bake the pumpkin in the preheated oven, uncovered. Every 20 minutes, spoon the syrup in the baking dish over the pumpkin pieces so that they all absorb the syrup and start glistening. After 45 minutes of baking, check the sweetness of the pumpkin; if you like it sweeter, you can sprinkle a few more tablespoonful of sugar. Also, after 45 minutes of baking, turn the pumpkin pieces around so that all pieces keep moist with the juice. Bake for about an 1 hour to 1 ¼ hours in total, until all the syrup is absorbed and the pumpkin pieces are cooked and candied.

Luscious candied pumpkin dessert with crushed walnuts; Cevizli Kabak Tatlisi
Luscious candied pumpkin dessert with crushed walnuts; Cevizli Kabak Tatlisi

Let the pumpkin dessert cool down. Decorate the candied pumpkin pieces with crushed walnuts just before serving; you can serve this delicious dessert as this way or also with Turkish thick clotted cream, kaymak or regular clotted cream aside.

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Ingredients

2 cups fine bulgur

2 cups boiling water

1 medium onion

1 clove garlic

1 heaping tbsp. sweet red pepper paste

2 medium tomatoes

2 medium cucumbers

6 to 8 green onions

A handful fresh Italian parsley leaves

3 or 4 sprigs of fresh mint

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice or pomegranate sour

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp. salt, more or less to taste

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. hot red pepper flakes, more or less to taste

Steps to Make It

1. Put the bulgur in a large mixing bowl. Pour the boiling water over it. The water should completely cover the bulgur by about 1/4 inch (add a bit more boiling water if needed). Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap, then wrap it in a towel. Set it aside for about 15 minutes to allow the bulgur soften.

2.  While the bulgur softens, prepare your vegetables. Begin by peeling the onion and garlic and chopping them as finely as you can. Mix the chopped onion and garlic with the pepper paste and set aside.

3.  Chop the tomato, cucumber, green onions, parsley, and mint in the same manner and put them in a separate bowl. The finer you chop them, the better your salad's texture will be.

4.  Remove the cloth and cover from the bowl of bulgur. Wearing rubber gloves, fluff the bulgur up with your fingers. Drizzle lemon juice or pomegranate sour and the oil over the top and toss it through with your fingers. Next, add the pepper paste mixture and work it evenly through the bulgur.

5.  Add the chopped vegetables and herbs and continue tossing with your fingers until all the ingredients are evenly dispersed. Add salt and black pepper and taste for seasoning.

6.  You can serve your kısır salad right away, or you can cover and refrigerate it for several hours. Make sure to fluff it up with your fingers again just before serving.

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Ingredients

3 tbsp tarhana

2 tbsp crushed/grated tomatoes

2 tbsp butter

3-4 cups chicken broth/water+bouillon

1 tsp salt to taste

Croutons/feta cheese for garnish

Tarhana soup made

Place the tarhana and 1/2 cup of water in a bowl. Leave it alone for 1-2 hours for tarhana to dissolve a bit stirring occasionally. In a pot, take butter and tomatoes. Saute over medium heat. Then, add in the rest of the ingredients. Cook over low-medium heat stirring constantly. Adjust consistency of the soup as you like by adding more water if you prefer.You can serve Tarhana Soup with crumbled feta cheese or croutons on top.

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Ingredients
3 medium garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses (see Note)

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Salt

2 large tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 medium cucumbers—peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and and cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 scallions, minced

1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 small red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1/4 cup chopped mint leaves

How to Make It

Step 1

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, olive oil, molasses and crushed red pepper. Season the dressing with salt.

Step 2

In a large bowl, toss the tomatoes with the cucumbers, scallions, green bell pepper, onion, parsley and mint. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well. Serve at once.