In a saucepan combine the sugar, water, lemon juice and [zest.] Boil until syrupy and then remove from the heat. Add the rose or orange water and chill.
Prepare the cake:
Melt the butter and let cool. Place the pastry in a bowl. Pour the melted butter over the pastry. [Using your hands, gently mix until all of the pastry is coated with butter.]
Preheat the oven to 180í C.
[Prepare the pie:]
Spread half of the pastry over the bottom of the dish. Using your fingers, press the pastry down into the bottom of the dish. Using a wet wooden spoon, mash the cheese and spread over the pastry. Spread the rest of the pastry over the cheese. Press down with your hand in order to bond the layers together.
Bake for 45 minutes. Turn the oven to 220í C and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the top turns golden brown. When ready, pour the syrup over the cake. Be sure to cover the entire cake. Turn the cake onto a tray and serve warm, sprinkled with chopped pistachios.
!! 2 Corn Bread - Misir Ekmegli
Preheat the oven to 220í C.
Sift the flour into a bowl. Combine the flour with the cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, eggs and olive oil. Combine the flour mixture and the egg mixture until well blended and smooth. [Grease the loaf tin and then add the batter.] Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick.
!! 3 Stuffed Cheese Bread
Prepare the dough:
In a bowl, dissolve the yeast with half of the warm water. Let sit for 5 minutes. Sift the flour. Add the rest of the water, salt, sugar and 1/3 of the flour. Mix well. Set aside, in a warm place, for one hour. (You can let it sit for up to 3 hours).
Mix in the rest of the flour and 3/4 of the olive oil. Using a mixer, or by hand, [knead the dough] until it is smooth and elastic, approximately 15 minutes. Form the dough into a ball. Brush with olive oil. Place the ball in a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let sit for one hour.
Prepare the stuffing:
Combine the ricotta, feta and kashkaval in a bowl. Add the eggs and mix together until homogeneous.
Prepare the bread:
Preheat the oven to 190í C.
Cut the ball of dough into four equal pieces. On a floured work surface, [roll each piece of dough into a rectangle.] Spoon 1/4 of the cheese stuffing onto the middle of each rectangle. Fold the dough over the stuffing and [pinch the edge to seal the stuffing inside the dough.] Whisk the egg yolk and brush over each of the loaves. Place the loaves on an oiled baking dish and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
!! 4 Stuffed Mussels - Midye Dolmasi
[Wash and clean the mussels.]
In a frying pan, sautÄ the onions until transparent. Add the pine nuts, rice, tomatoes and the liquid. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Pour a little olive oil into a large frying pan. Add the mussels, cover, and cook over high heat until they open, approximately 3-5 minutes. Discard the mussels that do not open. Reserve the cooking liquid.
Stuff the mussels with the rice mixture and cooking liquid. Arrange them in the frying pan, add the liquid, and cook gently for 25 minutes. Let cool.
Serve either at room temperature or cold, garnished with chopped fresh parsley and lemon wedges.
!! 5 Yogurt Soup with Noodles and Meatballs - Tutmac Crobasi
Prepare the meatballs:
Combine the ground meat, almonds and paprika in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Mix well. (For more tender meatballs, add some semolina). [Form very small meatballs.] Fry in hot butter for 2-3 minutes. Remove the meatballs.
Prepare the soup:
In a saucepan, whisk together the yogurt, egg yolks and flour. Place the saucepan over low heat and slowly bring to a simmer. While the yogurt is coming to a simmer, gradually mix in the stock. Add the garlic. Turn the heat to medium and add the noodles. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cook until the noodles are tender.
While the soup is cooking, sweat the onion slices in unsalted butter. Add the onion and meatballs to the soup. Simmer until the meatballs are warmed through. Sprinkle with chopped dill and serve.
!! 6 Quail Baked in Eggplant - Paticanci Bildircin
Prepare the eggplant:
Using a small knife, [peel strips of the skin lengthwise to get a striped effect.] Slice in half.
Using a small knife and a spoon, [scoop out the flesh from the inside of each half of eggplant,] leaving about 6-7 mm of pulp. Sprinkle with salt and leave to drain for 30 minutes. Wash and dry the eggplant.
While the eggplant is draining, [blanch,] peel, seed and chop the tomatoes.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Lightly brown the eggplant halves on all sides for approximately 4 minutes. Remove the eggplant and reserve the oil. Leave the eggplant to drain.
In the same oil, (add more if necessary), brown the quails over high heat. Remove them and set aside to drain.
In the same oil (add more if necessary), sweat the onions for 8 minutes. Add the pine nuts and 1 minute later add the garlic, tomatoes, and spices. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Sweat the mixture for 5 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180í C.
Mix the grated cheese into the sauce.
Spread 1/3 of the sauce around the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange four halves of eggplant over the sauce. [Place the quails on top of the eggplant halves and then stuff them with another 1/3 of the sauce.] Cover the quails with the rest of the sauce then cover with the remaining eggplant halves. Add the wine (or water), and bake for 45 minutes.
!! 7 The Fainting Imam - Imam Bayaldi
Cut off the stems of the eggplants. Using a small knife, [peel strips of the skin lengthwise to get a striped effect.] Cut a deep slit on one side (lengthwise) and stop almost at the other side. Fill a bowl with water and mix in 2 tbs of salt. Place the eggplants in the water and let sit for 30 minutes.
While the eggplants are soaking, peel and slice the onion into 8-10 wedges. [Blanch,] peel and chop the tomatoes.
Heat half of the olive oil in a heavy frying pan. Fry the onion until nearly transparent. Add the garlic and fry for another minute. Add the tomatoes and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle in the parsley. Remove the mixture from the frying pan.
In the same frying pan, heat the remaining oil over high heat. Remove the eggplants from the water and gently squeeze out any excess moisture. Fry the eggplants until lightly brown but still firm.
Let the eggplant cool slightly and then [stuff as much of the mixture as possible into the cut eggplant.] There should be some stuffing left over. Spread half of the remaining stuffing over the bottom of the pot. Arrange the eggplants over the stuffing and then spoon the remainder of the stuffing over the eggplants. Add the lemon juice, sugar and water. Cover the pot and cook over medium-low heat for 45 minutes. When using older eggplants, add water periodically to prevent them from drying. Let cool for one hour before serving. Serve at room temperature.
!! 8 Turkish Delight - Lokum
In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, lemon juice and 360 ml of water. Boil the mixture until it reaches 115í C. Stir from time to time. Remove the saucepan from the heat when the mixture reaches the desired temperature.
In another saucepan, combine 240 ml of water, the cornstarch and the cream of tartar. Whisk until smooth and homogenous.
Bring the rest of the water to a boil (480 ml) then pour over the cornstarch mixture. Whisk well, then bring to a boil. Whisk constantly until the mixture becomes thick.
Slowly, using a thin flow, pour the syrup into the cornstarch mixture while stirring all the time. Gently simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring from time to time.
Grease the plate. After the mixture has boiled for 1 1/2 hours, add the rose water and nuts and then remove from the heat. Pour the hot mixture into the greased plate. Set aside for 16 hours.
Combine the confectioners' sugar and the remaining cornstarch. Using an oiled knife cut the Turkish Delight into rectangles then [toss in the sugar mixture.] Store in a sealed container.
!! 9 Orange Salad - Portoral Salatasi
Peel and [slice the oranges,] crosswise, into 2-3 mm thick rounds.
Arrange the orange slices on a plate. Spread the red onion and olives over the oranges. Sprinkle the olive oil and cayenne pepper over the top. Add the chopped herbs and serve.
!! 10 Strawberry Sorbet - Dondurma Cilekli
Combine the water and sugar and stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add half of the lemon juice then boil for 7 minutes. Skim and let cool.
Wash the strawberries and remove the stems. PurÄe in a food processor then push through a sieve. Mix with the cold syrup, remaining lemon juice and milk. Pour into a loaf tin and freeze for 6 hours.
Remove the sorbet from the tin. Cut into 6 pieces and purÄe in batches, as quick as possible, in the food processor. [Serve at once] or return to the freezer.
!! 11 Lamb with Meat and Walnut Stuffing - Kilis Kuslari
Prepare the stuffing:
Melt half of the butter in a frying pan and sweat the onion over medium heat until tender, approximately 6 minutes. Add the minced meat and sautÄ until the meat crumbles and changes color, approximately 6 minutes. Add the rest of the stuffing ingredients and, while stirring, simmer for 2 minutes. Set aside until cool.
[Place the lamb slices between sheets of plastic wrap and pound] until about 5 mm thick; be careful not to make holes in the meat. Place approximately 1 tbs of stuffing on each piece of meat. [Roll the slice and secure with a toothpick] or tie with kitchen string.
Melt the rest of the butter in a saucepan and then gently fry the rolls. Combine all of the sauce ingredients and pour over the meat. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Turn the rolls and rotate the pan from time to time. Serve hot.
