Leeks in Olive Oil

market booty

I have just staggered back flushed with success from the weekly market here in my immediate area of Selami Çeşme, and behold my booty. Now, I defy anybody not to feel inspired just by looking at that. There is a kilo of spinach, roots and all, in the plastic bag which I will prepare for tonight; next to it, a marul lettuce and some beautiful rocket. I see the tomatoes are becoming those standard greenhouse ones but I had one for lunch and it tasted fine. The little cucumbers are just how they should be: crisp and crunchy. I broke my own rule with the figs:  I know the season is finished but I just couldn’t resist them, and then I bought them from a stall I never usually use.  Fatal. Usually one can choose one’s own produce but these figs were too far away for me to do so.  As a result, the  stallholder slipped in a couple of duds. Live and learn. The plums are fabulous and the grapes – well, just look at them! I couldn’t resist the beetroots either. The little bags are dried mint, peppercorns, and kuş üzüm, the dried little currants for use in pilafs. You can buy as little as you like which is very handy with herbs and spices.  It is a good idea to have a look at those on your own shelves from time to time and chuck out the ones that have been there rather too long: they lose their oomph over time.

I didn’t buy leeks as I bought some just the other day: the first ones of the season, actually. Here is what I did with them: zeytinyağlı pırasa, a very typical olive oil dish for this time of year and one of my favourites.   Very healthy and tasty. You will notice that for a change there are no onions included in the ingredients. This is because leeks themselves belong to the onion family so no need for more.

                                                                           Ingredients

Serves 6

1 kg leeks/pırasa

2 carrots

1 tbsp rice, washed

4 lumps of sugar

½ cup olive oil

Juice of  ½ lemon

2 cups hot water

1 tbsp salt

cutting on the diagonal

Method

§  First cut off all the dark green, leafy bits of the leeks and discard. Wash the remaining part well and slice on the diagonal. Put the slices in a bowl and cover with cold water along with the lemon juice.  If you followed Jenny’s tip, simply take your carrots out of the fridge and slice in a similar way.Otherwise, trim , peel, and wash as usual before slicing in diagonals.

§  In a pan, gently heat the oil and stir in the carrots. Cook for 3 – 4 mins.



cooking everything together



§  Add leeks, rice, lump sugar, and salt and mix together. Add the 2 cups hot water. Cover the pan  with a lid and cook on a low heat for 50 mins.

§  Let cool before transferring to a serving dish. Remember that a shallow one is more typical.

                             Extra lemon juice may be passed round as it goes well with leeks.

Tip

1.       All these olive oil dishes or meze are always served cold. It is only when there is meat in them that they are served  hot. Go easy on the rice: if you add too much, it turns into a glutinous mess.



2.       Note the size of these Turkish leeks. I seem to remember that the ones available in the UK are a different breed and are much bigger. That’s fine but wash very carefully as grit can be entrenched in the leaves, and make sure your slices aren’t too thick. I slice the leeks first and then wash, just to be safe.

3.       I learnt most of these dishes by osmosis really.  Well, a combination of my lovely mother-in-law and An American Cook in Turkey. For a long, long time, there were no good Turkish cookbooks available and obviously no internet.  But in the interests of this blog I have been checking with actual Turkish recipes. This one comes from Modern Türk Mutfağı by Alev Kaman, an excellent Turkish cook book.





A Delicious Aubergine Meze





How do you feel about aubergines?  Look at this, bubbling away, looking great, smelling great.

I don’t think my dad ever really enjoyed them, he didn’t like garlic either, but then it wasn’t his fault as they were certainly not a feature of pre-war Britain’s cuisine, let alone Grandma Beatrice’s kitchen! Probably his first encounter with aubergine was in ratatouille which my French mother occasionally made. And then there was moussaka – remember that? Rather greasy, I always thought.  But onions, garlic, tomatoes, all the vegetables that I have come to embrace, were not where my dad’s gastro inclinations lay by nature, strict meat and two veg man that he was. Cooking has come such a long way since those days and for me, living in Turkey has opened up a huge range of possibilities with vegetables and aubergines definitely provide a focus. There are literally hundreds of recipes for them in various forms, hot and cold, and I love them all, providing not too much oil is involved.

This recipe, ekşili patlıcan, taken from Secrets of the Turkish Kitchen is for a meze, the concept we are all now familiar with: small appetizers set on the table at the same time before the main course, and an excuse to drink rakı, the delicious aniseed-flavoured local drink.  I suggest you include it as a side dish along with whatever you’re having as a main. If you glance through the ingredients, you will see all the familiar veggies that characterise so many Mediterranean dishes, not only Turkish. Aubergines are in reality a summer vegetable but they are still available, just a little bit more expensive. Ekşili literally means sour, which does not sound very appealing, but what it actually means is cooked with lemon juice.

                                                          Ingredients

Serves 4 – 6

4 long aubergines

2 onions, thinly sliced

3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

6 cloves garlic, crushed in salt

½ cup olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

Chopped parsley for garnish

getting things ready: the tomatoes will be covered with boiling water

keeping only the red parts of the tomatoes and removing the white

Method

1.       Remove the stems and peel the aubergines in alternate vertical stripes. Cut into bite-size chunks and place in a bowl of salted water for 30 minutes.

2.       Drain the aubergines and squeeze dry in a towel. Place in a pan with the other ingredients. Cover and cook over a low heat until the aubergines are tender, most of the liquid has been absorbed and the sauce is rich.

3.       Set aside to cool and serve garnished with a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

ekşili patlıcan: serve at room temperature

                                                                  Tip

• Usually aubergines are a beautiful, dark, vibrant purple but there are other varieties, particularly in the countryside, which are pale and marbled. So the clue to choosing good ones is making sure they are smooth and shiny on the outside, as well as being firm to the touch.

They belong to the nightshade family and have a naturally occurring enzyme that can leave a bitter aftertaste in some dishes. Luckily, it is easy to ‘sweat’ them by salting which accomplishes two goals:

a) It pulls out the juices that carry bitter flavours and
b) Collapses the air pockets in the aubergines’ sponge-like flesh, thus preventing them from absorbing too much oil.

• Sprinkle slices or chunks of the aubergine with salt and let sit for  30 mins  - 1 hour. Incidentally, I notice that all the River House Cafe recipes recommend 1 hour as well as putting a plate on top with a heavy weight to push down on the slices.  Rinse the salt off with cold water and pat dry with kitchen paper. The drier they are, the less greasy the final result will be.

Personally I have found that the bitterness has become much less pronounced over the years but I would certainly advocate salting for any dish which requires frying in oil first as the amount of oil you use will definitely be less.

I also like peeling in stripes as in this recipe. The skin doesn’t become hard as it does when left whole.

************************************************************************

Here is an easy but delicious recipe for 6 from one of my favourite cookbooks, River Cafe Cook Book Green:  Take 4 large aubergines and slice into 1.5cm discs. Salt them as described above. Place close together on a foil-lined oven tray that you have lightly brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, pepper, and some oregano/kekik, coriander seeds/kişniş tohumu roughly ground, and chopped garlic/sarmısak, and put in a pre-heated oven (200C/400F/Gas 6). Brush the tops of the slices with olive oil and scatter with more oregano, coriander, and garlic. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Turn the slices over when lightly browned, return to the oven and continue cooking for a few more minutes.

Serve on a bed of rocket /roka leaves. Drizzle with lemon juice and a little of your finest olive oil.

I like the sound of that!



Barbunya Beans in Olive Oil

barbunya at Ayvacık Market

If you like beans, you’re in the right place but you have to learn how to cook them and that’s not difficult!  But they are so typically Turkish and so delicious, you’ll feel very pleased with yourself once you have mastered the art of a typical zeytinyağli.

 Barbunya, the attractive red ones in the picture, are at their height in the summer. They are still available in the markets and greengrocers right now but I notice that the price has started to rise signalling the end of the season is in sight.  Fresh is always preferred to dry and they freeze beautifully once shelled, but the dry ones are perfectly all right out of season. Outside Turkey, roman/red/borlotti  beans can easily be substituted. In the US, dry pinto beans, for example, can be used, after soaking overnight. Zeytinyağlı/olive oil dishes  - meze - are a staple of local cuisine both in restaurants and at home: Turkish housewives will usually have at least one or two in the fridge at all times, the season dictating which vegetables will be used, while restaurants will have a whole trayful to tempt you.  Just about any veg can be used in a zeytinyağli dish: the choice is yours. I have even been served brussel sprouts, which only appeared on the Turkish scene a few years ago, done in this way! One of the best-loved and most common is this one made with barbunya, my son’s all-time favourite: I have just made them twice in 3 days from daughter Ayse’s tried and tested recipe below when he was here for a whistlestop visit.  There are many different versions of this recipe, the  main differences being in the amounts of olive oil and also sugar. But you know, it is completely up to the cook: if you don’t like using too much oil, nothing drastic is going to happen if you use less. If your recipe calls for, say, a tablespoon of granulated sugar and you don’t like the idea, just leave it out. In time, you will discover how exactly you like your very own barbunya!

Ingredients

Serves 6 as a meze

1 kg barbunya, shelled

½ cup virgin/sızma olive oil

2 small onions, finely chopped

1 tin of chopped tomatoes or 2 of those big fresh tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

1-2 of those light green peppers (çarliston biber) – not a must

1-2 carrots, chopped

1 heaped tsp tomato paste

1-2 sugar cubes

1 tsp salt

750 ml/2 ½ cups hot water

gently sauteing

adding the beans to the other vegetables

Method

1.       Heat the oil and add onions to fry gently till translucent – about 5 mins.

2.       Add green peppers (whole) if using, and carrots. Stir and cook for about 5 more mins.

3.       Add the chopped tomatoes, stir so it is all mixed and cook till the tomatoes ‘melt’.

4.       Add the beans and stir the whole lot till mixed. Again, leave to cook for 5 mins.

5.       Add salt and sugar cubes and stir.

6.       Add the warm water and tomato paste and stir.

7.       Then cover with lid and turn the heat down to very low. Set timer for 45 mins. Then check for water at the 45 min mark and have a taste. You are almost certain to find that the beans need to be softer and that you need to add more water (which should be hot). Be careful that the beans don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

8.       Pour onto a platter and when cold, garnish with parsley.

your meze is ready to serve

Tips

Here is a really great tip for keeping carrots fresh: when you get them home, cut the ends off, peel them and then wash. Put in a plastic container, covering with water, and store in the fridge. They will stay crisp and crunchy for days, all ready for use in cooking or salads.

Jenny's tip!

Cooling Cucumbers......and a bit of market life

Yogurt is great stuff especially the kind we get here in Turkey which is absolutely delicious: thick and creamy.It is one of my must-haves in the fridge. Strange to think I used to yearn for the fruity version! Yogurt in Turkey is used mainly as accompaniment to savoury dishes or in something like this cacik. It isn’t considered a dessert. Cacik (difficult to say as c is pronounced j in Turkish) is similar to the Indian raita and the Greeks also have a lookalike. In other words, a side dish made with cucumbers and refreshing yogurt. In the UK I have just about stopped buying cucumbers as they are so tasteless and watery. In this area, they have one local type that is pale in colour, with huge seeds, and bristles to boot. I steer clear of those. But when you see good ones, you know: firm, dark green and not too big.

I thought I would go to the Tuesday market in Ayvacik yesterday. In case you are interested in wild life around here, on the way, I saw 2 dead hedgehogs and then on the brighter side, a tortoise slowly crossing the road. I usually jump out of the car and carry them to the other side to make sure they don’t get hit. Anyway,this market is a mini-version of the Friday one and therefore easier - and quicker - to navigate especially in this heat.

When I saw this minibus stuffed to its rooftop with garlic, I just had to take a photo.

The seller was quite bemused that I wanted a picture but he certainly didn’t mind. I guess he sleeps easy with no fear of vampires! I just hope he knows how to keep all that garlic from drying out. I mean, I only buy about 3-4 at a time for that reason and here he has millions! He says proudly on his sign: these are all mine! 1kg for 4 liras. The mind boggles at how many you would get for a kilo!

Anyway, I proceeded and bought my kilo of cucumbers for the usual rock bottom 1 lira. I had yogurt at home. Pelin goes through bunches of fresh mint at a rate of knots with her teas so I got some more. These are the three basic ingredients for cacik as well as the garlic.

Method

Mix about 6 tbsps yogurt in a bowl vigourously with a spoon. I’ve got this great wooden spoon that I love – it’s got a stunted handle and just seems to fit my hand. The idea is to make the yogurt smooth. Add a little cold water and a swirl of olive oil. Now comes the garlic. Crush about 3 cloves but it does depend on how much you love it! We do! Now, take your cucumbers. About 5 should be enough. With your peeler – I am in love with my IKEA one – peel them and then wash. Dry. Then holding one in your hand, cut through in quarters all the way down. Hold them tight and cut bits off the top into your yogurt mixture. The idea is not to make regular-shaped cubes but more irregular pieces. Some people like to grate their cucumbers which is also nice but different.

Then add either some dried mint or if you have it, as I certainly do, some fresh leaves chopped up. Decorate with a sprig or two of the fresh. You can also add another swirl of olive oil.

In our family, we tend to like our cacik on the thick side. Other people like it more liquid. As with everything, it is up to you and your personal taste! It is served in individual bowls and eaten with a spoon as an accompaniment to the main course. In summer it is considered very refreshing and ice cubes can be added as an extra cooling agent.

Tip

• This lovely garlicky yogurt mix can be used to great effect with grated carrot or courgette, both of which are uncooked. The courgette is very watery so has to be squeezed, haberin olsun! That means, be warned!