Çerkez Tavuğu - Circasian chicken

For some children, the best part of going on holiday is the travelling and our children are no exception. At school they always talk about their journey to Burgaz Island. They are woken up at 4am to take a taxi to Heathrow Airport, then a flight to Istanbul, another taxi to the sea port, a boat trip to the island, then lastly a horse and carriage ride to their Grandmother's house. How many people can brag about such a variety of transportation to reach their destination? I have to admit that I don't really enjoy the horse and carriage part, I feel so sorry for the horses hard at work and only hope they are well looked after. Horse and carriage is the taxi service around  Burgaz. When Dan was old enough, he asked to sit at the front of the carriage for the journey, he soon regretted that request as the front seat is right behind the horses bottom where there is a bag to catch it's business, he held his nose all the way to the house.

Before our boat trip to the island, at the entrance of the port there are several men and some young boys sitting on a stool. In front of them is a bucket turned upside down with a tray on top. They are displaying and selling nuts, mainly walnuts and almonds. I had only ever eaten dried nuts before either by cracking open the shell or ready shelled and dried from a packet, usually brown in colour. The walnuts sold at the port look like yellow miniature brains. They are fresh walnuts, shelled and soaked in water. Amir always buys a bag for our boat journey to the island. The membrane has to be peeled off before eating and to this day I still can't do it without making a total mess and wasting half the nut before I can manage to salvage the tiniest piece to eat. It takes skill and a lot of patience to peel them. I get very frustrated with it all and end up asking Amir to peel them for me. Almonds however, are a lot easier to peel, after they are soaked in water, the skin becomes soft and the nuts just kind of pop out from the skin when squeezed. It's like a liberation for nuts. I want to tell the whole world to soak their almonds before eating them. I can't believe for so many years I had eaten them with their brown bitter skin. Just by simply soaking the almonds in warm water overnight, the skin easily peels off and the almond is revealed as smooth and sweet. It's a revelation.

Nuts are one of Turkeys main successful export products and used in a lot of recipes. You would think I am mainly referring to desserts but there is a favourite dish  of mine called Çerkez tavuğu translated as Circassian chicken. It's an unusual cold savoury dish served as a meze starter. I love it.

1 large chicken breast (mine weighed 450g)

1 slice of dried bread (or 25g breadcrumbs)

2 tablespoons of mayonnaise

4 tablespoons of natural yoghurt

50g dried walnuts 

 1 and a half tablespoons of oil

Pinch of salt
Half a teaspoon of garlic powder
Half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper

Boil the chicken in water and a little salt until cooked.

Take out the chicken to cool but do not throw away the water.

When cold shred chicken into small crumbly pieces and place in a mixing bowl. 

Put the dried slice of bread into an electric chopper to make breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the chicken.

Chop the walnuts and add together with the mayonnaise, yoghurt, garlic powder & pinch of salt. Stir in well. 
The consistency should be thick. 
Add about 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken juice to moisten consistency.

Place mixture in serving dish and smooth down.

Pour about 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan.  

Sprinkle the cayenne pepper in to the oil and simmer until the colour of the oil turns reddish.

With a spoon, pour over the chicken mix.
Place dish in fridge to serve cold. The Oil will then harden slightly.

Tip: When you put the chicken mix in to the serving bowl you can create a pattern with a fork or knife so that when you pour the oil on top if pours in to the pattern you have created.

Fresh walnuts displayed on a bed of fig leaves at the port.

Dan sitting at the front of a horse & carriage with Serena behind.

Topik

When I first started driving,  my Father said "Lisa, I know you can drive well but just be wary of the other drivers around you". For this reason alone, I never had the courage to drive in Istanbul. Some of you Istanbulites are guilty in one way or another of being mad drivers. With your shear determination to squeeze in to a parking space just big enough for a motorcycle.  When you see your friend on the other side of the street, you don't just press your horn once to get their attention, you manage to hoot an entire symphony as if you were at a cup final football match. It's true, Amir tried it even in England, he saw a lorry with an Istanbul number plate and tooted the melody, sure enough the lorry responded.
I remember a Friday night, traffic was bad and we were on our way to Amir's Grandmother for shabbat meal. Amir spotted a man on the opposite side of the road standing by a mobile container. He got all excited and told me he was selling something called topik, an Armenian dish and explained that it was very rare these days to see someone selling it. That was the moment I held on tight, Amir was determined to get to the other side of the road to buy topik. It was all a blur as to how we managed to reach the other side but I remember drivers pressing their horns whilst Amir swerved in and out of the traffic to get to the topik. I thought to myself  it better taste good after all that. I was hoping that Amir would tell me that it was some kind of chocolate dessert, so I was a little disappointed when he said it was made with chick peas. They better be giant sized chocolate coated chickpeas then!
We arrived at Sarika's and rang the door bell. Her face always lit up at seeing us. Amir kissed her on both cheeks and pulled her ears affectionately and then handed her the topik. "Bu ne?" "what's that?" she asked. Amir smiled as he told her it was topik, Sarika was also delighted that he had found a portion of topik which was wrapped with white paper in a block shape.
We lit the candles and said the shabbat prayer and the topik was unwrapped. I admit, it looked rather bland. Amir sliced a piece and put it on my plate, I could taste the outer part was made with chick peas but the centre was a surprisingly sweet/savoury creamy cinnamon type of flavour.
I am happy to say that Amir no longer needs to drive like a maniac to get his topik as he has mastered making it perfectly at home.

makes 2 block portions (each block can serve 4)

1 can of drained cooked chick peas (500g)

2 medium onions

3 tablespoons of currents (50-75g) 

the small black Greek ones are best

2 and a half teaspoons of cumin

1 and a half teaspoons of cinnamon

4 teaspoons of sugar

5 tablespoons of tahini

pinch of salt

you will need 2 muslin squares of material approx 25cm x 25cm

Soak the currents in warm water to soften. 

Take the skin off all the chick peas and blend together to form a smooth paste. Add a pinch of salt.

Finely slice the onions and blanch, cover with water and cook until water has evaporated completely.

Add the drained currents to the onions and all of the other ingredients except the chick peas. Leave to cool.

Take a muslin square and dampen it.

Press half the amount of chick pea paste on top of the muslin.

Place half the amount of onion mix on top of the chick pea layer and carefully using the edge of the muslin fold over so that one side of the chick pea layer reaches the other then peel back the muslin and repeat on all sides until you have formed an oblong shaped closed parcel. The parcel must be tightly closed. Repeat with the other muslin. Wrap the parcels again with the muslin, immerse in water and boil or steam for 10 mins. Take out, leave to cool.

Put the parcels in the fridge over night.

When you want to eat it, take out of the fridge and let it rest until room temperature. Unwrap the parcel and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Slice and serve. Eaten as a starter or can be served with other meze type dishes.

Halva di Semola / Semolina Cake

As a child brought up in the 70's if anyone would ask me what I remember most about school meals, the first thing that would come to mind is semolina, hot semolina served with a dollop of jam and a biscuit on the side. This was the only way I knew how to eat semolina. Amir had never eaten it this way before and I had never eaten it the way his Mum makes it. I was astonished to see a cake like shape come out of the fridge made of semolina. It turns out that my children love it and I often make this sephardie style dessert especially during the summer months as it has such a delicate cool texture and taste and with non baking wholesome ingredients it's a winner all round. The traditional Turkish way of making semolina is fried, this is also very tasty indeed but naturally harsher on the calories.

Halva di Semolina

6 glasses of liquid (eg. 3 glasses milk, 3 glasses water)

equal to approx 1.5 litres

Just under 1 and a half glasses of sugar

equal to approx 250g

1 glass of semolina

equal to approx 200g

Cinnamon

If you use the same glass throughout, the weight measurement will make no difference. You may prefer more or less sweet.

Place milk, water, sugar & semolina in to a saucepan and boil on a low heat stirring constantly until thick.

Prepare your cake tin by dripping a little water in the bottom, this allows the cake to come out easily from the tin without sticking. I use a loaf tin 13x24cm but any shape tin or baking dish will do.

Pour the thick semolina mixture in to the tin and leave to cool. 

When cooled, place in the fridge to chill.

Ease sides away from the tin and give a little shake. Place serving dish on top of the tin and turn upside down.

Slice & serve with a sprinkling of cinnamon on top.

I have also experimented with this dish by pouring half the amount of semolina in the dish then mixing kakoa powder in the second half and pouring it on top. When chilled it has the two colours, however, eaten plain with cinnamon is our favourite.

 Kavrulmuş irmik / irmik helvası (Turkish style)

3 tablespoons of oil

1 glass of semolina (200g)

Pin nuts, as much or as little as you wish, I usually put approx 2 tablespoons.

300 ml milk

Half a glass of sugar (100g)

Place oil, semolina and pine nuts in a frying pan, heat and stir constantly until brown. keep on a low heat.

Add the milk and place a lid on top of the pan.

Cook on a gentle heat until milk has absorbed.

Add the sugar, mix and turn off the heat.

Serve warm and add cinnamon if you wish.

Bamya / Okra / Lady's Fingers

Walking through the streets of Burgaz fill my senses to full capacity, especially along the busy back street where most of the shops are. There aren't many shops but perhaps just enough to serve those who are resident. The fruit and vegetable stores always catch my eye, it amazes me how their displays are arranged so perfectly piled up like a game of Jenga and the fresh vibrant colours make you feel healthy just looking at them.

I sometimes used to walk with Amir's Mum to buy groceries. One evening she wanted to buy okra. She asked the vegetable seller “bamya taze mi?” “ Are the Okra fresh?” I thought it was rather a pointless question as surely the seller wouldn't reply “no, they are all stale.” Then, shortly after that, she asks “incir güzel mi?” “Are the figs nice”? “Tabi tabi,” “of course” he replies,  I was giggling to myself almost willing the man to say “no, they are horrible.”

The same evening, after we had finished our dinner, Amir's Mum drank her coffee and smoked her cigarette then sat outside on the balcony with a bowl of okra on her lap and an empty bowl on the table. She then began preparing the vegetable to cook the following morning, peeling each individual one. I thought to myself how much easier it was in England to buy vegetables ready prepared, ready cut, ready sliced and even ready washed (but never as tasty!)

The following evening, Amir's Mum served the cooked okra and as she put the dish on the table she said the word “sheheyanu.” This was then echoed around the table “evet” “yes” “sheheyanu.” I thought to myself could this vegetable have so many names? Okra, bamya, lady's fingers and now they are calling it sheheyanu. I then learnt that it is a Hebrew word used when eating something for the first time in the year. Fruits and vegetables are eaten seasonally in Turkey. It's like a blessing.

It was the first time I had tried okra. It didn't look terribly appetising, it had a kind of slimy texture to it and the inside was very gooey but there was something about it I liked.

It is quite difficult to find fresh okra in regular high street supermarkets here, so we usually buy it in a jar but still re-cook to add flavour.

1 650g Jar of okra

1 tablespoon of oil

1 tablespoon of tomato puree

Half a lemon

half a glass of water

1 teaspoon of sugar (more if required to taste)

sprinkling of salt

Pour all contents of the jar into a saucepan including the juice and any tomatoes from the jar.

Add the juice of the lemon and the rest of the above. Do not stir as mixture will become mushy.

Leave to cook until the water has reduced and you are left with a thick sauce.
If you can find and want to cook fresh you will need to sit with a bowl of approximately 500g of okra on your lap and one bowl on the table. Peel gently around the top of every one. Don't cut too deep or you will cause the inside to ooze out. 
You can add a fresh tomato and cook as above for longer until they are soft and you are left with the thick sauce.

some vegetables sold in Burgaz

Borekitas - Savoury Pastries

It's been a while since I've written on my blog. The main reason being that I have had the pleasure of my Mother-in-Law staying with us for 5 weeks.

Whilst she was here, I took the opportunity to ask her to teach me how to make my ultimate favourite Sephardi pastries, borekitas. I have made a similar version to this in the past, called tapada, it's basically a large version of borekitas made with a lot less fuss fiddling around rolling individual parcels. I had tried and failed on so many occasions to make borekitas and what ever I did, they would just fall apart.

We organised ourselves to put aside a morning dedicated to baking. When I came home from the school run all the ingredients were on the table top ready to start. I told her that I needed to write down everything she is doing and the correct quantity. She told me that there is no correct quantity, she just bakes by eye. I explained that I couldn't write a recipe based on how it looks, I needed to write by weight and measurement. We started preparing the ingredients and whilst I was writing her instructions she started pouring the flour in the pan to make the pastry. I yelled out  "WAIT, how much flour did you put in the mixture?" she said "I don't know, I just put like that". She started kneading the pastry and told me "you can tell when the pastry is ready when the texture feels like your ear lobe". I then asked her if she had ever read a recipe in her life where it was written... put as much flour in until it looks right and knead it well until it feels like your ear lobe! She began to laugh but all joking aside, I had given up writing down the recipe. I told her that I would have to make them myself another time with her guidance so I could write down correct quantities. She still couldn't quite grasp the fact that anyone would need a recipe to follow.
So finally, another day came and we made them again, this time using weight and measurement. The result was perfect. At last I had learnt to make delicious borekitas. My favourite filling is with aubergine and cheese but they are also nice with potato and cheese, or spinach.

(makes approx 20)
Half a jar of roasted aubergine (350g)
60g Feta cheese
60g Grated cheddar cheese or any hard cheese
3 Tablespoons of oil for filling
1 glass of oil for the pastry
Half a glass of water
pinch of Salt
400g Plain flour

Make the filling first by putting the aubergine in a frying pan.

Add 3 Tbls oil and cook on a low heat until the oil evaporates. Keep stirring whilst cooking otherwise the aubergine will stick to the pan.

Add the feta and the grated hard cheese, stir in until melted, then turn off the heat.

Heat oven at 180c

Now for the pastry:

In another pan pour 1 glass of oil and half a glass of water, add a sprinkle of salt and bring to boil. Once bubbling, turn off the heat.

Add the flour 100g at a time and stir in. Let the mixture cool enough to enable you to handle it. Place in a bowl and knead well.

The consistancy shouldn't feel oily, if it does then add a little more flour. 

Remember, have a feel of your ear lobe to see if the texture feels the same!

Sprinkle a little flour on your work surface ready to roll out the pastry.

Take a small handful of pastry in the palm of your hand and roll it in to a ball, then squash it down and place on the work surface. 

Start to roll the pastry, you need to aim for a kind of oval shape, nearly the length of your hand and about 2mm thick. Take a teaspoon of mixture and place in the centre of the pastry.

Roll over one end of the pastry to meet the opposite end, press the sides down well so the filling doesn't come out and with your fingers puff up the shape like a pillow. Take a clean glass and place it around the edges to slice off the excess pastry. The shape should resemble half a moon and should be plump.

Place the pastries on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Wet the top of each borekita with a little water and sprinkle grated cheese on the top.

Place in the oven and bake until golden.

These pastry parcels can be frozen unbaked. Place in the oven from Frozen.

To make tapada just divide the pastry in half, roll out and place one half at the bottom of a baking dish, put the filling on top and then cover and close with the other half of pastry to make a pie.

This is a tapada I made with aubergine and feta cheese filling.

Tip:  If you have any left over aubergine you could make a creamy salad dip. Just add yogurt, mayonaise, add a little lemon juice and garlic if you wish.

If you have any left over pastry you could make boyikos, little pastry biscuits. Just shape them in to small squares or circles, sprinkle cheese and red pepper spice on top and bake.

Passover: Dan's Meringues

Passover is almost over and I still haven't baked everything I wanted to. It seems the Sephardi recipes took major priority in the house this year as I did not have any chance to make my Mother's recipes. Her specialities were cinnamon balls, coconut pyramids and almond macaroons. I have to admit though for some reason I could never get any of these recipes to taste as good as my Mother's.
Today, I'd like to share with you a recipe that my son, Dan, makes so perfectly. Suitable for passover or at any time. I had to ask his permission of course if I could share his recipe and I'm happy to say he agreed. Dan has become an astonishing chef in the kitchen. We first noticed his talents when he began to critise us on our cooking!

Makes 12

50g Chocolate

2 Eggs

100g Sugar

Heat oven to 110c

Line baking trays with greaseproof paper.

Break up the chocolate in to a bowl and place the bowl on top of a saucepan with boiling water. Chocolate must melt until smooth.

Seperate the egg whites from the yolks and place only the whites into a mixing bowl.

Whisk well until it begins to thicken, then add sugar and carry on whisking until firm enough to form peaks.

Drizzle chocolate over the egg mixture and stir around twice to make a marble effect.

Scoop up a tablespoon of mixture and scrape off with a teaspoon on to the baking trays.

Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Turn the oven off but do not take the meringues out, leave them in for a further 15 minutes.

Take out of oven and leave to cool.

Crispy on the outside, gooey marshmallow like on the inside

(You may wish to use slightly less sugar as they do turn out very sweet)

Passover: köfte de prasa / leek meatballs

Passover brings lots of questions for me. Why do we do this? Why do we do that? I am never satisfied with the answer of "because that's what we do". I was reading the ingredients on the side of the box of matzo and it said, wheat flour and water. I couldn't understand why then we are not allowed to use normal flour in recipes as it too is made from wheat flour. It took me a phone call to someone in Turkey to be able to have that answered.
Another thing I have learnt this passover thanks to one of Amir's friends is why leeks are used in Sephardi recipes during passover.
It's appearance resembles reeds which reminds us of the parting of the Red Sea.
Köfte (meatballs) are very much a signature dish in Turkey and I remember Amir's Mum roaring with laughter when I told her I had made et toplar. Yes, Turkish friends you will understand the misinterpretation I had made. Et means meat. Toplar means balls, so you would think meatballs would be et toplar, wouldn't you? No, they are called köfte.
These leek meatballs are so delicious, I really don't understand why we only ever make them during passover.

Based on making approx 16

7 or 8 large leeks = approx 750g when cut

150g Minced meat

1 egg

1 matzo

oil

salt & pepper to season

Discard the outer layer and cut the ends off the leeks, slice length ways twice and then slice into pieces.

Wash well and leave to drain.

Boil until soft

Tightly squeeze all the excess water out of the leeks and place in a bowl.

Soak the matzo with water until soft then squeeze out the  excess water and place in the bowl with the leeks

Add minced meat, egg and seasoning.

Knead mixture together with hands 

Take small handfuls, roll and pat down to make rounded oval shapes.

Pour oil in the bottom of a large frying pan and shallow fry the leek balls until golden brown.

These can be eaten warm or cold the next day.

You can also make the above using spinach. Your guideline is approx 750g of spinach to 150g minced meat. Use the same process as above by boiling the spinach and squeezing out the water.

köfte de prasa

together with köfte kon spinaka (spinach)