Turkish Style Simple Spaghetti (Sade Uzun Makarna)

When you think of spaghetti, what usually comes to mind is probably the sauce. Well, this spaghetti recipe has very little sauce; just enough to give it a nice flavor. It has very few ingredients which by the way, does not hinder it from tasting delicious. Sometimes, I just like my food plain and this is one of those dishes that I do like plain. When I was little, my mother used to make it and loved it. I still do. A plate of salad would go perfectly with this. Enjoy.


½ package angel hair pasta or spaghetti
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 ½ tsp salt
Pinch of ground black pepper (optional)
¾ cup water


For Boiling Pasta:

½ tsp canola oil
½ tsp salt
½ full pot of water

To Cook the Pasta:

Boil water for cooking the pasta. Thin pasta only needs 3-4 minutes to cook. To be safe, follow directions on the package. As soon as the water boils, add salt and oil so that the pasta does not stick together. Remove from heat and drain.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot. In a small bowl, dissolve the tomato paste in the water. Add the dissolved tomato paste to the pot with the olive oil. Let it simmer. Stir the sauce and add the pasta. Sprinkle the salt and mix well so that the tomato sauce is integrated with the pasta. Adjust the salt to your taste and if you wish, you may add some black pepper before serving.

Pan Kebab (Sini Kebabı)

‘Sini Kebabı’ is also known as ‘Tava Kebabı’ or 'Tepsi Kebabı' (Pan Kebab) in Antakya and the surrounding regions where this dish is extremely popular. Sini Kebabı can be prepared at home and sent to a local bakery for baking in the wood fire. However, it can also be prepared by a butcher and then sent to the bakery for cooking. During lunch hour at work, many small business owners usually choose the latter since it is convenient. They would ask the butcher to prepare the meat with the onions and spices and they would send the pan with the meat to the bakery to cook. They would order hot, flat bread to go with the Sini Kebabı. In the summer months, a cold glass of ‘ayran’ would also be ordered with this meal.

Whether it is cooked at home for the family or at work, this is a delightful dish. Unfortunately there is no Turkish style bakery around, so I got to use my own oven to cook it. If not baked, this can also cook on stovetop and still taste good. When I am in a hurry, I do tend to cook it on stovetop.

I am not sure if Sini Kebabı is known in other parts of Turkey, but I believe it is also known in Adana, Osmaniye, Kilis and Gaziantep provinces since our food culture is very similar due to close proximity.

Now, here is the recipe.

1 lb ground beef
½ 1 small onion (chopped finely)
2 cloves of garlic (chopped finely)
½ cup parsley (chopped finely)
1 tsp tomato sauce
1 tsp red pepper paste
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp salt
3 long, green peppers (cut in half or fourths)
2 ripe tomatoes (sliced)
2 potatoes (sliced ¼ of an inch)


For the Sauce:

1½ cups water
1 tbsp tomato paste
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper

Place the ground beef, onion, garlic, parsley, salt, tomato sauce, red pepper paste and black pepper in a large bowl. With your hands, mix the contents of the bowl well, so that all the ingredients are married together.

Slightly oil a Pyrex dish or a heavy bottom pan and spread the meat with your hands by pressing the meat against the bottom of the baking dish.

Once the meat is layered, arrange the potatoes on top of the meat.


Place the tomato slices on top of the potatoes and the green peppers on top of the tomatoes.

In a small bowl, place the water tomato paste, salt and ground pepper. Mix well enough to dissolve the tomato paste. Pour the sauce over the contents of the baking dish and drizzle with olive oil.


Bake covered with aluminum foil at 375 F for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 30-40 minutes or until the potatoes take golden brown color.

Shallow Fried Halibut (Pisi Balığı Kızartması)

Although my preference for cooking fish is grilled or broiled, here is a recipe for shallow fried halibut. I wanted to try a different cooking method for halibut and came up with this recipe. It is extremely simple and of course very tasty. This white flesh fish stays firm through the cooking process and tastes absolutely incredible.

2 halibut filets
2 tbsp white flour
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ cup olive oil
Lemon or lime wedges (optional)
1 fried green pepper for decoration (optional)
2-3 sprigs parsley for decoration (optional)

Sprinkle the sea salt, black pepper, cayenne and fresh thyme leaves on both sides of the filets.


Sprinkle the flour to create a thin coating on the fish. Heat olive oil in a large pan. Cook both filets 3-4 minutes on each side. Garnish with lemon/lime wedges, parsley and fried green peppers and serve with rice or bulgur pilaf.

Celery Root (Kereviz Kökü)

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope that every one had a nice holiday season. Even though, I had planned to start the New Year with a dessert recipe on my blog, I just did not have the time to make a dessert or any type of dish for that matter. My family was visiting from Turkey and I spent precious time with my family. Unfortunately, I did not get to cook together with my mom much and write down some of her favorite recipes since we concentrated on family time and travels when I was off. When I was working, it was wonderful to find delicious Turkish food ready for me at home. Despite the fact that I love cooking, nothing beats home cooked meals by my mom.

I posted some of my previously prepared posts while I was away, but unfortunately, I do not have many unpublished recipes left. This celery root recipe was also written last year and I thought it is a good time to publish it. I will start cooking again (hopefully soon) for the sake of my blog.

Although, it is not my favorite root vegetable, celery root is extremely light and healthy. This vegetable is commonly used for therapeutic purposes against a number of diseases around the world.

Celery root is very popular in Turkey and this recipe was inspired from ‘Anatolian Feast’ Turkish Cookbook which is my favorite cookbook. Celery root can be found easily in markets during the winter season. This dish is perfect as a side dish. Enjoy.

1 celery root (peeled and sliced)
1 small onion (diced)
3 cloves garlic (diced)
2 carrots (diced)
1 large tomato (diced)
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp cumin
½ tbsp chopped fresh dill
½ lemon juice or lime juice
½ tsp salt
1 cup water
Fresh dill for garnish

Heat olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Saute onions and garlic. Add carrots and then tomatoes. Spice up the ingredients with cumin and dill. Add salt and sauté until soft. Remove from heat and set aside.

Take one slice of the celery root and place a few tablespoons of stuffing on top.

Place another slice of celery root on top of the stuffing and repeat the same process until all the stuffing and celery root slices are used up.

Place the stuffed celery root in a pan and add the water. Squeeze ¼ of a lemon on top and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Cook covered for 20-25 minutes. Garnish with fresh dill and serve at room temperature.

Note: If you desire, you may pour 2-3 tbsp olive oil on the celery root slices prior to cooking.

Turkish Sausage Sandwich (Sucuk Sandviç)

Turkish sausage sandwich can be prepared in numerous ways. To create this sandwich, I used whatever I had on hand. It is easy to be creative in making a sandwich with Turkish sausage, so use your creativity. The best part of the sandwich is the sausage, so anything will go with it. Enjoy.

Note: Turkish sausage can be found in Turkish markets or Mediterranean stores.

1 Turkish sausage ring (1 lb package) or any other hard sausage
8 slices of kaşar cheese (pale yellowish sheep’s cheese) or any other hard cheese
4 hamburger buns or hoagies or 1 quartered baggett
2 green bell peppers (sliced thick)
2 tomatoes (sliced)
Mayonnaise
Pickled small peppers for garnishing
3-4 green onions for garnishing
½ tomato for garnishing
½ green bell pepper for garnishing


Cut the sausage ring in half right in the middle. Each half will make two sandwiches. Cut each half in 3-4 slices lengthwise in thickness of 1/3 of an inch. Some of the pieces may be smaller than others due to the shape of the sausage. You also may adjust the length of the sausages according to the bread you are using.

Heat a non-stick pan. Place the sausage slices in the hot pan for two minutes on each side. Do not add any oil or butter, as the sausage will be cooked in its own fat. Spread as much mayo as you want on the bread. Put the sausage slices on the bottom of the sandwich. Place the cheese on top of the sausage. Add the tomatoes and green peppers to the sandwich and enjoy with yogurt or cacık.

Serve with hot pickled small peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and green onions.

Lobster Tails Turkish Style (Türk Stili Istakoz)

Similar to other seafood, lobsters also need extra attention as to how much they are cooked. When they are cooked too long, the lobster meat has a tendency to be rubbery and tasteless.

The seasoning for these lobsters is Turkish/Mediterranean style, but you may alter it anyway you desire.

4 lobster tails (any size)
1 tbsp olive oil
½ lemon
¼ tsp paprika
½ tsp salt

Wash the lobster tails. Using a sharp knife cut the lobster tails lengthwise from the middle. Cut out the top portion of the shell with kitchen shears or with a knife so that the flesh of the lobster meat is exposed. Be careful not to leave tiny pieces of the shell on the meat.

Sprinkle the lobster meat with salt and paprika. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Broil for about 7-8 minutes. Serve with potatoes or rice and vegetables.

Broiled Oysters (Izgara Istiridye)

My preference for eating oysters is raw; however my husband is not fond of raw oysters and actually not crazy about oysters or any other shelled seafood. Therefore, I usually broil them slightly so both of us would enjoy them.

For those of you, who have never shucked oysters, when shucking oysters, make sure you have a special oyster shucking knife along with a thick towel. The first time I purchased fresh oysters, I had the seafood guy in my market show me how to do it. Even with that, I found it very difficult to shuck oysters. It can be very dangerous if you hand with the knife slips while shucking the oyster. So, be careful.

You may add any other spices prior to broiling as it all depends on a person’s taste. Serve with lemon wedges and enjoy.


10 oysters
Pinch of salt
½ tsp paprika
½ lemon

Shuck the oysters. Sprinkle with salt and paprika. Squeeze lemon on top and broil for 3-4 minutes on the top shelf of the oven broiler. Enjoy as appetizers.