Monthly Archives: July 2013

A Guest Post: Acılı Ezme – Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad

A Guest Post: Acılı Ezme – Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad
A Guest Post: Acılı Ezme – Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad

Hey there everybody!

So the first week of my new series Around the World, Week by Week is now over! I hope you enjoyed the last seven days, the little excursus in turkish cuisine and culture and the seven recipes!!

As I promised at the beginning  I will have something special at the end – and it is a guest post!! Zerrin is the lovely lady behind Give Recipe. She is a new mom, lives in Turkey and has the most delicious recipes on her blog!! I love browsing through them – it reminds me so much of my time in Izmir 🙂

I am so happy that she took some of her small amount of free time to write this post for my page!! Also she brings one of my absolute favorite turkish foods to you: Acılı Ezme!! I ate it literally all the time I could get it – even for breakfast with some cream cheese, cucumbers and tomatoes! I couldn’t find it in the stores in Germany but now I can make my own! 🙂 It really is fantastic!

So go on, scroll down and read all about turkish food and habits from a native! And don’t forget to click over to Zerrin’s blog! 🙂

~ Kathrin

 

Acılı Ezme – Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad

Hi everyone!

I am Zerrin of Give Recipe from Turkey. I’m so pleased to be here, writing at Kathrin’s lovely blog! I met her a very short time ago and love that we are both so passionate about food! I always love to meet such foodies! When I learnt that she lived in Izmir, Turkey for some time, I knew that we would have lots of things to talk about. It’s great to hear Turkish names of our dishes from her; not everyone knows cacik or pirinç pilavı unless they are as enthusiastic about food and culture as Kathrin!

Acılı Ezme – Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad

I’m going to share a very addictive salad from Turkish cuisine here today. Hope you all love it!

Ezme is known as a salad or appetizer in Turkey. It is mostly served with kebabs at kebab restaurants. Have you tried Turkish kebab yet? You’ve missed a lot if you haven’t! It is one of the foods you must taste at least once in your life! Once you try it, you will get addicted! Mezzes or side dishes served before kebab and you enjoy them before your kebab is brought. Be careful not to eat too much of these; otherwise you won’t have any room for kebab! Acılı Ezme is just one of those irresistible appetizers.

Acılı Ezme – Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad

Ezme means “mashed”, so this is a kind of mashed salad. Genuine kebab restaurants make it with a big cleaver or with a special double handled knife. It’s absolutely easier to chop vegetables with a blender, but there is a remarkable difference between the flavors of ezme made by cleaver or double handled knife and the one made by blender or any other electrical device. It MUST be chopped by hand, otherwise it gets too juicy.

Pomegranate molasses is almost a must in acili ezme since it gives a very nice sweet-sourish flavor and a darker color to the salad. If you can’t find it in your area, you can increase the amount of lemon juice a little. As for the spices, hot chili powder is the main one. Another spice I personally love in ezme salad is sumac, which increases its sourness. You can add dried mint too to add a little refreshment and to balance the sour and hot flavor of the salad.

The best bread to serve with ezme is Turkish lavash, which is similar to tortilla or Turkish pide. Kebabs are generally served with these two breads, so you can dip them into ezme as a bonus! And Ayran, which is a fabulous cold yogurt drink, is undoubtedly the best drink with these irresistible foods!

Acılı Ezme – Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad

Since it’s a refreshing salad, ezme is a perfect choice to accompany any dish in summer! You know what? I can even have it at breakfast! Its spiciness help me wake up and it whets my appetite to eat more.

 

Acılı Ezme - Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad
 
Author:
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients
  • 2 tomatoes, peeled
  • 1 onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 chili peppers
  • ¼ bunch of parsley
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 1 tsp pepper paste
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt to taste
  • ½ tsp chili powder
  • ½ tsp sumac
  • A pinch of dried mint
Instructions
  1. Chop peeled tomatoes, onion, garlic, chili peppers and parsley as finely as you can. The finer the better. Mix them in a bowl.
  2. Mix lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, olive oil and pepper paste until smooth. Add this mixture into salad.
  3. Add salt and spices, mix well.
  4. Chill it in refrigerator for half an hour and serve!

 

Here are the other recipes I shared during this series:

An Introduction to the new series

Appetizer – Sigara Böreği

Main Dish – Köfte, Cacık & Pirinç Pilavı

Dessert – Künefe

Drink – Ayran 

Salad – Kısır

Pastry – Kurabiye

Snack/Fast Food – Lahmacun

Around the World: Turkey – Kurabiye, Turkish Cookies

Around the World: Turkey – Kurabiye, Turkish Cookies
Around the World: Turkey – Kurabiye, Turkish Cookies

Selam! Hi guys! 🙂

What I have for you today are some delicious Turkish cookies called Kurabiye! They are crunchy on the outside and a little softer on the inside which comes from adding the yoghurt to the dough! Also I liked the dough VERY much because it has such a funny texture which should remind you of how an earlobe feels! That was all I was thinking about when I formed them, I had soo much to laugh 😀 Sometimes I’m a little childish!!

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Kurabiye, Turkish almond and citrus Cookies by gingerlemonandspice

Three days ago I told you about some drinking habbits of the Turkish people. And this is something that goes perfectly with it! Eat those Kurabiye (Almond and Citrus Cookies) with a nice cup or glass of tea and just enjoy 🙂

Something else that goes with tea or coffee is Turkish Delight! Have you ever heard of it? It has something of the consistency of gummybears but is cut in cubes or cylinders! It is a sweet delicacy to nibble on while you taste the bitterness of the coffee or tea! You can buy it in very many different flavors and filled with nuts or herb aromas or fruit juices… My absolute favorite ones were the Lokum (Turkish word for Turkish Delight) with pomegranate flavor and filled with pistacchios!! But the honey and walnut ones were sooo delicious too! 🙂 If you try them make sure to buy some good ones, because there are big differences in the quality. They have whole stores in Turkey devoted to sell just Turkish Delight which tells you how important this specialty is in Turkey!

You can see the Lokum on the right side, it was with honey, hazelnuts and coconut!

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Kurabiye, Turkish almond and citrus Cookies by gingerlemonandspice

Cookies are very popular in Turkey too, throughout the year! You can find and buy them fresh in special bakeries, supermarkets or coffee shops. I tried a big mixed box of cookies from a coffee shop nearly at the end of my stay and I had some regrets about that 😉 They had many different flavors like chocolate, vanilla, pistacchio, with Kellog’s, with nuts or choc chips – it was amazing! And they were soo delicious too!!

On my next stay in Turkey I definitly will buy them again – I have not found the same quality here in the Turkish markets in Germany!

The recipe for one type of cookie you can find below – the yummy almond and citrus cookies 🙂

Hope you like them as much as I did!!

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Kurabiye, Turkish almond and citrus Cookies by gingerlemonandspice

 

Don’t forget: If you have any questions about Turkey, or if you have made your own experiences with Turkish food, the people, the culture or the country please leave a comment!! I would love to hear about it!

 

Kurabiye
 
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Yummy turkish cookies with citrus and almond flavor!
Author:
Recipe type: Cookies
Cuisine: Turkish
Serves: a lot
Ingredients
  • 750g flour
  • 2 eggs (1 seperated)
  • 1 sachet baking powder (1 tablespoon)
  • 1 sachet vanilla sugar or 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 300g sugar
  • 250g margarine (room temperature)
  • 250g süzme yoğurt (Yoghurt with 10 % fett, but you could use less too)
  • 50g shaved almonds
  • 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
Instructions
  1. Beat the whole egg and the eggwhite with sugars and yoghurt until well incorporated. Add oil, zest and margarine and mix!
  2. Put in flour, almonds and baking powder and blend until a very soft dough forms. The Turkish say it should feel like ones earlobe! 😉
  3. Take small pieces of the dough and form them into balls, put them on baking paper covered sheets and coat them with a little of the egg yolk.
  4. Bake the Kurabiye for 40 minutes and let them cool. Eat immediate or store in an airtight container.
  5. Enjoy with a glass of çay (turkish black tea)!!

Afiyet olsun! Enjoy 🙂

 

Here are the other recipes I shared during this series:

An Introduction to the new series

Appetizer – Sigara Böreği

Main Dish – Köfte, Cacık & Pirinç Pilavı

Dessert – Künefe

Drink – Ayran

Salad – Kısır

Snack/Fast Food – Lahmacun

Guest Post – Acılı Ezme

 

~ Kathrin

Around the World – Turkey: Kısır, Bulgur Salad

Around the World – Turkey: Kısır, Bulgur Salad
Around the World – Turkey: Kısır, Bulgur Salad

Hey guys!

Today I have a yummy salad recipe for you! Kısır is a Turkish bulgur salad packed with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and lots of herbs! It is very refreshing any delicious!

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Kısır, Bulgur Salad by gingerlemonandspice

I have lots to do today, so I’m a little short about words 😉 Just look at all the yummy pictures and then run to the kitchen and make this yummy salad! That’s what I’ll do at least, as I am invited to a goodbye party this evening and I will make this salad again for tonight.

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Kısır, Bulgur Salad by gingerlemonandspice

It is very delicious, with all the herbs and exotic flavors and healthy as well! it keeps in the fridge for several days, so why not make this ahead and eat throughout the week?

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Kısır, Bulgur Salad by gingerlemonandspice

It is great mixed with lettuce leaves too – I didn’t even need aditional dressing, the bulgur itself has enough flavor!

And if you want to read more about Turkey don’t forget to look for the other posts of this series below after the recipe!

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Kısır, Bulgur Salad by gingerlemonandspice

Have you been to Turkey yourself? Have you enjoyed Turkish food? Do you have any questions about the country or the people? Just leave me a comment below! 🙂

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Kısır, Bulgur Salad by gingerlemonandspice

Kısır, Bulgur Salad
 
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A great salad to feed lots of people! Perfect for an appetizer, main dish or snack.
Author:
Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: Turkish
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 200g fine bulgur (köftelik bulgur - in Turkish Shops)
  • 200ml boiling water
  • 5 green onions
  • 2 pointed peppers
  • 1 red onion
  • 10 small tomatoes
  • 1 cucumber
  • 2 handfull fresh herbs (parsley, dill, mint)
  • 1 tablespoons salca (red pepper paste - in Turkish Shops)
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • Juice of one lemon
  • 5 tablespoons pomegranate syrup (in Turkish Shops)
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • a pinch of chili (pul biber spice)
  • optional: lettuce hearts
Instructions
  1. Put the bulgur into a big bowl and pour the hot water on top. Put a lid (or a big enough plate) on top to seal and let sit for 20 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile chop onions, pepper, tomatoes and cucumber into small cubes. Chop herbs very finely. Set aside
  3. Mix bulgur with salca, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and pomegranate syrup very well. Put the vegetables and herbs in and mix.
  4. For serving you can leave the salad in the bowl and decorate with tomatoes and parsley or you can arrange the salad on lettuce leaves!

 Afiyet olsun!!

 

Here are the other recipes I shared during this series:

An Introduction to the new series

Appetizer – Sigara Böreği

Main Dish – Köfte, Cacık & Pirinç Pilavı

Dessert – Künefe

Drink – Ayran

Pastry – Kurabiye

Snack/Fast Food – Lahmacun

Guest Post – Acılı Ezme

 

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Kısır, Bulgur Salad by gingerlemonandspice

Have a great day!

~ Kathrin

Around the World: Turkey – Ayran, A Turkish Yoghurt Drink

Around the World: Turkey – Ayran, A Turkish Yoghurt Drink
Around the World: Turkey – Ayran, A Turkish Yoghurt Drink

Merhaba! Hey guys!

Today I am going to talk about some special drinks in Turkey. As most of the people in Turkey are Muslims and they should not drink alkohol of course the drinks I am talking about are alcohol free!

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Ayran, a Turkish yoghurt drink by gingerlemonandspice

There are three drinks in Turkey that I would consider the most traditional: Tea, Coffee and Ayran.

The people in Turkey drink tea or Çay as the Turkish word is almost everytime of the day. It is even some kind of a social thing! People meet for tea at work between breakfast and lunch and also between lunch and dinner. It is a special time everyone knows about! It is nice to have that break and talk to your collegues 🙂 Also you will be served a glas of tea after every meal – in restaurants and also at home! The tea I’m talking about is a black tea brewed very strongly in a two kettle pot. In the upper one there is the tea and in the lower one is water. When you want to serve the tea you pour just a little bit of the very strong tea into your glas and fill it up with the hot water. Drinking tea is an everyday thing, but it is also celebrated. And that is especially in summer too! I was really surprised when I was offered a hot beverage on those hot days but I took a chance and accepted and it was unbelievable: It really cooles you down and let’s you handle the heat much better!

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Ayran, a Turkish yoghurt drink by gingerlemonandspice

Coffee is also a very celebrated drink in Turkey. It is brewed in a very special way and you have to decide before how sweet you like it! The coffee powder, sugar and water are boiled together and then you let your coffee poured in small ‘espresso cups’ sit for a few minutes and the powder sinks to the bottom. Now you can drink your coffee! It is a little bit thicker and creamier than you might be used to, but it is very delicious! When you come to the powder you should of course not drink it. If you are sitting with someone from Turkey they might be offering now to read the future out of your cup! If you get the chance, just do it, it is very fun 🙂 Not everybody takes this seriously!

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Ayran, a Turkish yoghurt drink by gingerlemonandspice

The recipe I have for you today is for the secret national drink of Turkey: Ayran! Ayran is a drink mixed from the firm süzme joğurt with water and a tiny bit of salt. You can get it in every restaurant, supermarket or wherever you go! It is especially great to drink on hot days or if you have eaten something really spicy. This drink will wash all the capsaicin (that’s the substance that gives the hot feeling on your tounge) down and you will feel much better! I have realized that not every brand of premade Ayran tastes the same: Most of them are too watery or too salty for my taste butts. Just try different ones, or even better: Make your own!! It is very easy, just scroll down to the recipe!

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Ayran, a Turkish yoghurt drink by gingerlemonandspice

 

Ayran -Turkish Yoghurt Drink
 
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A delicious salty yoghurt drink especially in the summertime! It is also perfect to cool you down if you ate something hot.
Author:
Recipe type: Drink
Cuisine: Turkish
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 300g süzme yoğurt (Turkish yoghurt with 10% fat - other types will do too, but the higher the fat content the more delicious)
  • 150ml cold water
  • a pinch of salt
Instructions
  1. Mix yoghurt, water and salt until foamy! The drink should be of thicker consistency like a shake. If you use a different type of yoghurt, you might have to adjust the amount of water!
  2. Just add a little salt first and taste, you can still adjust. You will need less than you think!

Afiyet olsun!!

 

Here are the other recipes I shared during this series:

An Introduction to the new series

Appetizer – Sigara Böreği

Main Dish – Köfte, Cacık & Pirinç Pilavı

Dessert – Künefe

Salad – Kısır

Pastry – Kurabiye

Snack/Fast Food – Lahmacun

Guest Post – Acılı Ezme

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Ayran, a Turkish yoghurt drink by gingerlemonandspice

~ Kathrin

Around the World: Turkey – Künefe

Around the World: Turkey – Künefe
Around the World: Turkey – Künefe

Merhaba!! 

– that means hello in Turkish! 🙂 

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Künefe by gingerlemonandspice

Today I will talk a little bit about the religion in Turkey.

Most of the people there are Muslims. That means they believe in Allah which is God. The Islam stands on five pillars: Testimony, Prayer, Alms-Giving, Fasting and Pilgrimage. Those are considered obligatory for all believers. The holy book in the Islam is the Quran or Koran, which is said to be verbally revealed from God to the last prohet Mohammad through angel Gabriel. The Muslims are restricted in their diet and should not eat pork, blood and carrion or drink alcohol. All food should be halal.

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Künefe by gingerlemonandspice

I am telling you all this because I want to talk about the month of fasting: Ramadan or as they say in Turkey: Ramazan. It is during the ninth month of the Islam and in this time it is obligatory for all adult Muslims to fast from dawn till sunset except those who are ill, travelling or pregnant. One should refrain from food, drinks (no water!), smoking, having sex and sometimes even swearing. Everyday after sunset there will be the big Iftar (fast-breaking meal) where families and friends come together to celebrate.

I have to say that during my stay in Izmir it was also the time or Ramazan, but most of the people I met weren’t so strict to do a whole month of complete fasting. Some of them did a few days but not all of them. Also the working life is still going on as normal – maybe a bit slower but everything is open. I didn’t expect that! But it could be that this was only because I was in a big cosmopolitan city and it is different in the rural areas! 🙂

 

Ramazan is acutally happening right now! It concludes in the three day long festivities of breaking the fast (Ramazan Bayramı – this year from 8th to 10th of august). Those days are called ‘Zuckerfest’ in German which means ‘sugar festival’ and that says it all about how it is celebrated. Lot’s and lot’s of food will be prepared and eaten together with family, friends and neighbours, especially sweet dishes can be found on the table!

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Künefe by gingerlemonandspice

It is only logical that today I have a special dessert for you: It is the crispy and sweet angel hair in syrup with melted cheese called Künefe! It is my absolute favorite dessert in Turkish Cuisine and I hope you enjoy it too!

Don’t foget, if you have any questions about Turkey or have made your own experiences please tell me about it in the comments!!

I’d love to hear about it!!

 

Künefe
 
Prep time
Cook time
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A sweet and crispy, creamy and warm dessert that will surprise your taste buds!
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Turkish
Serves: 8
Ingredients
Syrup
  • 300g (1⅓ cup) sugar
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon citrus zest (I used lemon)
  • 3 tablespoons fruit juice (orange or apple)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 sachet vanilla sugar
Künefe
  • 300g tel kadayıf (angel hair noodles from the Turkish store)
  • 150g butter, melted
  • 300g mozzarella cheese
  • 300g kaymak (Turkish cream, mascarpone works too)
  • 100g pistacchios, finally chopped
Instructions
Syrup
  1. Cook water and sugar on the stove until the liquid is reduced to half. Stir once in a while. Take the pot from the stove and whisk in zest, juice and vanilla.
Künefe
  1. Preheat your oven to 180°C (360°F)
  2. Chop mozzarella in small cubes and mix with half of the kaymak or mascarpone. Set aside.
  3. Cut the angel hair noodles in 1-2 cm pieces and loosen them up with your fingers. Pour the butter over the noddles and mix very well! Take half of the noddles and press them into a casserole dish big enough or use several smaller ones to make them portion sized.
  4. Distribute the cheese mix evenly on top and add the rest of the noddles on top. Press them down gently.
  5. Put your dish or dishes into the oven and bake for 25 minutes. The top should be golden brown!
  6. Take them out of the oven and pour the syrup over the Künefe. Wait until the syrup is soaked up. Decorate with the rest of the kaymak or mascarpone and the pistacchios! Then serve whilst hot.
  7. Enjoy 🙂
Notes
I forgot to put on the kaymak and pistacchios as the decoration. You will just have to imagine it 😉

Adapted from Sofralar of the KochDichTürkisch-Blog

Afiyet olsun!! 

 

Here are the other recipes I shared during this series:

An Introduction to the new series

Appetizer – Sigara Böreği

Main Dish – Köfte, Cacık & Pirinç Pilavı

Drink – Ayran 

Salad – Kısır

Pastry – Kurabiye

Snack/Fast Food – Lahmacun

Guest Post – Acılı Ezme

 

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Künefe by gingerlemonandspice

~ Kathrin

 

Around The World: Turkey – Köfte, Cacık & Pirinç Pilavı

Around The World: Turkey – Köfte, Cacık & Pirinç Pilavı
Around The World: Turkey – Köfte, Cacık & Pirinç Pilavı

Hey there!

Today I have a Main Dish from Turkey for you: Köfte, Cacık & Pirinç Pilavı. It is a classic!

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Köfte, Cacık & Pirinç Pilavı by gingerlemonandspice

But let’s talk a bit about the country first. Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Köfte, Cacık & Pirinç Pilavı by gingerlemonandspice

The Republik of Turkey is a transcontinental country located in Europe but mostly in Asia. It is surrounded on three sides by water, the Mediteranean, Aegean and Black Sea. It is a rather big country with only 75 million people living in it, which makes some areas very rural. Turkey has a very rich history. There are a lot of sites from the time of Alexander the Great, the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire. I am not much of an expert in any kind of history but it is very impressive to visit the ancient ruins with or without a guided tour! I love doing that, even if I’m more interested in architecture and lifestyle than in the politics of those times!! 🙂

Around the World, Week by Week: Turkey by gingerlemonandspice

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey by gingerlemonandspice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well the Republik of Turkey as it is called today was only founded 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, how also was the first president. Until today he is adored by many and you can find his statues and picture everywhere, some men even have tattoes on their arms or cars of his name and signature! 🙂

Most of the people in this country are Turks, but there is also a minority group called the Kurds. Most of the people have Turkish as their mother tounge and their money is the Turkish Lira. The weather varies very strongly in the different parts of the country; it can get really cold like -40°C (-40°F) in winter in some areas but also really hot in summers (always above 30°C/86°F).

So that’s enough of the formal stuff for me by now, I have some more pictures for you to click through to get your own view!

If you got any questions about Turkey or my stay there, or made your own experiences just leave a comment below!! I would love to read about it!!

 

Now on to the food: Meat balls (in Turkish Köfte) can be found in many variations in the Turkish Cuisine. It might even be that every family does them a bit different! What I have here is a very classic recipe for Köfte that can be fryed in a pan or better grilled on a charcoal barbecue!

They are accompanied by the traditional yoghurt dip with cucumbers and garlic called Cacık. It goes with a lot of dishes and can also be found on a Meze (Appetizer) Table! Also I have some rice for you called Pirinç Pilavı. Like with the meatballs there are so many ways of preparing this!

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Köfte, Cacık & Pirinç Pilavı by gingerlemonandspice

 

I found all the recipes for these in one of my favorite cookbooks, ‘Sofralar’ by Orhan Tançgil of the blog ‘KochDichTürkisch’. They also have a lot of videos to the recipes on the blog, so even if you can’t speek German you might find something you like! Hop over and say hi from me!

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Köfte, Cacık & Pirinç Pilavı by gingerlemonandspice

Köfte, Cacık & Pirinç Pilavı
 
Prep time
Cook time
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A recipe for yummy turkish meat balls with rice and a yoghurt dip with cucumbers and garlic!
Author:
Recipe type: Main Dish
Cuisine: Turkish
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
Köfte
  • 500g mixed minced meat (lamb and beef)
  • 1 onion
  • 2 slices of stale white bread
  • 1 egg
  • 1 handfull of parsley
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • pepper, pul biber spice (chili flakes)
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • oil for frying
Pirinç Pilavı
  • 60g butter
  • a small handfull of soup noodles (şehriye)
  • 1 cup of rice, washed in a sieve
  • 2 cups of water or chicken stock
  • 1 teaspoon water
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
Cacık
  • 250g süzme yoğurt (turkish yoghurt with 10% fat)
  • 5 tablespoons milk
  • 2 small turkish cucumbers or 1 usual
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 handfull of fresh dill
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • pepper, pul biber spice (chili flakes)
  • olive oil
Instructions
Köfte Mix
  1. Start bei preparing the mixture for the Köfte. Just put the meat, the finally chopped onion and parsley, the spices, the egg, the olive oil and the pressed garlic in a big bowl. Cut the bread in small chunks and add to the bowl too.
  2. Now mix very well! It works best if you use your hands. Form small balls and pat them down flat and set aside on a plate or chopping board. Use wet hands while forming the Köfte so that the mixture doesn't stick to your fingers!
Pirinç Pilavı
  1. Melt butter on a pot on the stove on high heat and add the noodles. Fry and stir well until they get a golden color. Then add the rice and fry for 2-3 minutes more.
  2. Pour water or stock in and add the spices. Stir once then cover with the lid and wait until the water boils.
  3. Turn the heat down to very low for about 15 minutes then turn it off and let the pot just sit where it is. The rice will soak up more of the moisture and will get done without sticking to the bottom with this method.
Frying the Köfte
  1. Meanwhile heat one or two big pans and add some frying oil. You don't need much as the meat releases some fat as well. About one tablespoon for each pan! Put the meatballs into the pan and fry them on medium heat until they are half through then turn around and do the other side. It is even better when you have a charcoal barbecue and grill them there! You can also bake them in the oven on 200°C for about 25 minutes if you want to retain some fat. But that's not the most typical way 😉
Cacık
  1. Mix yoghurt and milk in a bowl with an egg whisk until smooth. Chop the cucumbers as finely as you can or grate them. But on the secon method make sure to press some of the water out!
  2. Add the cucumber, the spices (minus the chili), the finely chopped dill and pressed garlic to the bowl and mix well. Taste and reseason as you like.
  3. Pour the Cacık in a nice bowl and decorate with olive oil, chili and some dill sprinkles!
Notes
The cumin spice is essential for the typical taste in the Turkish Cuisine! Don't miss it!

Around The World, Week by Week: Turkey - Köfte, Cacık & Pirinç Pilavı by gingerlemonandspice

Afiyet olsun!! – Enjoy your meal!

 

Here are the other recipes I shared during this series:

An Introduction to the new series

Appetizer – Sigara Böreği

Dessert – Künefe

Drink – Ayran

Salad – Kısır

Pastry – Kurabiye

Snack/Fast Food – Lahmacun

Guest Post – Acılı Ezme

 

~ Kathrin

Around the World: Turkey – Sigara Böreği

Around the World: Turkey – Sigara Böreği
Around the World: Turkey – Sigara Böreği

Hey there!!

So today is the first day of the Turkish Week on my blog taking part in the Around the World, Week by Week – Series!

Around the World, Week by Week: Turkey: Appetizer: Sigara Böreği by gingerlemonandspice

Why did I chose Turkey as the first country to be featured?

Well, I got the chance to visit this country for two months in the summer of last year. I went there through a partnership of my university in Germany with the Ege-University of Izmir for an internship in the milk technology departement. I didn’t expect much as the turkish people living in Germany often keep very much to themselves and their culture kind of stayed a mystery to me. But boy was I wrong!

süt tecnolojisi

The people were so open and friendly – it was amazing!! Even if it was hard to communicate with some because they didn’t really speek English or German and my Turkish was well, let’s say, just not existing 😉 We got along so well using our hands to gesticulate and some google-translate for more difficult things!! The people were very hospitable and obliging and the boys real gentleman! I felt at home right away and made many great friends!!

Also I found a family there which adopted me, at least figuratively speeking 🙂 It is the family of my neighbour who died unfortunatly and very sudden two years ago. His wife went back to Turkey to stay with their son and daughter and their grandchildren who are already in their late teens. I last saw them all when I was little, they didn’t come to Germany often to visit because most of the time my neighbour and wife went to Turkey and spend some weeks each year there. So when he died everything was really quick. They gave up the house and moved back to Turkey in just like two weeks or something – a time in which I couldn’t come to my parents house to say goodbye. I had to stay and go to university. So when I found out they actually lived near Izmir and I could probably see them during my stay I got really excited!!

gingerlemonandspice

And then I finally met them and it was like coming home to your family. Everybody was kissing and hugging and I was instantly adopted as a family member! They called me their daughter, cousin and sister and it was how I felt too!! This sounds all very emotional – but it is how I felt!!

I stayed at their house, was invited to their cram-ful tables for breakfast and dinner, I  was cooking with them Turkish food and I even cooked a German dish for them at the last evening as a thank you. I guess I got some first-hand experience there 😉

gingerlemonandspice

It was awesome!! I miss them all very much!!

 

But now let’s go on to the food part! There has to be something to tell for the next days too 😉

Today is Monday, so we will have a little talk about appetizers in Turkish Cuisine. Small plates with different dishes to snack on have a long tradition in Turkey. They even have a special name for it: Meze! It is kind of like the Tapas of Turkey 🙂 You can get them in nearly every restaurant, and in the better ones you even get some for free. It can be things like a salad, bread, a joghurt dip or different spreads – it’s all possible.

Around the World, Week by Week: Turkey: Appetizer: Sigara Böreği by gingerlemonandspice

What I have here for you is Sigara Böreği, a savoury snack in the form of thin rolls. They taste a little bit salty and very crispy – once you start eating you can never stop 😉 They are really delicious and probably gone faster than anything else on a buffet!!

Here is a little picture to help you visualize what the dough sheets look like and what to do with them 🙂

Around the World, Week by Week: Turkey: Appetizer: Sigara Böreği by gingerlemonandspice

 

Have you been to Turkey yourself? Have you tried or even cooked Turkish food? What were your experiences?

I would love for you to share in the comments! 🙂

 

Sigara Böreği
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: Turkish
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 package triangular shaped yufka-sheets (about 25 sheets -turkish store)
  • 300 g beyaz peynir or feta cheese
  • 1 handful of parsley, finely chopped
  • water
  • rapeseed or sunflower oil
Instructions
  1. Prepare the filling first by squishing the feta cheese or beyaz peynir as finely as you can. Mix with parsley and set aside.
  2. Arrange your workspace: Put a clean and slightly wet towel on your surface. You need a bowl with water, your filling, the yufka sheets and a clean plate in arms length!
  3. Now you can start rolling your Sigara Böreği: Place one sheet of yufka on your towel, the wide side facing towards you. Sprinkle with water, especially the sides that will be folded in!
  4. Take some of your filling (about 1 tablespoon) and distribute in a line near the end of the round side of the triangular. Fold the sides in and roll your Sigara Böreği up! Tip the pointy end of your yufka into your bowl with water and close the roll. Set aside on your plate and continue until all the yufka sheets are used up!
  5. Heat the oil in a wide pan. You need about 1 cm of oil in your pan. Use a wooden spoon to test if the oil is already hot enough. There will be bubbles forming on the spoon when you put a corner of it into the oil. When the oil is hot enough put some Sigara Böreği in. They have to be in one layer and you need a little bit of space to turn them. Turn them once after the bottom side is golden and lay them on a paper towel to drain excess oil when you take them out.
  6. Enjoy preferably with some salad or çaçik!
Notes
I have tried to make them with less oil already but the results were always a disaster! The dough was still raw inside and the outside was burned and it never got crispy and flakey.

Around the World, Week by Week: Turkey: Appetizer: Sigara Böreği by gingerlemonandspice

Afiyet olsun!!

– That means enjoy your meal in Turkish 🙂

 

Here are the other recipes I shared during this series:

An Introduction to the new series

Main Dish – Köfte, Cacık & Pirinç Pilavı

Dessert – Künefe

Drink – Ayran 

Salad – Kısır

Pastry – Kurabiye

Snack/Fast Food – Lahmacun

Guest Post – Acılı Ezme

 

~ Kathrin

Introduction To The New Series: Around The World, Week By Week

Introduction To The New Series: Around The World, Week By Week

Hello everybody!

Today I am going to introduce you to my first series on this blog!! I was dreaming about this for quite some time now, but it took some preparation and time to make it happen 🙂

Around the World, Week by Week: Turkey by gingerlemonandspice

As you might or might not know I really love to travel. Especially Ireland and Turkey feel like my second homes! This is mostly because of the very warm welcome I have been given and the openness and hospitality of the people there!

I love to discover new cultures!! I love to do sightseeing and experience the way of life the people are having there! This applies of course especially for the food culture too! I am always excited to try new things and ways of cooking and also embed what I’ve learned in my cooking at home. Just last night I whipped up a quick dinner turkish style for me and my flatmate and we were both very pleased with the result 🙂

 

Now what I want to do is not only have those experiences on my own but rather share them with you!!

From tomorrow on you can find a new series on this blog. It is called: Around The World, Week By Week!!

For a whole week I will feature the culture especially in food of one country!! I will tell you about eating habbits and their way of life and some stories about what I have been experiencing there! You will get a new recipe of a different category each day and by the end of the week there will be a little special extra too 🙂 I plan to do a new country every month!

 

The first country I feature will be TURKEY

Around the World, Week by Week: Turkey by gingerlemonandspice

I have been spending two months last summer in Izmir at the west coast working at the University of Izmir. It was my first time in this beautiful country and I really had such a great time!!

Around the World, Week by Week: Turkey by gingerlemonandspice

 

Here are the categories of the recipes I will share:

Monday: Appetizer (Sigara Böreği)

Tuesday: Main Course (Köfte, Cacık & Pirinç Pilavı)

Wednesday: Dessert (Künefe)

Thursday: Drink (Ayran)

Friday: Salad (Kısır)

Saturday: Pastry (Kurabiye)

Sunday: Fast Food or Snack (Lahmacun)

Guest PostAcılı Ezme by Zerrin Günaydin of Give Recipe

 

I hope you will enjoy this as much as I do! 🙂

Maybe you have been to Turkey yourself or have tasted turkish food too? Tell me about your experiences! 🙂

I am looking forward to a great week!!

 

With love,

Kathrin

Kanzashi Flower Wreath

Kanzashi Flower Wreath

Hello there!

It’s me – today with something completely not food related! Unbelievable, I know! 😉

Kanzashi Flower Wreath by gingerlemonandspice

I made this wreath for my grandma’s 75th birthday last week and I liked it sooo much that I needed to show it to you!

It is not hard to make, you just need some time and patience, a styrofoam wreath, some yarn, fabric scraps and some buttons. I saw some yarn wreaths at pinterest – a thing I’m only using since this year. I guess it would be correct to say this is the first thing I made because I saw it on pinterest! 🙂 In my own way, of course, as there was no ‘how-to’ with that picture.

Kanzashi Flower Wreath by gingerlemonandspice

The flowers are made in the ‘Kanzashi’- Style. You take squares of fabric in different sizes, fold them and then sew them together! If you want me to make a tutorial on how to make those flowers, just leave me a comment! 🙂

Kanzashi Flower Wreath by gingerlemonandspice

Well my grandma liked it very much too and hanged it on her front door of her appartement. Also my other grandma already told me that that’s what she wants for her birthday in September! 🙂

Kanzashi Flower Wreath by gingerlemonandspice

Next week there will be something very special waiting for you on this blog! All I can say is that it will be my very first series I am doing and that it is very special to me! I am so looking forward to how much you will be liking it! Or not – but that’s not what I hope that happens 🙂

And here is a last picture, just because I can’t get enough of them!

Kanzashi Flower Wreath by gingerlemonandspice

Have a nice day!!

~ Kathrin

Guest Post: Pulled Pork, Magic Dust and Coleslaw by Tobias

Guest Post: Pulled Pork, Magic Dust and Coleslaw by Tobias
Guest Post: Pulled Pork, Magic Dust and Coleslaw by Tobias

Hi guys!

Today I have something very special for you: The very first guest post on my blog!!

It is even more special because it is my brother Tobias who took the time to write this post and say hi to you!! He is a very passionate cook too, especially barbecuing is something he really likes and celebrates!

me and my brother

Please give him a warm welcome and don’t be shy with comments!! Who knows – he might come back and whip something up for us again 😉

Have fun bro! 🙂

 

Hi,

This time it’s my turn! I’m making a guest article for my Sister!

I absolutely love barbecuing so that’s why my recipe is about one of the most difficult category of BBQ: Pulled Pork. It’ is pork which is smoked for 12 hours between 90 – 120 °C, 100°C are perfect. In the end it’s incredibly delicate, so you can easily pull the meat fibres apart.

I made it yesterday with some friends and it was absolutely fantastic. But first things first:

We started with three 3 pork shoulders (Two with about 1,3 kg and one with 1,6 kg). They have to be marinated one day before start barbecuing for the best tasting experience. So I coated it really thin with medium-hot mustard and then rubbed it with my absolute favourite spice “Magic Dust”.

Actually it IS absolute magic! You should always keep a spice shaker next to your Barbecue: It’s fantastic with pork, whatever part of it. Unfortunately the recipe is top secret so I can’t tell you the ingredients, sooo…. aahh what the heck:

 

Magic Dust

Magic Dust

Ingredients

  1. 6 Parts Paprika mild
  2. 2 Parts Paprika hot
  3. 2 Parts Garlic
  4. 1 Parts Mustard seeds light
  5. 1 Parts Mustard seeds dark
  6. 4 Parts Sugar brown
  7. 4 Parts Salt
  8. 2 Parts Pepper black
  9. 1 Parts Cumin
  10. 2 Small hot Chilies

Directions

  1. The Ingredients should be in the shape of powder and dry. I prefer using whole pepper and whole cumin and grind it myself for better taste and the whole taste of the essential oil. Just mix everything together!
http://gingerlemonandspice.com/2013/07/pulled-pork-magic-dust-and-coleslaw/

 

Back to topic: After rubbing it, the pork should be dry outside, so you should use a real lot of the magic dust. It can use it!

Now wrap it with foil and keep it in the fridge for at least 12 hours. The longer you keep it the better it is!

 

But what about the Hardware I use?

I got a Kettle Barbecue grill from Dancook the Dancook 1400. It has a fantastic technique which helps saving charcoal, for further informations just google it! There are some good tests about it!

For charcoal I used Profagus Brekkies. There are completely made out of beech from the last charcoal factory in Germany. They are one of the best on the market. High and long heat, easy to light and they don’t smoke!

For lighting I use the Weber rapidfire chimney starter. I put one egg carton and a paraffin cube underneath it and it glows in 10min.

Pulled Pork, Magic Dust and Coleslaw from gingerlemonandspice

Furthermore I have a Maverick ET-732 for BBQ-temperature and food-temperature control and a Smokinator grill attachment. With this Smokinator you can perfectly keep the BBQ Temperature at about 100 °C.

 

Beside the Meat we wanted Coleslaw, so I made one a day before, also like my favourite recipe.

Toby's Coleslaw

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Toby's Coleslaw

Ingredients

  1. 1 white cabbage
  2. 2 onions
  3. 1 Cup Oil sunflower
  4. 1 Cup Spice vinegar
  5. 1 Cup Sugar
  6. Pepper, Salt, caraway,

Directions

  1. Slice cabbage and onions.
  2. Heat oil, vinegar, sugar and spices and pour it hot over the vegetables.
  3. Keep it for a few hours while mixing it every once in a while.
http://gingerlemonandspice.com/2013/07/pulled-pork-magic-dust-and-coleslaw/

On the next day I started at 4:30am with lighting up the charcoal. It was 5:00 am when the Pork got on to the Barbecue. Use about two hands of watered beech on the charcoal for a great smoky flavour. The meat only gather the smoke in the first few hours!

Pulled Pork, Magic Dust and Coleslaw from gingerlemonandspice

This Picture was made after 5 hours. On the left side you see the Smokinator with the charcoal inside. The bowl underneath the meat is for the juice.

The Meat Temperature should get up to 94°C. When you try to do so, you will notice a strange phenomenon. The temperature rises in the first 4 hours from 10 to 60 °C but at about 65 °C it keeps a REALLY long time to rise over 70 °C. In my case it took another 4 hours to get over 70 °C. This is called the Stall.

It is because of the enthalpy of evaporation. This keeps the temperature the same as long as you have free liquid water in the meat, but there is a small simple trick to get it faster: wrap the meat with aluminium foil. With this trick you minimize the volume of the relevant cooking chamber, so the air is saturated with steam much faster. When the air is saturated, the process of evaporation and condensation is fulfilled much faster and the temperature rises again.

When the meat is at 94 °C its still wrap in aluminium foil, but before you start eating, let it some time to relax. The best way to do so is to take a big cooling box and put some glass bottles filled with boiling water on the bottom of it, put the wrapped meat on it and another layer of bottles. Keep it for half an hour so the juice can spread.

Now the “work” is done! 🙂

Pulled Pork, Magic Dust and Coleslaw from gingerlemonandspice

Take two forks and start pulling! It should be so delicate that it crumbles.

Pulled Pork, Magic Dust and Coleslaw from gingerlemonandspice

Now take a burger bun, half it, toast it, put some pulled pork and some barbecue sauce (recipe below) on one side and some coleslaw on the other.

Pulled Pork, Magic Dust and Coleslaw from gingerlemonandspice

Put it together and enjoy 🙂

Pulled Pork, Magic Dust and Coleslaw from gingerlemonandspice

For one of the best barbecue sauce ever, take the meat juice from the bowl and reduce it, put some apple vinegar, sugar, a tube tomato paste to it and season it with magic dust. Et voila 🙂

Now you might think: “stand up at 4 o’clock and barbecue for 12 hours? Why???” The only thing I could say: try it only once and you’ll be on my side! All my friends thought the same until they have tasted.

I hope you all enjoyed my first blog article. I would love to hear some constructive criticism.

Best wishes

Tobias