Rice Pilaf with Carrots and Peas (Havuçlu ve Bezelyeli Pirinç Pilavı)

One of my favorite pilafs is with peas and carrots. Rice is so versatile; it can be cooked in different ways with various ingredients.

I use frozen peas for this recipe (the only frozen vegetable that I ever purchase) since good quality peas are not available fresh. Sometimes, I do find the large pods, but the peas inside are too small. If I could find good quality fresh peas, I would use them. My mother makes rice pilaf with carrots and peas pretty often. It is a good way of putting vegetables in starchy foods.


2 cups white rice
3 carrots (chopped in squares)
½ cup frozen peas
3 cups chicken broth
1 tsp olive oil
Salt

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add carrots and peas and mix together for 2 minutes. Add rice and mix again. Add the chicken broth and salt. Adjust the salt to your taste. Cook on medium heat until it starts boiling and then turn to low heat. Cook until all the water is absorbed. No need to stir while cooking. Serve with meat or vegetable dishes.

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.

Leeks with Rice (Pirinçli Pırasa)

I have to admit that I do not know many recipes with leeks. My mother seldom cooked leeks. I do not recall her cooking it as the main dish but only as an ingredient for another recipe.

This dish is known in most parts of Turkey. This recipe is inspired from the Leeks with Carrots recipe from the Turkish cookbook called “Anatolian Feast” which is published by the American Turkish Association of Houston a non-profit organization.

4 medium leeks (sliced in ½ inch thick)
1 cup carrots (sliced thick)
1 red bell pepper (sliced lenghtwise)
2 garlic cloves (chopped)
1 cup rice
1 tsp tomato sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp ground black pepper
Pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups water

Wash the leeks thoroughly. Clean underneath each leaf with lots of water. There will be dirt sticking between the leaves. Therefore, after washing and slicing them, I soak them in a pot full of water and triple wash them.

Heat olive oil in a large pan. Add garlic and stir for one minute. Do not let them burn. Add leeks and carrots. Sautee for 3-4 minutes or until the leeks are soft. Add rice, tomato sauce, cumin, pepper and salt. Lastly, add the water. Stir well and cover the pot. Cook on low heat for 45 minutes. You may stir a few times during cooking to make sure the rice cooks well. Serve warm or cold as the main dish.

Roasted Chestnuts (Kestane Kebabı)

A popular winter snack, chestnuts date back to pre-historic times. Mainly grown and consumed in the Mediterranean countries, chestnuts are a major staple in Southern Europe, Asia Minor, Southwestern and East Asia. They are also grown here in the States.

In Turkey, it is cultivated in the Marmara Sea region and the Black Sea region mainly in the mountainous areas. The most famous chestnuts (kestane) in Turkey is in the city of Bursa which is around the Marmara region. They grow in trees where the brown colored nut is enclosed in greenish spiny round burs. The nuts are harvested around October.

When I saw them in stores recently, my memory awakened for another joy of the winter. I grabbed a bag of the chestnuts and was looking forward to a cold night for roasting. I recollect seeing numerous chestnut carts in Turkey during winter months where the aroma of the roasted chestnuts fills the whole street. Resisting the temptation of the roasted chestnuts caused by inhaling the wonderful aroma is extremely difficult. The chestnut vendors can also be seen in the streets of Philadelphia and New York City during the winter months.

At home in Turkey, we used to roast them on wood fire which gives it a better taste. It has been years since I have had this experience. Since my visits to Turkey are always in the summer months, I have not had the chance to enjoy some of the roasted chestnuts over there. I compensate for it by roasting them myself in my oven. Although not the same, it does give a similar pleasure to the palates.

Chestnuts can also be boiled, cooked in food and used in a number of desserts. My favorite is though the roasted chestnuts. When the weather is cold and you feel like hanging out at home with family, roast some chestnuts and enjoy them warm.

1 lb chestnuts

Heat oven to 350º F. With a sharp knife, cut an X on the back of each chestnut. See picture below.

Arrange chestnuts on oven tray and roast until all the chestnut open up and the flesh of the chestnuts is exposed.

Let them cool to make sure you do not burn yourself. Peel and enjoy warm.

Borek with Ground Beef (Kıymalı Börek)

I made and took this borek for the last day of our Spanish class. Everyone was supposed to bring Mexican or Spanish food for the cultural experience, however I was volunteered into bringing Turkish food. I prepared it late on a Sunday night and the next day I left work early and placed it in the oven while I was getting ready. We took it to class warm, just out of the oven. The smell of it was very tempting. It got a lot of praise. This was my first time making this borek and I will make it again soon, this time for us.

For the Filling:

1 lb ground beef
1 medium white or yellow onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
½ cup parsley (chopped)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 ½ tsp salt
¼ tsp paprika
½ tsp ground black pepper

For the Outer Part of the Borek:

1 package phyllo dough sheets
1 cup yogurt
½ cup olive oil
1 egg

Preparation of Filling:

Heat olive oil in a large non-stick pan. Add the onions and sautee for 3 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and the ground beef. Cook until the beef takes a brownish color stirring constantly. Add the parsley, salt, black pepper and paprika and sautee for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Putting All Ingredients Together:

In a deep bowl, add the yogurt, olive oil and egg. Mix vigorously until all three ingredients are mixed well.

Using a brush, spread a small amount of this newly created mixture in a large Pyrex dish. This is to prevent the Phyllo sheets sticking to the Pyrex dish.

Open the Phyllo dough package. Place a damp cloth on top so that the Phyllo sheets do not dry out. The Phyllo dough sheets can be found in the frozen section of most markets. These are the same dough sheets that are used for baklava.

Place one sheet of the Phyllo dough in the Pyrex dish on top of the yogurt, olive oil and egg mixture spread. Dip your brush in this mixture and brush the Phyllo sheet. Do this one by one until half of the Phyllo sheets are used up. (Some people brush the yogurt-olive oil-egg mixture on every 3-4 Phyllo sheets, but I have found that it turns out better if you do it one by one). After you have layered half of the phyllo dough, spread the meat filling on top of the Phyllo dough. Add another sheet of the phyllo dough and butter it. Continue the process of brushing each Phyllo dough sheet and placing them on top of each other until all the Phyllo sheets are used up. If you have any of the yogurt-olive oil-egg mixture left over, pour it on top and spread it evenly with a brush.

Bake at 350º in the middle rack of the oven for 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let's Have Some Fun!

A couple weeks ago, I was tagged by Pixen. As a result of being tagged, I am supposed to reveal 7 facts about myself and tag 7 other bloggers. I had previously been tagged through e-mails but these things never got my interest, so I have never followed up. I will however follow up with this one. Here we go…7 facts about myself:

1. I never thought I’d ever have so much interest in cooking when I was young. I always thought my mom would be cooking for me for the rest of my life. Although, if I had lived in Turkey, she probably would. My mom’s food would be great but, I am also very pleased with discovering my new hobby.

2. Snakes? Keep them away; I have a snake phobia which developed in the past couple years. I cannot even stand to see a snake on TV. Therefore, I cannot spend any time in forests hiking during the summer, something I really used to enjoy. I am even getting goose bumps right now just as I write these words involving the S…. word!

3. The first and only time I flew to Turkey with a non Turkish Airlines was when I was a student and that airline offered options for a meal. Just out of curiosity, I ordered the “muslim dinner” (whatever that was supposed to mean) and I was so disappointed even though I didn't know what to expect. Not to mention, my food tray came much earlier than everybody else’s! It was weird.

4. I love reading, but I only read non-fiction books. I do not remember the last time I read a fiction book. Maybe I take life too seriously, but I like to learn things when I read. I know that kind of takes the fun out of it... Although, I enjoy learning.

5. I used to work with someone who did not even own a stove because she thinks cooking is a waste of time! (I know this is not a fact about me, but it’s a fact that I knew this person) Does that count?

6. I have written some things in the past with the intention of creating a book, but I lost interest and left it alone. Not sure if I’ll get back to it, but I also found out that I like writing poems.

7. I am more of a listener than a talker. Although if you ask my husband, he’ll probably tell you just the opposite. I have to admit, he may be right sometimes.

Here are the 7 bloggers I am tagging (I won’t be offended if you do not play, but I hope you have some fun):

Get to know Croatia
Mimi Cooks
Organically Cooked

Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska

Lisa is Cooking

Joie de vivre: An amateur gourmet’s guide

Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice

The Rules for Being Tagged:

1. Link to the tagger (my blog) on your blog
2. Reveal 7 facts about yourself
3. Tag 7 other bloggers, list their blogs and let them know they have been tagged

4. Have fun!

Stuffed Peppers with Chicken (Tavuklu Biber Dolması)

The first thing that came to my mind when I saw these peppers at the farmer’s market was “Stuffed Peppers”. The bell peppers were perfect for stuffing as they were small. Most of the bell peppers we see at regular markets are oversized and not a perfect fit for stuffing. I was very pleased.

A variety of stuffing can be used for this dish. If interested in different stuffing recipes, please see my Stuffed Grape Leaves with Olive Oil (Zeytinyağlı Yaprak Sarması) and Stuffed Mixed Vegetables (Karışık Dolma) recipes under Stuffed Dishes category. Currently, I only have two, but this list will grow eventually.

This dish uses ground chicken in the stuffing. My mother sometimes uses chicken instead of beef for stuffing dolmas. It really gives it a great taste. This is the first time I used chicken for dolmas myself and I am sorry I had not used it all this time.

Now let’s get to the recipe. It is not as complicated as it looks and does not consume a lot of your time. Give it a try and you will love it! No question.

Vegetables:

15 small bell peppers (you may also use eggplants, zucchinis or tomatoes)

For the Stuffing:

1½ cups short grain rice
1 lb ground chicken
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
1 large chopped garlic clove (or 2 small ones)
Juice of 1 lime
½ chopped onion
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp red pepper paste
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

For Cooking the Pepper Dolmas:

1 large sliced garlic clove
1 lime
2 sprigs of mint
1 tsp salt
2 cups water

Mix all the ingredients for stuffing with your hands to make sure all the ingredients are integrated. Set aside. I always use first aid gloves for this as I do not want to make my hands take different colors.

With a sharp paring knife, cut square on the top portion of the pepper and remove the stems from the peppers. Then remove the seeds. Do not discard the stem that you removed as it will be used as a cap for the peppers after they are stuffed.

Stuff each pepper up to the top but leave a 1/2 of an inch of room so that when the rice expands after cooking, it will have room.

Close with the pepper cap your removed earlier.

Arrange in a large pot.

Once all the peppers are stuffed, sprinkle the peppers with salt. Squeeze the lime on top of the peppers, throw in the sliced garlic and the mint. Add the water and place two-three small plates to add weight on the peppers so that they stay compact. Cover and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes. Turn the heat to low and cook another 30-40 minutes. After turning the heat off, keep the lid closed for about 15 minutes so it still continues cooking with the heat inside the pot. Serve warm along with yogurt or cacık.

Thai Style Shrimp with Oyster Mushrooms

A while back I bought a Thai cookbook and got really Thai food frenzy. I purchased any kind of Thai sauces and pastes that I could find in stores without thinking about the recipes I will be making which I admit was not very wise. I was experimenting cooking Thai food at home and my husband was experimenting eating it! He was not very open to different foods before we got married. Now, he loves trying foods from all around the world. Those Thai recipes from the cookbook were really good. I rarely attempted to divert from the cookbook as I was not very familiar with cooking Thai food. Now that I am still left with some sauces and pastes and other stuff, I am creating new dishes employing Thai ingredients. Sometimes they work, sometimes they do not.

This shrimp dish with oyster mushrooms turned out pretty well. Therefore, I am sharing it here. It is simple, yet delicious. I used the oyster mushrooms and the scallions I bought at the farmer's market. The spiciness may be lacking, but I did not have any chilies on hand. Feel free to add them.

1 lb jumbo shrimp
¾-1 lb fresh oyster mushrooms
2 large scallions (chopped)
2 red chilies (optional)
5 leaves of basil (preferably Thai basil)
2 cloves garlic (sliced)
1 tsp dried basil
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp canola oil
Thai ginger peanut sauce
1 tsp salt

Cut the mushroom cluster in a way where each piece will have 3-4 of the mushrooms attached. Chop the chilies if you choose to add some spiciness to the recipe. Salt the shrimp. Heat the oil on medium heat in a large pan. Add the garlic and chilies. Sautee for 3-4 minutes, add the Thai ginger peanut sauce and the fish sauce to the garlic. Stir and add the mushrooms. Cook for 2 minutes before adding the shrimp. Add the dried and fresh basil. Stir for 3 minutes and add the scallions. Allow 2 minutes to cook after adding the scallions. Serve with plain rice. Garnish with fresh basil and red chilies if you wish.