Chickpeas with Ground Lamb (Kuzu Kıymalı Nohut)

Chickpeas are excellent source of vitamins in addition to being delicious. That’s one of the reasons why I like cooking with chickpeas year round. This meal is probably cooked more commonly during winter months, but in my opinion anything that is fresh and tastes good can be relished any time of the year. We had the chickpeas with ground lamb served with bulgur pilaf cooked with orzo pasta and it was just out of this world. If you’re not into lamb, ground beef or even chicken can be substituted without compromising the taste. Here is the recipe….

3 ¼ cup chickpeas
½ medium onion (chopped roughly)
2 cloves garlic (chopped fine)
1 lb ground lamb
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbps red pepper paste
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp ground dry mint
1 ½ tsp salt (adjust to your taste)
2 tsp white vinegar
3 cups water


Wash and soak chickpeas overnight. Drain and boil in a pot for about 30-35 minutes. The chickpeas should be soft, but not mushy after boiling.

Heat a skillet and cook the ground lamb until all the juices are released. Remove from heat and get rid of the juices in the pan.

In a large pot, heat olive oil on medium heat. Saute onions and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add the lamb and stir for less than a minute. Add chickpeas and cook for 5 minutes. Add water, red pepper paste, cumin, black pepper, dry mint, salt and vinegar.

Stir the ingredients in the pot and cook covered on medium heat for approximately 40 minutes. Make sure the chickpeas are soft to eat.

Serve with rice or bulgur pilaf.

Lamb Shank (Kuzu İncik)

Today’s recipe is lamb shank! I have never made lamb shank before, so I was proud of myself when it turned out delicious. The recipe is not labor intensive; once I browned the shank, I threw all the ingredients together in a pot, grabbed a glass of wine and sat on one of the two pieces of bar furniture I have on my kitchen island with a good book.

Before we get to the delightful recipe, I would like to express my pleasure on my upcoming product review with CSN Stores. In the past, CSN Stores offered a giveaway or a review and I chose the giveaway and one of my lucky readers won a 10” and 12” Calphalon Non-Stick Omelet Combo Set. This time however, I would like to actually review one of their products. CSN Stores has an amazing selection of products in their 200 plus online stores. Please stay tuned.

Now back to the lamb shank…

Note: 1 lamb shank can be enough for two people

1 lamb shank
4-5 cloves of garlic (sliced)
2 shallots (sliced)
2 portabella mushrooms (sliced)
2 potatoes (cubed)
3 small carrots (sliced 1 inch thick)
1/2 cup white wine
3 tbsp olive oil
1 ¼ tsp salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried thyme
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1 cup water

Heat olive oil on medium heat in a large pot. Brown the lamb shank in the pot on all sides. Add sliced garlic and shallots. Stir for about 3 minutes until the shallots are transparent. Add the portabella mushrooms and stir. Add the white wine. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the potatoes, carrots and the rest of the ingredients including the water. Mix well and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Then, turn heat to low and cook covered for 2 hours or until the lamb shank is tender. Serve with rice and salad.

Eggplant Lamb in the Pan (Kuzu Etli Patlıcan Tava)

After a nice, long and rejuvenating vacation, I am back to my regular blogging and my home cooked food. We stocked our refrigerator with lots of fruits and vegetables and the pantry with legumes as soon as we returned since we intend to eat vegetarian for the next couple of weeks. Eating out can be fun and adventurous; however in my and my husband's case we lose appetite when eating out every day for a long time. We tend to eat more heavy foods such as meats, fried foods and rich desserts when we order at a restaurant. The good looking and smelling food can be very tempting and hinder us from making the right food choices.

Immediately upon my return, I made grape leaves stuffed with rice and green bean stew with tomatoes. Since I already have the stuffed grape leaves and green bean stew on my blog, I am publishing a recipe that I made a couple months ago that I never got the chance to publish. The lamb can be omitted for vegetarians or substituted with beef for beef lovers.

This eggplant dish is very tasty especially when served with rice pilaf and yogurt on the side.



1 lb london broil lamb or any type of meat (cubed)
3 large eggplants
2 green cubanelle peppers (sliced lengthwise)
1 medium onion (sliced)
3 cloves garlic (sliced)
4-5 peeled ripe tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp paprika

Peel eggplants lengthwise in stripes like a zebra. Cut the eggplants in fourths and cube. Place in a pot full of salty, cold water to prevent discoloration.

Heat a small pan. Add the cubed lamb and cook until the juices and blood in the meat is released. Drain the meat and set aside.

Heat olive oil on medium heat in an oven proof pan. Add onions and garlic and sauté until onions are translucent. Add the meat and stir. Drain the eggplants and add to the pan. Sprinkle salt, cumin, black pepper and paprika and mix. Arrange the sliced tomatoes and green peppers on top. Cook covered for 30 minutes on the stove.

Preheat oven to 400º F. Remove pan from stove and bake uncovered for 15 minutes in the oven. Enjoy with rice pilaf and plain yogurt.

Arab Kebab (Arap Kebabı)

As far as I know, this kebab is mainly prepared in the Hatay-Adana-Mersin provinces which are in Southern Turkey. Although, the ingredients are very Mediterranean, the name of this dish may not be familiar to many people. The fact that Hatay province shares a border with Syria (an Arab country), the food culture in Hatay has been influenced by Syrian cooking and flavors. Probably, that’s where the name of this dish comes from.

This kebab that is made in the pot was prepared by my husband without my assistance. It is very simple to make and it tastes really good with some good bread. Some people choose to make it with ground beef or beef cubes. For you vegetarians out there, I would substitute the meat with portabella mushrooms.

1 lb lamb (stew meat)
4 juicy ripe tomatoes (coarsely diced)
1 green pepper (coarsely chopped)
1 medium onion (coarsely chopped)
2 large cloves garlic (sliced)
3 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp pepper
¼ tsp cumin
2 tsp salt


Heat olive oil in a large pot. Saute the onions and garlic until the onions are transparent. Add the lamb. When the lamb takes a light brownish color, add the peppers, tomatoes, pepper, salt and cumin.

Give it a stir and close lid. Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes and then turn to low heat for another 20 minutes. If the tomatoes are not juicy, you may need to add a little water so that the dish is not dry.

Islim Kebab Wrapped in Eggplants (Patlıcanlı İslim Kebabı)

Last month, I attended a Turkish cooking class called “A Turkish Feast Fit For A Sultan” taught by Özlem Warren at my favorite supermarket. It was exciting to see a Turkish cooking class in the Foodie magazine of the market (unfortunately, this is rare). Last year, I had seen her scheduled class in the Foodie magazine, but I had to miss it due to prior commitments. This year, I did not want to miss it again, so I actually canceled my previously arranged plans for that night, so I could attend her class. Good thing I did. Obviously, since I am writing about it, I truly enjoyed it. She had some useful cooking tips.

The menu for the class included the following:

Mercimek Çorba (Lentil Soup with Red Pepper-Infused Olive Oil)
Cevizli Biber (Walnut, Red Pepper Paste and Onion Dip with Toasted Bread)
Patlıcanlı İslim Kebabı (Lamb Wrapped in Grilled Eggplant Slices with Tomato Sauce)
Sade Pilav (Rice Pilaf)
Cevizli & Fıstıklı Baklava (Baklava with Walnuts and Pistachios)
Türk Çayı (Turkish Tea)
Lokum (Turkish Delight)

Also, there was Turkish beer “Efes” and wine.

The class included an overview of Turkish cuisine history, Turkish spices, Turkish eating traditions and customs, Turkish Cookery Books (by the way, my favorite Turkish cookbook “Anatolian Feast” was in the top of her list) as well as where to get Turkish cooking ingredients. I suppose I am lucky to live in Houston where there is a small Turkish market, but for those of you who cannot find Turkish ingredients in other cities, most Mediterranean stores should have them as well as online Turkish stores. She also provided the recipes of the dishes she made during the cooking class.

Everything made in the class tasted great, however the Islim Kebab and the Cevizli Biber were exquisite! Cevizli biber (an appetizer) is very popular in Southern Turkey and thus, it reminded me of my home city. I could not hide my excitement when I heard where Özlem was from in Turkey. She is from “Antakya”, the same city my husband is from and the same province I am from which is an hour or so away from where I grew up. She not only talked about food, but also briefly talked about Antakya (the old name is Antioch) and the famous St. Peter’s church where the first word of ‘Christian’ was used for the first time according to historians.

Özlem was kind enough to allow me to publish her own recipe “Patlıcanlı Islim Kebabı” (an Ottoman dish) and I typed her recipe almost exactly as she had it written. Only a few insignificant changes were made to her recipe when I made it. I added garlic since I add garlic to everything, I used olive oil for frying since that’s what I had on hand and I used boneless leg of lamb since that’s what I had on hand. Everything else, I followed exactly as she had instructed.

Thanks Özlem for great tips and I look forward to your cookbook.

Here is the recipe.



1 lamb shoulder or leg of lamb or lamb shank –approximately 2lb
5 large Holland eggplants (the huge ones)
2 medium tomatoes (sliced)
5 green peppers (sliced lengthways)
1 medium carrot (coarsely chopped)
1 large onion (coarsely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (coarsely chopped)
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 bay leaves
6 whole black peppercorns
2 ½ tsp salt (adjust to your taste)
2 cups water

For Sprinkling on Eggplants:

Salt (as much as it takes)

For Frying:

Olive oil (as much as it takes)

For Sauce:

1 ½ tbsp tomato paste
2 cups water
Salt and pepper (adjust to your taste)

Cut the lamb shoulder or leg into approximately 1 inch thick chunks. Heat olive oil in a pan and add the lamb chunks and the bone. Add the onions, garlic and carrots and sauté for a couple minutes. Add the tomato paste, bay leaves, peppercorns and the water. Cover and cook gently for about 2 hours, until the meat falls off the bone. Season with salt and set the pan aside. Let it cool off and discard the bone.



Peel eggplants lengthways in stripes like a zebra.




Slice the eggplants lengthways, about ½ inch thick.



Sprinkle with some salt on both sides and leave for about 15 minutes.



Squeeze out their moisture with paper towel. Then shallow fry them in the oil for about 2-3 minutes until golden brown.




Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on the paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Let the fried eggplants cool off.





On a board or a plate, place one eggplant slice horizontally and the other slice vertically on top of each other and place the meat mixture in the middle.













Fold over the slices to wrap the meat mixture and place eggplant package seamside down, in a greased Pyrex dish. Lay a slice of tomato on top and the green pepper and fasten the structure with a cocktail stick.




Preheat oven to 350º F. Mix the tomato paste with water and season with salt and pepper. Pour this sauce around the eggplant packages.



Bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. Serve on a dinner plate with tomato sauce and rice pilaf.

Lamb Chops (Kuzu Pirzola)

I love lamb chops. These turned out just out of this world. The tenderness and juiciness of these lamb chops were very noticeable. Combining and pureeing all the common Mediterranean ingredients such as parsley, garlic, thyme, lemon and olive oil created a wonderful sauce. Enjoy with pilafs, pasta or potatoes.




7 lamb chops
2 cloves garlic
5-6 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs mint
½ cup fresh parsley
Juice of 1 lemon or lime
2 tbsp olive oil
Ground black pepper
Salt

Salt the lamb chops on both sides. Sprinkle the black pepper on them. Set aside 1 thyme sprig and 3-4 mint leaves for garnishing purposes. Remove the rest of the thyme leaves from the twigs and place in a food processor. Add the mint, parsley, garlic cloves, olive oil and juice of 1 lemon. Puree all the ingredients in a food processor. Set a small amount of this sauce for garnishing purposes.

Rub the lamb chops with this sauce and set aside for 30 minutes. Wrap the exposed bones with aluminum foil to prevent the bones from burning. Broil each side for 12 minutes. You may extend or reduce the cooking time based on how rare or well you want them to be. I like them medium well and 12 minutes on each side was good enough. Place in a serving plate and garnish with thyme, mint and the green sauce.

Note: You may remove the aluminum foil from the lamb chops before serving. It is up to you. I removed the aluminum foil as I think my plate looks more appealing without it!

Roast Lamb (Fırında Kuzu Budu)

One day I was strolling through the isles of a famous local fish and meat market when I was living in the Northeast and was trying to decide what type of lamb I should purchase. I saw an already marinated, packaged leg of lamb and was trying to figure out its ingredients. Another shopper informed me that she had tried it the week before and it was ‘out of this world’. I had to try it. It was excellent!

Now, I do buy the same leg of lamb, except without marinate since I prepare freshly made marinate. If cooked correctly, the lamb can be very tender and flavorful. I like my meat to be cooked thoroughly, but if you prefer it rare or medium rare, cook it a a few minutes less than instructed.

½ lb leg of lamb
1 large sprig of fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh oregano
3 cloves garlic (sliced)
Juice of 1 lemon or lime
1 tbsp olive oil
Ground black pepper
Sea salt

With a sharp knife, make 10-15 slits around the lamb. Place the lamb in a deep container. Rub with sea salt and freshly grounded black pepper. Start placing the sliced garlic in the slits on the lamb. Remove the leaves of rosemary and the oregano from the stems. There is no need to chop. Place the leaves of the herbs in the slits beside the garlic. Squeeze the lemon and add the olive oil. Make sure the lamb is coated with the lemon juice and olive oil. You may close the container and shake it up to make sure the ingredients mix together. Marinate in the refrigerator over night.

Preheat oven to 350º F. Place in a Pyrex dish and bake covered for 1 hour. Remove cover and cook for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy with rice pilaf or potatoes.