Priest's Beef and Onion Ragout

Otherwise known as Papaz Yahnisi: papaz means priest in Turkish and yahni is hot pot or ragout as Angie Mitchell lovingly translates it.

a yahni means lots of succulent tasty onions

I was hoping to burble on about the joys of spring but Istanbul has been cold, wet and miserable for days now.  That’s why when Daughter No 1 said she was going to drop by on her way back from a week away  and have supper with us, I thought  ahaha let me make this yahni that I have been dying to try.

I had a vague recollection of a Cornucopia magazine with a cookery corner dedicated to yahni so I rooted it out (No 37, 2007 if you’re interested). I was looking for a story about the priest, you see, and sure enough, there it was but originally connected to a fish yahni dating back to at least 1764 when Christian monks and priests ate it while abstaining from meat. According to Berrin Torolsan, there were  many different types of yahni: parsley yahni, chickpea yahni, garlic yahni as well as a beef yahni like this one. But the essence of all of them is onion. Lots of onion. Very often yahni are lamb- or mutton-based and the addition of vinegar or indeed lemon or sour pomegranate juice is to cut the fattiness and help tenderize the meat. I love the sound of one that was made with chestnuts, quinces, dried apricots and prunes as described by Fahriye Hanım in 1882 who wrote Ev Kadını (The Housewife). It sounds just up my street and I will definitely try it next winter.

Ingredients for Papaz Yahnisi according to Angie Mitchell’s recipe

Serves 6

1kg/2lb lean cubed beef (kuş başı)

4 tbsp plain white flour

Salt and pepper to taste

4 tbsp butter/margarine

500g/1lb peeled pearl onions or shallots (arpacık soğanı)

10 garlic cloves

3 tbsp wine vinegar (üzüm sirkesi)

2 tomatoes, diced

1 tsp sugar

1tsp ground allspice (yeni bahar)

1 tsp ground cinnamon (tarçin)

Chopped parsley for garnish

Method

·         Toss the cubed beef in seasoned flour*. Melt the butter and sauté the beef for 5 mins. Add the pearl onions and whole cloves of garlic and sauté everything together for a further 5 mins.

·         Add the vinegar, tomatoes, sugar, and spices. Stir well and then add 2 cups of boiling water. Cover and cook slowly on a low heat for 2 hours or until meat is tender.

·         Serve hot with rice, garnished with chopped parsley.

Tips

1. *To toss meat in seasoned flour, just put the flour with S&P in a plastic bag. Add the meat and shake!
2. The smell of the meat cooking with those spices and onions is divine! I loved Berrin Torolsan for saying that even though pearl onions are attractive and taste good, they are fiddly to prepare so regular onions cut into half-moons is perfectly acceptable.
3. But if you decide to go with the pearl onions as I did, soaking them in boiling water for 10 mins helps enormously to peel them more easily.

I hope you like this dish as much as we did!  However Daughter No 1 reminded me gently that she has now become a vegetarian .....

dinner!

       Yahni ‘fed the Janissaries, it fed the poor, it nourished students and it sustained sultans’.

What more do you want?

Tender Green Beans with Meat



my favourite



I really love this meal: Etli Ayşekadın Fasulye in Turkish.  Etli means 'with meat': since this time I used mince, this is actually Kıymalı Fasulye. Not only does it look and taste delicious, but it’s very healthy as there is no oil in it.  To achieve this taste, fresh beans are streets ahead of frozen. This time I used one of the jars of tomatoes that I bottled in the heart of summer using those fat, juicy, sun-ripened tomatoes from the local tarla/fields around Assos. I’m really pleased that I did all that bottling: next summer I think I’ll make twice as many jars as it is just so much more satisfying to use your own and recall those long, lazy summer days, rather than a couple of sterile greenhouse tomatoes which are the only alternative right now. They may look firm and beautiful but they have no flavour worth mentioning.

ayşekadın fasulye



çalı fasulye

Here, there are two distinct types of green bean/fasulye: one is ayşekadın, the type used in this recipe. To prepare it, after trimming, it is simply snapped or cut in half. It is cooked with meat or sometimes egg, and served hot as a main meal. The other, çalı or string, looks completely different as it is much longer, and flat in shape. This one is cut in half lengthwise and is used for zeytinyağlı dishes ie  served cold.  If it is really long, it is also cut in half the other way. I have to confess I have never bought these. Of course if the beans need stringing, this is a pain, there’s no denying it!

Ingredients for Etli Ayşekadın Fasulye

Serves 6

1 kg tender green beans, topped and tailed.

250 gr ground beef/dana kıyma, or 1/2 kg cubed beef or veal/dana kuşbaşı

2 ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp tomato paste/salça

1 onion, grated

2 cups warm water

1 tsp seasoned salt/tuzot

Method

1.       Gently cook the grated onion, chopped tomatoes, and ground beef in a wide pan until all liquids have been absorbed. NB no oil is added.



here it is

all the liquid has boiled down

my jar of summer tomatoes



2.       Snap the beans into halves – you will soon see if they need stringing or not! – and add to the above mixture with the seasoned salt. Add the warm water and tomato paste, and cook over low heat till the beans are soft.



I did string mine


The beauty of these yemeks or meals, is that they can be made ahead and reheated with perhaps a little extra water. They keep well in the fridge too. Serve with plain yogurt if liked. A simple rice pilaf goes well with this.

Tips

§  The spoonful of tomato paste was my touch as I thought the dish looked a bit anaemic!

§  For a change, cubed veal or beef can be used instead of the mince - then it would become etli!

an aberrant fasulye

Tangy Seasonal Soup with Tasty Meatballs

In Turkish this recipe is called Terbiyeli Köfte and again it is a classic. This is one of the very first Turkish dishes I ever attempted back in those distant Ankara days after watching my mother-in-law prepare it several times, and seeing how much the family enjoyed it. So for us it is forever connected with her and the time when our children were young. In fact we call it Babaanne’s yemek or Granny’s meal! According to Angie Mitchell in Secrets of the Turkish Kitchen,  the recipe dates back to the days of culinary experimentation in the Ottoman palace kitchens. Terbiyeli literally means well-behaved but in Turkish cooking it refers to a sauce made with lemon and egg. This dish can be either just that: a dish, or as I prefer to make it since that is how I was introduced to it, a delicious seasonal soup with little meatballs. Since the markets are now full of the winter vegetables that we will be seeing for the next few months, this recipe sprang to mind when I went to my usual Selami Çeşme market yesterday.

Ingredients for Terbiyeli Köfte

Serves 4 – 6

For the meatballs:

450g minced lamb or beef

1 tbsp rice, rinsed and drained

1 small onion, grated

1 handful of finely chopped parsley

1 handful finely chopped dill

1 tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsps plain white flour

For the stock:

2 potatoes, peeled and diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 small celeriac, peeled and diced

2 tsp salt

4 cups/1 litre boiling water

For the terbiye/tangy sauce:

2 egg yolks

Pinch of salt

Juice of 1 lemon

Chopped parsley or dill to garnish

Method

§  Place the prepared vegetables in water with a squeeze of lemon to prevent discolouration.

all the ingredients for the köfte/meatballs

§  Combine the minced meat, rice, grated onion (keeping any residual onion juice to add to the stock), parsley, dill, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Using your hands, mix together well. With wet hands, roll into balls the size of walnuts and then roll in flour.

§  In a large pan heat the water with the salt. When it is boiling, drain the vegetables and add to the pan.

 Once the vegetables are simmering, add the meatballs. Continue to simmer for 15 minutes until the rice grains are protruding from the meatballs and the vegetables tender. Remove from the heat.



simmering the soup before adding the terbiye/sauce

 

§  Put the egg yolks in a bowl. Add the pinch of salt and whisk with a fork. Add the lemon juice and continue whisking, adding spoonfuls of the hot stock a little at a time. Return this mixture to the pan and on a gentle heat continue stirring until the sauce thickens. Take care not to let it reach a rapid boil as it may curdle.

§  Serve at once garnished with the fresh parsley and dill. If serving as a meal, a rice pilaf would be a good accompaniment. 



afiyet olsun!



Tips

1.       This is the first time that I have actually followed a recipe (it comes from Secrets of the Turkish Kitchen) for this soup as opposed to just following my own inclinations, and the measurements are perfect. However, next time I will add a little more rice as it makes the meatballs look like little hedgehogs. I like that and I remember so did my children!

2.       I also let the mixture cool a bit before I made the sauce. It just reduces the risk of it curdling.

A nice easy, extremely seasonal soup for either lunch or dinner. There is no direct translation for afiyet olsun but basically it means Enjoy! It is said before every meal by the cook to those about to eat!

BBQ with Veggie Kebabs

'Komşu!'

Neighbour! The garden gate creaked and I knew immediately that the arrival of Leyla from next door was imminent. It was the first day of bayram and we were back in our village. The tradition is to visit family and friends after the testing time of the long fast. Children will look spick and span in their brand new clothes. The atmosphere is all rather Christmas-like actually. Leyla came with her university-educated daughter Emine bearing small dishes of village delicacies made in her outdoor oven: pişi, basically a deep-fried pastry, and baklava, made with olive oil and not butter as in the cities. A true bayram visit is not long: just enough to share a glass of tea and to offer something sweet to eat.

our neighbour Leyla with her daughter

The weather was delightful, so the idea of a barbecue that evening was tempting. We decided to keep it simple : some lovely little pirzola/lamb chops with fresh vegetable kebabs, and a salad with more of that wonderful bread.

Barbecue to go:

1. First we marinated the baby lamb chops: olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, fresh thyme. We covered them with clingfilm and put them in the fridge.

marinating the pirzola

2. We looked to see what vegetables we had. The markets didn’t happen because it was holiday time so we were limited to what we could find in the one and only grocer’s: a few eggplants, tomatoes, red onions, green and red peppers (the big ones, not the hot ones). We washed, cut and sliced a selection and threaded them on some metal skewers. Colour is always important to me so I was careful to balance the reds and purples, not forgetting to peel the eggplants in strips rather than leaving the peel whole. We also added bay leaves and sprigs of rosemary from the garden in between the slices. We treated the kebabs to a drizzle of olive oil too, seasoned them and put to one side.

our kebabs

drizzling olive oil

 I had brought roka/rocket from Istanbul. We really love it but sometimes the taste can be very fiery and needs to be tempered. Tomatoes are always good for this but we didn’t have enough so instead I discovered a lone carrot and some spring onions. I grated the carrot and secretly admired the colour contrast of the orange with the green. Then the spring onions, chopped. To perk the whole thing up, we roughly crushed some walnuts in a plastic bag with the rolling pin and sprinkled them on top. I wondered what else we could add to make the salad more festive and remembered that I had brought some parmesan from Istanbul with me so we shaved a few flakes off.

Waiting for the heat of the charcoal to subside to allow cooking to commence, wine or rakı glasses in our hands, we watched the sun go down and listened to the homeward-bound tinkle of goat bells : it seemed a splendid ending to the day.

Tips

• 
  
  If you don’t have metal skewers, you can buy the wooden ones BUT remember to soak them in water for 30 minutes beforehand otherwise they will go up in flames! Not a good thing.
• 
  
  Marinating overnight is best to get the full flavours and to tenderise. Take the food out of the fridge early enough as it will cook better at room temperature.
• 
  
  Eggplant takes longer than the other veggies to soften up. Courgettes would be quicker. These kebabs take about 30 mins. At least.
• 
  
  If you are not barbecuing, I suggest grilled vegetables in the oven. (200C/ 180C fan). The same thing with or without the skewers. It makes a great sight: a full aluminium foil-lined tray of colourful veggies.Take them to the table like that. A real crowd -pleaser. Recipes always say about 30 mins but in my experience, a good 40 – 45 mins works better.

shaving parmesan for the salad

Shaving rather than grating cheese is much more attractive on a salad. Nuts, especially walnuts, are always a good addition.


Make sure you have one last BBQ before the colder weather sets in!
              

Beef Casserole with Figs

I have the feeling that the recipe that I am about to describe is destined to become my dinner party favourite this autumn. So perhaps I am mad to share - but I am so excited about it that it would be a crime to keep it all to myself! It is figgy again but this time in a savoury form, something that I said was not usually found in Turkish cuisine yet it comes from a super new cookbook called Cooking New Istanbul Style by Refika Birgül (http://www.refikaninmutfagi.com/). She describes it as her version of Boeuf Bourguignon meets Algerian tagine with overtones of juicy meat cooked in South East Turkey. Ambitious, eh?  But oh,so do-able. Serves 6.

Here are the very figs I bought from
this luscious display at the Spice Bazaar 

We went to the Spice Bazaar in Eminönü to get the figs although you can get them anywhere.But the Bazaar is so atmospheric,especially with the pre-Bayram buzz. I love going there and then crossing the Galata Bridge for a cheap fish lunch beside the Golden Horn. 

Now back to the meat: I highly recommend using your local kasap or butcher as opposed to the supermarket. Ideally get a friend to introduce you to hers.You will get the best service if you build up a relationship with your friendly butcher. Always go to the same one and he will reward you with the choicest cuts.You can also phone in your order and if he is obliging - and they usually are - he will deliver!

 Ingredients for Beef Casserole with Figs

Preparing the meat and onions

I kg fillet steak in a piece  - bonfile (pron: bon-fi-leh). Although you can buy beef already cubed, Refika recommends that you cut this yourself into largish chunks.

3 onions, finely sliced in rounds

5 cloves garlic

1 large red pepper, cut into strips (about 1cm thick)

I green bell pepper: cut the same way

Getting everything shipshape

2 carrots, chopped into small cubes

2 tbsp flour
10 bay leaves

5 sprigs thyme

1 tbsp red pepper paste /biber salçası ( pron: bee-bair sal-cha is enough ), readily available here

15 dried figs

1 tsp salt

 one handful black peppercorns- you may prefer to give a few good twists of the pepper mill instead

7 tbsp olive oil

3/4 cup chicken stock made from stock cube
1/2 cup red wine

Method

1. Saute the beef in the oil in batches. Remove from pan.

2. Continue with onions and remove.

3. Now saute the peppers and carrots for 1 min.
4. Add whole garlic cloves. Saute for a further minute.

5. Return meat and onions to pan. Reduce heat to very low. Sprinkle the flour over meat and stir for 2 mins.

6. Add hot chicken stock and the wine.

7. Add pepper, salt, thyme, bay leaves, and pepper paste. Stir it all together gently.

Adding the paste to the pot-
I actually used tomato

8. Finally, add the halved dried figs.

Cover the pan and cook on very low heat. After 1 hour, stir and continue cooking for a further 1 1/2 hours. The smell is divine!

As Refika says: 'Taste, enjoy, and devour!'

Everything's in and ready to cook!

Tip

Next time I think I will use a güveç or Turkish earthenware cooking pot, and cook it nice and slowly in the oven.Or simply my le Creuset in the oven. I think it would be even more succulent.