Turkish recipes

I've been taking a series of Turkish cooking classes w/ the Atlas Foundation in Baton Rouge. They are a wonderful group of women sharing their home cooking and I thought I'd share them here too. I'll post more from this series later.

Lentil Soup

1 C lentils (they used red)
1 1/2 C water
1 med onion, chopped
1/4 C vegetable oil
2 Carrots, chopped
tomato paste (maybe 2-3 T)
salt, pepper, oregano, dry mint
Saute' the chopped onion, carrots, & tomato sauce in a pot w/ veg. oil. Add lentils to the mix & roast/saute' all together for a while, then add water. Stir all mix until boiling. After soup cooks, use a blender to make it smooth. Garnish w/ mint & serve.

Ic Pilav (Rice w/ currants, pine nuts, & beef)

1 C rice (uncooked)
2 C water or beef broth
1 small onion chopped
2 T veg oil
100 gr beef (abt 1/4 lb), baked or boiled (for broth), cut into small pieces
2 T currants
2 T divided almonds or pine nuts, roasted
1/2 C (frozen or fresh) corn, peas, & carrots (she used that frozen mixture - you know the one)
1/2 t cinnamon
salt & pepper

Saute' the onion w/ veg oil for 2-3 min. Add the cooked beef, then add the rice, currants, almonds or pine nuts, cinnamon, salt & pepper, and stir. Pour hot beef broth in. Cover w/ lid. Turn the heat down to low & cook until the rice absorbs all the water. Let the Pilav stand for about 5 min.



Tahini Cake - this was an unexpected sweet treat!

9 T butter
2 eggs
2 1/2 C flour
1 3/8 C sugar
1 1/4 C yogurt (plain)
8 T tahini (4 T for cake, 4 T for sauce) - she was a little more generous than this - I'd say 10 T, 5 each
1 T baking powder
1/2 T vanillin powder (comes in a pkg at the Int'l market)
5-6 T honey

Melt/soften butter. Mix eggs, sugar, vanillin, yogurt, tahini (4-5 T). Add the butter slowly so as to not "cook" the eggs w/ the warm butter, continually mixing. Add flour & baking powder. Pour into 9x13 greased pan.
Prepare the sauce: mix 4-5 T tahini w/ 5 T honey. Drizzle sauce over cake mixture (you can make designs w/ a fork) - she made it look kind of marbled.
Bake @ 350 until firm - about 15-20 min.


Kisir (wheat salad)

1 C bulghur (cracked wheat)
1 C hot water
1 T tomato paste (I like it spicier, so I used chili paste instead)
2 T veg oil
1/2 chopped green onion
1-2 chopped tomatoes
4 large lettuce leaves (optional - I'd leave them out & add to individual servings or use lettuce leaves to serve salad in)
Salt, Lemon juice, dry mint, black & read pepper
**we also added chopped (seeded & peeled) cucumber & chopped parsley and/or cilantro

Pour hot water on to the bulghur & cover; let sit 10 min. Chop onion, lettuce & tomatoes. Add oil & tomato paste into bulghur and mix. Let bulghur absorb oil & tomato paste. Add salt, spice, salad mixture, lemon juice & mix. Kisir is ready to serve and eat.
*This makes a lot! If you have leftovers & there is lettuce in there, it will be soggy and not so good later. That's why I suggest either omitting it or adding it individually.

Kadayif (shredded dough dessert)
***This is one of my faves - really easy & delicous, makes a nice presentation too!

1 pkg Kadayif (Kataifi) (shredded dough - found in most Int'l mkts where you'd find Phyllo)
2 C chopped walnuts (I've also used pecans and think pistachios would be good too)
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

Syrup:
1 T lemon juice (I like it lemony, so I use the juice of one lemon)
2 C sugar
2 1/2 C water

To prepare the syrup: place the water & sugar in a medium sized pot. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 5 min. Then simmer for 15 min & turn heat off. Add lemon juice and set aside.

Mix the melted butter w/ the shredded dough. Then place half of the shredded dough in a tray or casserole dish evenly and press it down w/ your palm. Spread the walnuts on top evenly. Then spread the 2nd half of the dough and again press down w/ your palm. Preheat oven to 375 F. Place pyrex dish on middle rack. Bake until the top takes a light golden color (20-35 min). Immediately pour the lukewarm syrup all over evenly. Enjoy!

Patatesli Sigara Boregi (Potato Cigarette Borek)

1 pkg spring roll wraps (25 sheets)
Filling:
5 medium sized potatoes, boiled & mashed or grated
2 medium sized onions, thinly sliced
1/2 C veg oil
1/2 t red pepper
salt, pepper
1T tomato paste (for spicier version, use chili paste)
For Frying:
Veg oil

Saute the onion w/ oil. Add in mashed potatoes & the rest of the filling ingredients, then mix.

Put 2 tsp of filling on each sheet. First close both ends, then roll it up. Soak the open end in water and close it up.

After you've rolled up all the sheets, heat up the oil on the stove in a skillet. Fry each borek equally over medium heat until they take a light golden color. Don't leave the stove as they fry very quickly. Place ones that are done on a paper towel to soak up extra oil.

Lentil Patties (these are some of my favorites!!! this makes a LOT of them)

1 C red lentils boiled in 2-3 C water
2 medium onions chopped fine
2 C bulghar (fine grain #1)
2 T chili pepper paste
2 T tomato paste
crushed pepper flakes
juice of 2 lemons
parsley - chopped
green onions - chopped


After lentils are cooked, add bulghar, let sit until moisture is absorbed. Add mixture of tomato paste & pepper paste and all other ingredients. Roll into patties (or logs) and enjoy!