All posts tagged: Recipes

cigar borek

Cigars two ways, savoury and sweet

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Börek is a big part of Turkish cuisine and there is a börek shop(börekçi) at every corner. It is the cheapest way to fill oneself up but bad for the waistline. “If you don’t like pizza, you’re not human. If you don’t like börek, you’re an alien.” I just made that up. Ah, those good old days when I was eating spring rolls and beer, spring rolls for a starter, spinach ricotta filo for lunch…. now that I’m cutting down on carbs, it’s nothing but an occasional treat. However, it is always a crowd-pleasing finger food at parties but the frying part I’m not so keen on. Also, the problem is the dough, and my type of börek isn’t easy to find here among a myriad of börek shops as most of it has too much dough than filling. The closest I’ve found is Çengelkoy Börekçisi, which has generous filling and is not too greasy. One evening Mr.O’s parents came to help me put up wallpaper because Mr.O wiggled out of the job again, saying he …

Baked Artichoke Bottoms Stuffed with Mushroom and Goat Cheese

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If you follow me on FB or Instagram, you’d probably have seen some photos of the lovely weekend trip to Çanakkale. I did a wine tasting, ate local specialities such as cheese helva (peynir halvasi), ice cream, and oğlak(kid), yeah!, which can be eaten only through March and April. I’ll dedicate a whole post on the trip later because I think what I saw and did there is worth a whole page and it wasn’t all about food this time. Also, April is extra special for that area because of the Battle of Gallipoli and Anzac Day. So today let’s just talk about food and sharing food. Spring conjures up asparagus and artichoke. Do you remember I was eating lots of white asparagus in France? I sometimes see them in jars at Metro supermarket but I don’t buy them of course – strictly shop locally and find alternatives! In Turkey, when you go to farmers’ markets these days, you see many guys trimming artichoke bottoms. The artichokes here are bigger and how they are cooked …

cranberry pancake

Fluffy Spelt Cranberry Pancake with Yogurt Whey

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Living in the proximity of three great open markets is a bliss for a foodie. I’ve been pondering if that’s the reason why many foodies live in my neighbourhood. I’m even luckier than most people because all three markets are within a walking distance and I go to each one for different things. Among the open markets is an organic market, which is held every Wednesday in Özgürluk Park. Honestly I don’t buy veggies there because they don’t look really fresh. Would I want fresh non-organic veggies and fruit or would I want wilted and old organic veggies and fruit? My choice is the former, at least here. But I still go there because that’s the place I get my favourite flour, buckwheat and spelt flour. Buckwheat has a nutty and bitter taste and spelt flour has a nutty and sweet taste, and they are good for different occasions. I usually buy spelt flour for making bread but this time I used it in pancakes because I was inspired by my recent guest, who introduced …

Coconut Crumbed Mung Bean Sprout Fritters

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Patience…patience… Life in Turkey is very slow, so slow that waiting is big part of my life. Take a deep breath and let it be, let it go… Boşver… the word Mr.O often throws at me who frets over small things. I’ve been waiting for my knife to be delivered for over 5 months, though I was told 3 months. What kind of knife, you would wonder, right? I ordered a special knife when we had a family trip to Babakale. I’m still waiting, bugging Mr.O’s dad to find out if it’s on its way or it’s still being made. We were told that the knife will be passed on to the family friend who is living there and then she will bringing it to a relative in Çanakkale, and then finally to Istanbul, not by post but in person, who will come to Istanbul, and god knows when it will happen. At the moment, two of my knives, Opinel and Sürmene, and guess who won in the tomato slicing competition, which is the best sharpness …

spinach meatball

Spinach Kale Cheese Balls with Quick Harissa

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What I love about my new neighborhood, which is one of the best areas as far as the livability goes, there is a huge park where you can jog or play tennis or all sorts of activities happen all the time. I watched a classical concert and Eurasia dance show all by chance. On top of that, you can eat a big open-buffet breakfast on a lazy Sunday morning. Every Monday a big, I mean a HUGE farmer’s market (you can check go on to Son Mastori and click on the link) and there is also an organic market every Wednesday. If not at those farmers’ markets, there is still a small indoor traditional market where I usually shop for my everyday needs. “Let’s support small grocers!” I never buy groceries at supermarkets. No matter how cheaper things are in supermarkets and no matter how many ‘Buy 1 Get 1 Free‘ deals there are to tempt me. I love the interactions with people. I don’t get ripped off in this neighborhood as I used to. …

peking duck

Crispy Skin Slow Roast Duck / Saffron Carrot Rice / Büyülübağ Wine

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“When a girl tries to treat herself, someone else takes advantage” The reason why this post starts with the phrase is because of what I’ve been wondering about why I cook. Yes, I love eating for sure, but would I cook the way I’ve been doing if it wasn’t for another person who enjoys it more than the person who actually cooks? You wouldn’t definitely go through roasting a whole duck for 4 hours just for yourself, would you? Well, I would have in my early years when I started getting into cooking just for the sake of experiment and excitement. And when you see the person enjoying the food more than you do, that’s the reward for a hard work. Like the slow roasted duck. Mr.O loved it so much that he brought home another whole duck. Sometimes I feel like being an Ottoman chef working for the sultan in Topkapi Palace. That’s why my mum always warned me growing up not to tell a guy I’m a good cook. And the older I …